Healthy Homes Grant: $97.85M to Fix Housing Health Hazards (FY 2026)

HUD's Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes has opened the FY 2026 Healthy Homes Production Grant Program (HHP) — $97.85 million for cities, counties, states, tribes, and 501(c)(3) nonprofits to identify and remediate housing health and safety hazards (mold, radon, pests, carbon monoxide, injury risks) in low-income homes. That's more than double the program's last round ($40 million in FY 2024), it adds a new $5 million Weatherization Supplemental, and roughly 25 awards of $1.5–$4 million are on the table. Applications are due through Grants.gov by August 31, 2026 — and if you won an FY 2024 HHP grant, stop here: prior-round awardees are ineligible this cycle.

What Is Healthy Homes Production?

HHP is the whole-house sibling of HUD's lead programs: instead of tackling one hazard at a time, grantees assess homes against the eight Healthy Homes Principles and remediate what they find — mold and moisture, radon, pests, carbon monoxide, injury and fall hazards, and other housing-related health risks — in privately owned rental and owner-occupied homes where children, older adults (62+), or persons with disabilities live. OLHCHH expects an average per-unit cost of $15,000–$20,000, covering assessment, contractor labor, interventions, and follow-up. Last offered in FY 2024 at $40 million, the program has more than doubled for FY 2026.

Who Can Apply

• States, counties, and city or township governments
• Federally recognized Indian tribes
• 501(c)(3) nonprofits (IRS determination letter required at application; institutions of higher education excluded)
• Consortia of multiple organizations or local governments, with one eligible lead applicant responsible for compliance

Three exclusions to check before you invest any effort: FY 2024 HHP awardees are ineligible this round, for-profit organizations are out, and a department that doesn't report through a direct chain of command to the jurisdiction's chief executive must cite the statute establishing it as part of the government. If your primary goal is lead work, note that HUD directs those applicants to the separately published Lead Hazard Reduction program — under HHP, lead activities may use interim controls only and cannot be the principal focus.

What the Money Funds

At least 65% of grant funds must go to direct healthy homes costs: comprehensive assessments, hazard remediation, and directly supporting activities. That includes:

• Testing for allergens, carbon monoxide, radon, and other hazards — lead samples must go to EPA NLLAP-recognized labs, mold samples to EMLAP-accredited labs
• Radon: results at or above 4.0 pCi/L require a mitigation plan in the Environmental Review Record; ANSI/AARST testing standards are strongly recommended
• Temporary relocation during remediation — HUD expects most stays of 10 days or fewer; longer requires HUD approval
• Soft project costs — intake, work write-ups, construction management, relocation logistics
• Resident supplies tied to identified hazards (low-toxicity cleaning supplies, IPM kits, safety items) and up to 1% for training activities

Administrative costs — direct and indirect, including subrecipients' — are capped at 10%.

The New Weatherization Supplemental

New for FY 2026: an optional $100,000–$350,000 supplement (from a $5M pool) for weatherization activities — energy efficiency, moisture control, ventilation — carried out in the same units receiving HHP remediation. The catch is coordination paperwork: your application must include statements committing to coordinated weatherization in the target area and a letter of commitment from an official of your local DOE Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) provider. Miss any piece and HUD simply reviews you for base HHP funding only. Those materials don't count against your page limit — but the WAP provider's letter takes lead time to obtain, so start that conversation immediately.

Leverage, Not Match — and How It Scores

HHP requires no cost share, but every applicant must commit leverage equal to at least 10% of the federal request, documented by letters of commitment stating amount, source, and use. Exceeding the floor earns points: over 10–14% adds 1 point, over 14–15% adds 2, and over 15% adds 3. Know the source rules:

• Counts: state, tribal, and local funds — including CDBG (statutorily treated as state/local money) — private contributions, foundation funds, verified property-owner contributions, donations at market rates, vendor discounts (the discounted portion), and third-party in-kind services
• Doesn't count: other federal funds — HOME, IHBG, and Weatherization Assistance Program dollars are all explicitly out

What HHP Cannot Fund

• Purchase of real property, or demolition and replacement of housing units
• Equipment over $10,000 per unit — with exactly one exception, a single XRF analyzer dedicated to the grant
• Lead hazard work as the principal focus, or abatement without prior HUD approval (interim controls are the default)
• Chelation or other medical treatment for children with elevated blood lead levels
• Stand-alone education, behavioral-change activities, or "drop-off" safety kits not paired with actual remediation
• Homes covered by lead-rule settlements or consent decrees; activities violating the Coastal Barrier Resources Act
• Homes in FEMA special flood hazard areas unless the community participates in NFIP and flood insurance is in place
• Duct cleaning (outside EPA's narrow guidance) and full-home rehab for behavior-caused contamination (small meth-related cleanups are allowed)
• Replacing existing resources already dedicated to ongoing projects

