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Loading...There are over 182 Illinois home repairs grants, home improvement grants and resources available to low income homeowner families and individuals in 2024.
This article provides you with all the main home repair programs offered throughout the State of Illinois as well as programs very close to where you live.
Updated: April 25, 2024
Who provide grants for home repairs in Illinois?
There are 4 main sources of financial assistance for home improvement in Illinois:
You can review the Federal and the State of Illinois free home repair grants but ultimately your county, city and local community organisation are the ones you need to contact and where you apply for funding.
Who is eligible for government home improvement grant?
In Illinois in general all homeowners are eligible to home improvement and repairs grants and assistance (you can find them all in this article). In reality, because the needs are so big, some groups like seniors, veterans, disable and low-income households are given priority. Even in those case, you need to apply as soon as possible because funds are limited.
So it’s often first arrived first served basis: apply early.
Each programs have their own eligibility, so you need to verify with programs in your area to see info you meet the income eligibility level.
Can I get a $10,000 grant for home improvement?
Can you get a $10,000 grant for home improvement? Quick answer is yes. Find on this page all the information you need for home improvement programs by the State of Illinois, by cities and by counties. Learn: how much they provide, if you’re eligible and where to apply.
Which free grants for homeowners for repairs exist?
In general in Illinois all repair and improvement help with:
- – Make sure your home does not harm its residents’ health.
- – Make sure your home structure is sound and may not hurt its resident.
- – Help seniors and disabled residents stay in their homes longer and safer.
More precisely the following work and repair are usually covered by home improvement grants programs in Illinois:
- – Roof: Grants for roof placement or repair. Also our Guide to repair or change your roof.
- – Windows & doors: Windows replacement grants and exterior doors. We have also a Windows Replacement Guide
- – Foundations: Foundation repair grants and programs usually covers home foundation repairs.
- – Electrical & plumbing : Grants for electrical repair and plumbing assistance repairs are covered as long as they bring your home electrical and plumbing up to the local code.
- – Heating & cooling: Some States and Counties have heating grants and cooling programs to bring your system up to living standards.
- – Lead paints & pipes plus asbestos: Most programs cover the removal and change of lead and asbestos materials dangerous to your health.
- – Sewers and water line: Most home improvement grant programs cover funds to have your home connected to your town water and sewer system and in other cases to your well or septic tank.
- – Home structure: In some cases, if your home structure is no longer safe, programs will help with fixing the home structural problems. Note: in some cases the cost may be too high to fix and another program can help get a new one.
- – Home remodeling: In some cases a home can be remodeled if they need major repairs as long as the cost is not prohibitive. Since the total amount vary by program you have to verify on this page for programs in your area.
- – Bathroom remodeling: Some programs let you remodel a bathroom in order to bring them to sanitary and health standard.
- – Home modifications for seniors: There are multiple programs to modify seniors’ homes to help them living longer independently at home. Common modification are ramps, handle bars, bathrooms modification and kitchen are adaptations. You can find those resources in our resource for senior home modifications.
Confused about home improvement programs terms?
It can be confusing to understand the terms. Lots of different organizations have different words for the same type of help programs: home improvement grant, home repair grants, programs, free grants, relief service, repair assistance, etc. They are all synonyms of programs designed to help low and moderate income homeowners repair and fix important element of their house.
What types of free grants for homeowners for repairs are in Illinois?
Home repair programs comes in many form but they are usually in the 5 types:
Home Repair Grants & Home Improvement Grants: Typically grants don’t need to be repaid. The organization providing the funding covers the cost of the work and you don’t pay anything back.
Volunteers and charities home repairs: Some organizations rely on volunteers to repair your home so there’s no cost to you.
Home improvement loans: These are traditional loans where you have to repay a fix amount monthly but they are usually with a lower than normal interest rate.
Home improvement loans paid at term: It’s a traditional loan paid back in full only when you leave or sell your home. This mean you have nothing to pay monthly. The organization offering these loans usually take a lien on your home to be certain to be paid in the future.
Forgivable home improvement loans: It’s a traditional loans but you do have to pay it back monthly. Instead after a few years the organization forgive your loan.
Note: In some rare case you may find yourself with a mix of the types above. In all cases the important is you get help to fix your home and keep it secured and a place for you to live in a safe and healthy home.
HUD (Urban Housing Department) (2 programs)
HUD is the federal agency funding the Illinois’ housing agencies: in counties and cities. HUD have many programs from home buyer help, renter help, homeowners funding among many for home repairs and improvements.
2 loans programs helps people renovate, rehabilitate or improve their home (mobile homes included). Both are loan insurances for Illinois’ homeowners who couldn’t otherwise get a loan:
Rehabilitation and repair loan (insurance): Known as “Title I Property Improvement Loan Program”, it helps you if you have not enough equity for a traditional loan, and the FHA (part of HUD) insure your loan for your lender.
