The Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources (DEHCR) prioritizes homeownership and the preservation of quality owner-occupied housing when allocating federal and state housing resources. Through funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), DEHCR supports programs that assist low- and moderate-income households with home purchases, rehabilitation, and essential improvements.
Funds are awarded biennially to local governments and housing organizations across Wisconsin.
Eligible Activities
Homebuyer Assistance: Direct assistance may be provided to eligible homebuyers for acquisition (down payment and closing costs), acquisition and rehabilitation, or new construction. Grantees may utilize the funds to construct housing for sale to low- and moderate-income (LMI) homebuyers earning at or below 80% of the County Median Income).
Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation: Funding is available for essential improvements to single-family homes that serve as the principal residence of LMI homeowners. Eligible costs include energy-related improvements, accessibility improvements, lead-based paint hazard reduction, and code violation repairs.
Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDO)
A Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) is a special designation for nonprofit housing developers that meet criteria set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The CHDO designation may provide particular benefits to the organization as it develops and/or operates housing. An organization, which is designated as a CHDO can potentially qualify for special project funds, operating funds, and technical assistance associated with a project, and may be eligible to retain project proceeds.
To qualify as a CHDO, an organization must:
- Include in its charter, resolutions, or by-laws, a statement that among its purposes is the development of decent housing that is affordable to low- and moderate-income persons.
- Be community-based, with at least one-third of its board representing low-income residents.
- Be created by a public body provided the nonprofit is not controlled by the public body, therefore, no more than one-third of the board may be public officials.
- Meet requirements to maintain accountability to low-income community residents.
- Show a demonstrated history and capacity for carrying out housing development in the geographic area that the organization serves.
For Homebuyer development the CHDO is considered a "developer" and must own, develop and sell the new housing including arranging financing and being responsible for construction.
Interested in becoming a CHDO?
A non-profit interested in being designated as a CHDO needs to submit the required documentation to verify legal status, organization structure, capacity and the relationship to for-profit entities when applying for HOME HHR funds.
This program is administered by the Division of Energy, Housing and Community Resources within the Wisconsin Department of Administration, and is funded by HUD’s HOME Investment Partnerships Program.
