Comprehensive Housing Counseling (CHC) and the Housing Counseling Training (HCT) NOFO (FY2026)

The purpose of HUD’s Housing Counseling Grant Program is to provide funds to HUD-approved housing counseling agencies that provide counseling and advice to tenants and homeowners, with respect to property maintenance, financial management and literacy, and other matters as may be appropriate to assist program clients in improving their housing conditions, meeting their financial needs, and fulfilling the responsibilities of tenancy or homeownership. This NOFO plays an integral role in helping individuals and families obtain housing and stay in their homes through sustainable homeownership or affordable rental housing. Housing counseling agencies are an important safeguard in the prevention of housing scams and discrimination and serve as an important gateway to local, state, federal and private housing assistance and resources.

1. Eligible applicants for the CHC award under this NOFO must satisfy the following criteria. Applicant must be approved to participate in the HUD Housing Counseling Program prior to the NOFO issue date. In addition, SHFAs are eligible for this NOFO if they possess statutory authority to provide housing counseling throughout their entire state and adhere to all program requirements outlined in 24 CFR Part 214, HUD Handbook 7610.1, and other governing policies and requirements.2. Eligible applicants for the HCT awards under this NOFO must satisfy the following criteria. Be a non-profit organization, other than an institution of higher education with at least two years of experience providing housing counseling training services nationwide to housing counselors employed by housing counseling agencies participating in HUD"s Housing Counseling Program.3. Limits on Applicants. Applicants and Subgrantees are prohibited from receiving FY 2025 Housing Counseling Program grant funding from multiple sources. For example, receiving funding under this NOFO as both a direct Grantee (e.g. LHCA) and as a Subgrantee of an Intermediary or SHFA is prohibited. Likewise, receiving funding under this NOFO as a Subgrantee of two different Intermediaries/SHFAs is prohibited.4. Affiliations. Subgrantees must maintain the same network affiliation for all awards under this NOFO. For example, a Subgrantee that receives a subgrant from an Intermediary, SHFA, or MSO for the FY 2025 Comprehensive Housing Counseling NOFO cannot receive a subgrant from a different Intermediary, SHFA, or MSO for the FY 2025 MSI Initiative. HUD may grant approval for different network affiliations on a case-by-case basis.5. CHC MSI Initiative Award Additional Eligibility Requirement. Applicants wishing to apply for this award must also submit an application for the Comprehensive Housing Counseling NOFO. See Section I.B.3. Individuals, foreign entities, and sole proprietorship organizations are not eligible to compete for, or receive, awards made under this announcement.

1. Applicants will be reviewed based on eligibility requirements stated in the NOFO. A technical sufficiency review will determine whether the applicants meet the threshold requirements set forth in this program and whether all required forms have been properly submitted. Procedures on correcting a deficient application are stated in the NOFO. 2. The merit review will evaluate the responses to each rating factor and other relevant information. Applications will be evaluated competitively and ranked against other Applicants.

Match: none required (federal program listing). This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details. There is no MOE requirement.

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