IQ Fifty Plus Guide

Leading an Active Life

Funding Home Adaptations or Accessible Housing

A number of programs exist at the national, state, and local level that provide design or financial assistance to help persons with disabilities either modify existing homes or locate and purchase or rent accessible housing. Identifying the programs for which you may qualify and which are available in your geographical location can be a daunting task. The resources on this page may help you get started.

Locating Potential Funding Assistance

Though grant, loan and assistance programs may be funded at the federal level or state level, application for and delivery of service frequently takes place at the local level. The following articles, even where written about a particular project or a particular state, offer an overview of the typical available resources and search/application processes.

“Housing Information You Can Use” is a booklet published by The Cape Organization for Rights of the Disabled (CORD), an independent living center. It provides a good overview of how to locate and finance accessible housing.
“How to Pay for It?” from Infinitec.org discusses various potential sources of funding assistance for home modifications and provides links where available.
Informed Consumer's Guide to Funding Assistive Technology from ABLEDATA provides helpful information for how and where to search for funding resources for accessible or adaptive housing and modifications. It also lists specific resources for each state and provides links where possible.
Movin' Out, Inc. provides information and assistance, housing counseling, and financial help for purchase and rehabilitation for people with disabilities and their families in Wisconsin.

Sample Funding Agencies or Programs

The following sites represent a sample of some programs available nationwide.

Fannie Mae has mortgage loan products designed to meet the special needs of people with disabilities or the needs of people who have family members with disabilities living with them. These mortgage loans include the Community HomeChoice™ program, which offers “greater flexibility in qualifying and underwriting standards; and acceptance of nontraditional credit histories.” Community HomeChoice™ Loans are offered through Fannie-Mae-approved lenders and agencies or coalitions. Fannie Mae’s booklet, A Home of Your Own Guide, which is a resource for loan educators, can be directly useful to consumers as well.

Rural Housing Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a number of direct loan and grant programs to enable rural Americans to own a home or to repair a home. Several programs are specifically designed for persons who have disabilities, are elderly, have low income, or a combination of these factors.

On its extensive website, HUD, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, has created a special section for persons with disabilities that provides links to relevant information about various programs offered by HUD.

The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance allows individuals to search its database to identify a variety of federal assistance for which they may qualify. The catalog contains programs that are available through state and local government and private agencies as well as direct programs.

IQ links to sites provided by a variety of sources. We review sites for credibility and reliability, but IQ, of course, can't control advertising and other links on these sites. We advise ignoring pop-up ads, links to sales of products or services, and the like.