- – House Loan amount limit: $25,000
- – Mobile home Loan amount limit: $25,090
203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance: This a special FHA loan that allows you to finance both the purchase or refinancing of a house and the cost of renovations into a single mortgage.
- – Limited 203k loan: Projects less than $35,000.
- – Standard 203k loan: Projects over $35,000.
In both Tittle 1 and 203(k), the money for the renovations is put in an escrow account and is only released to the contractor when the work is completed and inspected by a qualified professional. This helps ensure that the renovations are done properly and that the money is used for its intended purpose. It protects both the lender and you the homeowner.
Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) (2 programs)
IHDA Provides assistance for you to repair your home with 2 programs:
Home Accessibility Program (HRAP): Provides funding to local governments and non-profit organizations for home accessibility grants to their local residents. These grants help people stay in their homes and prevent premature or unnecessary institutionalization of the elderly and people with disabilities.
Eligible homeowners can receive up to $45,000 for eligible repairs and/or accessibility improvements, while homeowners participating in the Roof Only option may receive up to $21,500.
Assistance is provided to homeowners in the form of a 5- or 3-year forgivable loan.
Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund Home Repair Program (HAFHR): The program provides funding to local government and non-profit organizations to help homeowners make necessary repairs to their homes. IHDA does not directly fund homeowners.
Eligible critical home repairs can be up to $60,000 per household. The home repair grants carry a 3-year forgivable agreement.
You can find your local Illinois’ participating organisation.
Habitat for Humanity (15 programs)
Habitat rehabilitates houses for families and people in need with volunteers. Habitat may be able to help with home repairs and updates to make your home safer. This organization relies on you, or some neighbors if you’re elderly, to put some of the work into your home repairs. You can apply through Habitat to learn about help available in your area.
Habitat for Humanity ReStores (24 resources)
ReStores in Illinois provide discounted used, surplus building materials, appliances and furniture.
Rebuilding Together (7 programs)
Rebuilding Together Illinois (RT) provide free home repair to low income homeowners and seniors. RT is active Chicago Metro area, Northern Chicago, Aurora, Peoria, Southern Illinois and Henry county plus Stephenson county.
Illinois Community Action Agencies (103 resources)
These non-profits are located throughout the state and they provide many services to residents. For homeowners, all of them offer weatherization services, LIHEAP. They also provide home modifications for seniors and disabled resident and most of them regularly offer emergency home repair services through third parties.
Find your local agency for help.
Illinois Weatherization Program 2024 (2 programs)
Window replacement can be done for homeowners with 4 different programs. You can find a more complete article on Illinois window replacement programs.
WAP: Weatherization Assistant Program (WAP) is funded by the Federal but managed locally. It help improve or change windows for energy efficient ones at no cost. It also pay for attic insulation and ventilation, repair or replace broken heating, cooling and water heaters, as well as many other small work to improve your home energy efficiency.
| Spent per Home | Homes Weatherized | Budget | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois |
$8,000 |
11,228 | $127M |
Find the program detail and contact your local organisation managing WAP.
LIHEAP: This program is mostly to help pay your heating and cooling cost but it may also help fix, repair or replace broken windows for energy efficient ones.
Find more info about the program eligibility and your local organisation managing LIHEAP.
Free Roof Replacement Grants (many programs)
Major storms, snow and ice often damage roofs, and Illinois have lots of programs covering roof replacement assistance. There’s no one specific program only for roof but most programs on this page include roof repair and replacement. The programs on this page cover roofs damages either in form of grants, interest free loans or low interest loans.
Verify if your City and County have a roof repair assistance program and if you live in a rural area the USDA can help you.
Once it’s time to find a roofer, our community selection of Illinois best roofers can help.
Seniors and Elders Help for Home Repairs
All official programs on this page cane be used by seniors, even if they are not for seniors only since they’re also free grants for seniors home repairs programs.
Question: Are home repair for senior citizens free?
Answer: Yes, usually, but it’s often different for each program. Some programs are 100% free while some other require a contribution and in other case. In most case they are free if the senior have a low income. You find your programs and your eligibility with the programs on this page.
For seniors programs only: You can contact your local Agency on Aging.
You can also call or contact the Senior Helpline here: 1-800-252-8966
You can also find specific programs for home modification for seniors.
Illinois Rural residents (1 program)
The USDA provide home improvement loans and government grants for home repairs to low-income homeowners in rural areas.
Who may apply for this program?
