HOME-ARP Housing Assistance Program: Cities and states across the country are opening some of their final application rounds this year for the HOME-ARP housing assistance program, a $5 billion federal fund created to help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness find stable housing before the money runs out. St. Louis, Iowa, Minnesota, Rochester and Pennsylvania have all launched new 2026 funding rounds in recent months, and more local governments are expected to follow as a federal spending deadline of September 30, 2030 draws closer and pressure builds to commit the remaining dollars.

According to the most recent federal budget review, more than $5.2 billion in HOME Investment Partnerships funding, which includes HOME-ARP dollars, remained undisbursed nationally, a figure that has drawn attention from housing advocates who argue the program needs to move faster to reach people who qualify. We’ll be updating this article monthly as new HOME-ARP funding rounds, HUD guidance, and local application deadlines are announced across the country. This guide breaks down what the program actually pays for, who qualifies, how to apply where your local program is still accepting applications, and what could happen if the money isn’t spent in time.

What Is the HOME-ARP Housing Assistance Program?

HOME-ARP stands for the HOME Investment Partnerships Program – American Rescue Plan. Congress created it under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and gave the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development a one-time, $5 billion pool of funding to distribute by formula to Participating Jurisdictions, meaning states, counties and cities that already administer the regular HOME program. Unlike ongoing federal housing programs that get refunded every year, HOME-ARP was a single appropriation, and once a jurisdiction’s allocation is spent or the 2030 deadline passes, there is no new round of national funding behind it.

HUD detailed the rules for spending this money in Notice CPD-21-10, which remains the primary rulebook that every state and city allocation plan must follow. That notice, combined with the HOME program’s existing regulations at 24 CFR Part 93, sets the eligibility categories, income rules and reporting requirements that apply no matter which city or state is administering the funds.

HOME-ARP Housing Assistance Program Key Highlights and Dates

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Who Qualifies: The Four HOME-ARP Populations

Eligibility for HOME-ARP is based on housing circumstances rather than a single income cutoff, though income limits do apply to specific activities like rental housing. Federal rules define four qualifying populations:

The first category covers people currently experiencing homelessness under the federal definition, which includes those in shelters, transitional housing or unsheltered locations. The second covers people at risk of homelessness, meaning their income and housing situation make losing stable housing likely in the near term. The third category includes individuals and families fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking or human trafficking. The fourth is a broader “other populations” category for households that need supportive services or housing assistance to prevent homelessness or address a high risk of housing instability, which some jurisdictions have used to cover veterans, youth aging out of foster care, or households displaced by disaster.

Each Participating Jurisdiction may prioritize certain populations within its own allocation plan, so eligibility rules can look slightly different depending on where you live. St. Louis, for example, recently tied part of its 2026 funding round to residents affected by a May tornado who also meet one of the four federal categories, while Toledo has proposed prioritizing supportive services funding specifically for people experiencing homelessness.

What the Money Can Actually Pay For?

HOME-ARP funds four broad categories of eligible activity, and this is where most of the “housing assistance” reaches individuals and families directly.

Tenant-based rental assistance, often shortened to TBRA, provides a monthly rental subsidy directly tied to a household so they can rent housing in the private market rather than waiting for a dedicated unit to open up. Affordable rental housing development funds new construction, acquisition or rehabilitation of rental units that must be set aside for qualifying populations for a set affordability period. Supportive services cover a wide range of non-housing help, including case management, child care, transportation, mental health services, legal aid, and security or utility deposits that help someone hold onto housing once they have it. Non-congregate shelter funds the purchase or conversion of properties, such as hotels or single-occupancy units, into private shelter space that offers more privacy and stability than traditional group shelters.

A portion of each jurisdiction’s allocation, generally capped by federal rule, also covers administrative costs and planning activities needed to run the program responsibly.

How to Apply for HOME-ARP Assistance?