How Applications Are Scored

Applications are scored on a 102-point scale, with 70 points minimum to be considered for funding — and the narrative response to the rating factors is capped at 15 double-spaced pages (12-point Times New Roman; anything beyond the limit is not reviewed):

• Rating Factor 1 — Applicant and Partner Capacity (43 points): key personnel (15) — a Project Director and a Program Manager who must dedicate at least 50% of their time to the grant, with 3-page résumés attached; program administration and oversight (13), including 3 points for naming who performs the tiered environmental review — nonprofits without a governmental Responsible Entity should expect a ~45-day project delay; partner capacity (4); contractor procurement (1); and relevant organizational experience in the last three years (10)
• Rating Factor 2 — Need (30 points): a hazard-priority narrative (20) plus specific target-area data: six demographic elements — including childhood asthma prevalence and AMI distribution — and housing condition data, each with cited public sources. HUD verifies against Census, AHS, and HUD User data, and warns against data that bleeds into neighboring jurisdictions
• Rating Factor 3 — Financial Management (25 points): the HUD-424-CBW budget worksheet (8), a budget narrative separating the 65% direct / 10% admin / 10% leverage math (8), financial accountability incl. recapture provisions (6), and extra leverage (3)
• Section 3 plan (2 points) and Opportunity Zone preference (2 points via form HUD-2996, requiring at least 50% of the award spent in a zone)

Submission Mechanics

1. SAM.gov and Grants.gov: both registrations active, with a UEI — allow several weeks. Paper waivers must be requested at least 15 days before the deadline.
2. Deadline: 11:59:59 PM ET, August 31, 2026. There's a 24-hour grace period only for fixing a Grants.gov rejection of a timely submission — expired registrations and password problems don't qualify.
3. Required attachments beyond the forms: rating factor narrative, budget narrative, résumés/position descriptions, Consolidated Plan lead element (or plan to develop one), Certification of Consistency with the Consolidated Plan (HUD-2991 — consult your Community Planning and Development office early), code of conduct if not on HUD's list, and nonprofit determination letters where applicable.
4. Technical errors (missing forms, signature issues) can be fixed after the deadline when HUD notices you — the email subject line must read "Technical Fix" with your Grants.gov tracking number. Substantive content cannot be added late.

Timeline and Post-Award Reality

HUD anticipates awards around September 21, 2026, with the 42-month period of performance starting November 2. Plan for the operational commitments: key personnel performing within 60 days of award (Program Manager in place within 90), two HUD trainings in year one (New Grantee Orientation and Program Manager School, two key staff each) and one per year after, quarterly-style progress and SF-425 financial reporting, race/ethnicity beneficiary data, annual audited financials, and Section 3 compliance for any project exceeding $150,000. Unsuccessful applicants can request a debriefing up to 120 days after awards are announced — worth doing before the FY 2027 round.

Practical Guidance for FY 2026 Applicants

• Confirm eligibility first: if your jurisdiction won FY 2024 HHP funds, this round is out — but a consortium led by a neighboring eligible jurisdiction may not be.
• Request the WAP provider letter today if you want the Weatherization Supplemental — it's the one item you can't produce yourself, and without it you're reviewed for base funding only.
• Mind the 50% Program Manager rule. A named PM at half-time-or-more is worth real points; a vague staffing plan is not. Unfilled roles need job announcements in the appendix.
• Build the demographic table exactly as requested — six elements, sources cited, target-area-only. HUD explicitly warns against data overlapping other jurisdictions.
• Do the three-way budget math early: 65% direct costs minimum, 10% admin maximum (including subrecipient admin and indirect), 10% leverage minimum — and push leverage past 15% if you can document it, for 3 extra points.
• Local governments: name your environmental review lead. The tiered Part 58 review is a scored item and a schedule driver — identify the responsible person and their organization in the application.

Contact Information

• Program questions: Sacsheen S. Scott, olhchh.nofa@hud.gov, (202) 402-4370
• Grants.gov support: 800-518-4726 (24/7) or support@grants.gov
• SAM.gov help: 866-606-8220

How Avila Can Help

An HHP application is a documentation exercise on a deadline: a 15-page narrative against a 102-point rubric, a three-way budget test, leverage letters, a WAP commitment, and a stack of HUD forms. Avila helps cities, counties, and their nonprofit partners find opportunities like this early, decode NOFO requirements, and draft competitive, compliant responses. Book a demo to see how housing and health teams use Avila on exactly this kind of application.

For related federal-grant guides, see our posts on the FY 2026 Lead Hazard Reduction program (same office, same deadline), the HUD Continuum of Care competition, and HUD PHA capital funding. For registration prerequisites, see SAM.gov registration and Grants.gov registration.