§12872 Planning Grants

Summary

The Secretary may give planning grants to help people create homeownership programs. Each grant cannot be more than $200,000 unless the Secretary approves a larger amount for good cause. Grant money can pay for things like setting up resident management groups, training and technical help, feasibility studies, required lead-paint inspections (per section 4822(a)), early architectural or engineering work, tenant and homebuyer counseling, planning for job training and economic self-sufficiency, security plans, and preparing an application for an implementation grant. To get a grant, an applicant must apply in the form the Secretary requires and include at least: a request that lists the activities, schedule, staff, and amount needed; a description of the applicant and its qualifications; details about the property and the tenants (including family size and income); a certification from the public official who files the comprehensive housing affordability strategy (or, in the first 12 months after November 28, 1990, another approved local or state housing plan) that the activities fit the approved plan; and a promise to follow the Fair Housing Act, title VI of the Civil Rights Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Age Discrimination Act and to affirmatively further fair housing. The Secretary will pick winners using rules that look at the applicant’s qualifications, tenant interest, likelihood of a successful affordable program and property suitability, national geographic diversity, and any other appropriate factors.