HOME Investment Partnerships
Created by the National Affordable Housing Act of 1990, the HOME Investment Partnership Program — setup to assist households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median —is designed as a partnership among the Federal government, state and local governments and those in the for-profit and non-profit sectors who build, own, manage, finance and support low-income housing initiatives. The program provides state and local governments great flexibility on how they choose to use the funds.
The primary intent of the HOME program is to:
- Expand the supply of decent, safe, sanitary and affordable housing, primarily rental housing
- Strengthen the abilities of state and local governments to provide housing
- Assure that federal housing services, financing and other investments are provided to state and local governments in a coordinated, supportive fashion
HOME can be used for a limited number of activities, including:
- Purchase or rehabilitation assistance to eligible homeowners and new homebuyers
- Construction or rehabilitation of rental or homeownership housing, and "other reasonable and necessary expenses related to the development of non-luxury housing," including site acquisition or improvement, demolition of dilapidated housing to make way for HOME-assisted development, and payment of relocation expenses.
- HOME funds may also be used to provide tenant-based rental assistance (TBRA) to eligible households for up to 2 years.
In Montgomery County, HOME funds are included in the Combined Request for Proposals (RFP) issued by the Human Services Levy Council and Homeless Solutions Policy Board. The RFP covers emergency shelter and services for homeless persons, rental assistance for homeless and formerly homeless individuals and families, transitional housing, affordable housing, permanent supportive housing (PSH), homelessness prevention, and supportive services.
Following issuance of the annual RFP, proposals for projects are accepted until the identified deadline. The proposals are reviewed, and recommendations are made to the County Commissioners.