Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced two historic Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) that will make homes healthier and safer for low-income families. With this investment, since 1993, HUD has made more than $2.7 billion available to protect children, families, and individuals from exposure to lead and other hazards in their homes.
“Everyone in this country deserves to feel safe and healthy in their homes,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “We are proud to continue fulfilling commitments made under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Lead Pipe and Paint Action Plan, including the new funding opportunities we have announced. These efforts will protect children, babies, and families from lead exposure, which can be detrimental at even low levels, and other home health hazards.”
The first NOFO provides over $403 million in grants to state and local governments for improving health and safety in privately-owned older (pre-1978) homes of low-income families under HUD’s Lead Hazard Reduction Grant Program – one of the largest health and safety investments to date for privately-owned housing. These funds will allow for evaluating and mitigating threats from lead-based paint hazards, with almost $10 million from HUD’s Healthy Homes Supplemental funding supporting grantees’ controlling additional housing-related health and safety hazards in those homes.
The second funding notice provides $165 million in grants to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) for improving health and safety in public housing. The grants represent the combination of the Housing-related Hazards Capital Fund and the Lead-Based Paint Capital Fund (HRHLBP) Programs and are the largest health and safety grant investment to date for public housing. This funding is available for evaluating and mitigating threats to public housing residents, such as lead-based paint, carbon monoxide, mold, radon, fire, and asbestos. This newly combined grant program (HRHLBP) has the added benefits of greater efficiency and timeliness for the PHAs and their public housing residents.
State and local governments have until March 14, 2023, to apply for the $403 million Lead Hazard Reduction NOFO; PHAs have until April 13, 2023, to apply for the $165 million HRHLBP NOFO, both, through Grants.gov. HUD encourages eligible applicants to apply and has made this funding available earlier in the fiscal year with more time for applicants to apply in order to facilitate a diverse set of applications.
