Home-Owner Rehabilitation Program

What the Program Does:

The Homeowner Rehabilitation Program (HR), funded through the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program, assists communities with repairing and rehabilitating owner-occupied homes. Local Kansas communities (cities and counties), referred to as State recipients, outside the federal HOME entitlement communities of Kansas City, Johnson County, Lawrence, Topeka, and Wichita, may apply for program funds of up to $300,000 for administering a homeowner rehabilitation program in their community.

Grant funds will pass through the State recipient on a reimbursement basis, and assistance is to be provided to the homeowner in the form of a loan. The entire residential property must be rehabilitated to pass Housing Quality Standards (HQS) and the Corporation's HQS Variances, and must be repaired in accordance with a building code. All HOME Program requirements at 24 CFR Part 92 apply, including federal procurement (competitive bidding) practices. New lead-based paint hazard evaluation and reduction regulations at 24 CFR Part 35 also apply. Recipients are granted an allowance for program administration of up to 5% of the funding used for rehabilitation.

Who the Program Helps:

State recipients must assist homeowners that reside in the house as their principal residence and households that earn no more than 80 percent of the area median gross annual income. All local homeowners desiring program participation apply directly to the local communities receiving the program funding, which will undertake the homeowner eligibility screening requirements.

How It Works:

HOME Program funds are made available for homeowner rehabilitation activities to local units of government that apply to the State as third-party program administrators, on an annual competitive basis. Pre-application conferences are highly recommended, especially for new local units of government, and can be arranged any time by contacting Homeowner Rehabiliation Program Manager. Nonprofit agencies and for-profit companies are encouraged to work with smaller local governments that need code inspection and construction management services.

Rating applications considers how the community applicant demonstrates its readiness or organizational capacity to deliver a housing program with a construction/rehabilitation component by having staff capabilities in code inspection, specifications writing, and contractor oversight. Access to lead-based paint qualified contractors and temporary occupant relocation plans are important. The State will subcontract program administration with successful State program funded recipients, which are required to enter into an agreement with the State of Kansas to ensure compliance with all goals and requirements of the HOME Program, 24 CFR Part 92, and all state procedures and local codes.

Type(s) of Assistance:

Loans

Funding Cycle:

Program funding applications are available once each year in June and are due in September. Selected community recipients attend a program administration workshop in the winter after program funding announcements are made in November.

Eligible Entities:

Communities. Nonprofits or for-profits are encouraged to work with communities as grant administrators.

Key Statistics for Fiscal Year 2006:  July 1, 2005 – June 30, 2006

 Awarded $1.7 million to seven communities for rehabilitating 104 homes.

Currently, 23 communities are implementing affordable owner-occupied housing rehabilitation programs with approximately $5 million of HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding.

Contact Information:

Trish McAllister
Homeowner Rehabiliation Program Manager
611 S. Kansas Avenue, Suite 300
Topeka, Kansas 66603-3803
Phone: (785) 296-6836
Fax: (785) 291-3215

Related Programs:

Emergency Repair Program
Kansas Accessibility Modification Program
Weatherization Assistance Program

More Program Info

HR Program Forms
HR Related Links
HR Grantees

HOME Program Description