Because HOME-ARP is not a single national application, there is no one central portal where an individual applies directly to HUD. Instead, funding flows to your local Participating Jurisdiction, and from there to nonprofit organizations, housing developers, and service providers who deliver assistance to eligible households.

For most renters and individuals seeking direct help, the practical path is to contact your local continuum of care, public housing agency, or the community development or housing department for your city or county government, since these are usually the entities that hold the contracts with HOME-ARP funded service providers. For developers and nonprofit agencies, the application process runs through a competitive Notice of Funding Availability or Request for Proposals published by the Participating Jurisdiction, similar to the rounds currently open in Iowa, Minnesota, St. Louis and Rochester.

Because each jurisdiction sets its own timeline, checking your specific state housing finance agency or city housing department website is the most reliable way to find an open application window, since many of the remaining rounds nationally are opening and closing within a matter of weeks in 2026 as the 2030 deadline approaches.

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Processing Time for HOME-ARP Applications

Processing time depends heavily on whether you are applying as an individual seeking supportive services or rental assistance through a local provider, or as a developer or nonprofit applying for a competitive grant round.

Individual requests for supportive services or tenant-based rental assistance through an already-funded local provider are often processed within a few weeks, since the underlying HOME-ARP contract and eligibility screening process are already in place. Competitive funding rounds for developers and nonprofit agencies take considerably longer. Recent 2026 rounds, such as Iowa’s application window running from May 15 through July 10, 2026, and St. Louis’s supportive services NOFA with a June 5, 2026 deadline, typically involve several months between the application deadline and formal award announcements, followed by additional time to execute legal agreements before funds can be drawn down.

Payment Schedule and Current 2026 Funding by State

Funding amounts vary widely depending on each jurisdiction’s original HOME-ARP allocation and how much of it remains uncommitted. The table below reflects some of the most recently reported allocation and application figures for active or recently closed 2026 rounds.

Estimate Your Potential Rental Assistance

For households applying for HOME-ARP tenant-based rental assistance, the subsidy amount generally follows the same federal formula used across HUD rental assistance programs: a household typically pays about 30 percent of its monthly adjusted income toward rent and utilities, and the program covers the difference up to the actual rent and a utility allowance set by the local housing agency. The interactive calculator below applies that standard formula so you can estimate a potential monthly subsidy before contacting a local provider. Actual amounts are determined by your local Participating Jurisdiction and may include additional adjustments for household size, deductions and local rent limits.

Rental Assistance Payment Estimator

What Happens If the Money Isn’t Spent by 2030?

The federal deadline is not a soft target. Under HUD’s guidance, any HOME-ARP funds not fully expended by September 30, 2030 are subject to reduction or recapture by the U.S. Treasury, meaning a jurisdiction could permanently lose access to dollars it never committed to a project. This risk is part of why 2026 has become such an active year for new funding rounds nationally, since most Participating Jurisdictions need several years of runway to plan, award, and complete rental housing construction projects before the deadline arrives.

The most recent federal budget review also cited the sizable pool of undisbursed HOME Investment Partnerships funding, including HOME-ARP dollars, as part of a broader argument against creating additional recurring HOME funding, a debate that housing policy groups continue to push back on. Whether Congress extends the deadline, provides additional flexibility, or leaves the 2030 cutoff in place will directly affect how much of the original $5 billion actually reaches households before the program closes out.

Official HOME-ARP Resources

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FAQs About HOME-ARP Housing Assistance Program

Conclusion

The HOME-ARP housing assistance program is entering its final and arguably most consequential stretch, with billions of dollars still uncommitted nationally and a hard federal deadline of September 30, 2030 approaching. For renters and individuals who may qualify, the most effective next step is contacting a local continuum of care, public housing agency, or city housing department directly, since eligibility rules and available funding differ by location. For nonprofits and developers, 2026 has brought a fresh wave of competitive funding rounds in states including Iowa, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Missouri, giving organizations a limited but real opportunity to secure funding before the program closes out. This article will continue to be updated monthly as new state and city funding rounds open and as any changes to the federal deadline are announced.

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