To qualify, you must:
- – Be the homeowner and occupy the house
- – Be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere
- – Have a family income below 50 percent of the area median income
- – For grants, be age 62 or older and not be able to repay a repair loan
What is an eligible area?
Applicants may check the address of their home to determine eligibility.
How may funds be used?
- Loans may be used to repair, improve or modernize housing or remove health and safety hazards
- Grants must be used to remove health and safety hazards
How much money can I get?
- – Maximum loan is $40,000
- – Maximum grant is $10,000
- – Loans and grants can be combined for up to $50,000 in payment assistance
What are the terms of the loan or grant?
- – Loans can be repaid over 20 years
- – Loan interest rate is fixed at 1%
- – Full title service is required for loans of $7,500 or more
- – Grants have a lifetime limit of $7,500
- – Grants must be repaid if the property is sold in less than 3 years
- – If applicants can repay part, but not all of the costs, applicants may be offered a loan and grant combination
Is there a deadline to apply?
Applications for this program are accepted through your local USDA’s RD office all year round
How long does an application take?
Approval times depend on funds availability in your area.
Counties & Cities Programs (28 programs)
Bond, Clinton, Marion and Washington Counties (1 program)
BCMW Community Services
Its Home Modification Program make forgivable loans to very-low and extremely-low income elderly and/or disabled persons to make the home more accessible and safe for them.
The program’s funds are for major rehabilitation work on owner-occupied properties in need of repairs and/or necessary work to bring these properties up the local building codes standards.
Champaign County
City of Champaign (3 programs)
Minor Home Repair: The program offer grants and forgivable deferred payment loans to eligible homeowners to correct housing deficiencies threatening the health or safety of the occupants or its structural integrity.
Major Home Repair: program provides grants and/or low interest loans to eligible homeowners in targeted areas to repair deteriorated homes. Renovations done through this program are for moderate to substantial rehabilitation.
Retrofit: This program eliminate barriers, modify the layout, or add structural accessories or improvements to the dwellings to make it more accessible for occupants with disabilities.
Cook County (4 programs)
There are a few Cook county home repair grants programs available in local communities. The city of Chicago have it’s own (see below), plus some suburbs also have their own programs (also see them below). The county usually partner with local non profit organization such as Rebuilding Together to offer its home repair programs.
City of Chicago (3 programs)
Roof and Porch Emergency Repairs: The program provides grants to owner-occupants of 1 to 4-unit residential buildings for improvements to their roof or porch. Because of the big demand for this program, residents need to signup and once a year there’s a lottery to pick the lucky winners.
Home repair: This program provides grants to income-eligible homeowners to repair health and safety issues for 1-to-4-unit residential property. The program covers:
- – Roof or porch repair or replacement.
- – Remediation of environmental health hazards, including mold, asbestos or lead remediation, flood control, air quality, or any other environmental issues that may be deemed as unhealthy conditions.
- – Small accessibility improvements or repairs to homes occupied by persons with disabilities.
Small Accessible repairs for Seniors: This program provides safety, security and accessibility improvements that help senior citizens to remain in their homes.
Repair types are limited to minor repairs not limited to: Grab bars, Lever faucets, Door repairs, Carbon monoxide detectors, Smoke detectors, Wheelchair ramps.
Suburban Cook County (1 program)
North West Housing Partnership
The repair program helps homeowners correct code violations and address long-overdue repairs that affect the health or safety of their families. Improvements include basic structural repairs, roof, doors & windows, electrical, plumbing, heating, and weatherization.
DuPage County (1 program)
Provides funding up to $15,000 to eligible homeowners for home repair and improvements to correct code violations, correct health and safety issues, provide accessibility improvements and fix system failures.
Find the eligibility criteria and eligible improvements.
Jackson, Monroe, Perry and Randolph Counties (1 program)
Western Egyptian EOC
The Weatherization Program enables low income families to permanently reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient. Here’s a partial list of work covered:
- – Air Sealing: caulking and sealing bypasses in the home’s thermal envelope.
- – Insulation: installing attics, walls, and foundations give your home the greatest thermal energy savings.
- – Health & Safety: Inspection of mechanical systems and existing AC units to make sure they are safe and functioning properly.
- – Ventilation for indoor air quality.
Kane County (1 program)
The Neighbor Project
Homeowners may receive funding in the amount of up to $4,999.00 in the form of a 3 year forgivable loan, and for certain activities, additional funding of up to $5,000.00 in the form of a deferred loan. See full list of eligible work on the application here.
Kate County, excluding cities of Aurora, Hampshire, Huntley and Montgomery (1 program)
Community Contacts Inc.
Housing Rehabilitation: This program provides grants and low interest loans for rehab projects to make homes safer and compliant with local housing standards. Grants are available to address lead-based hazards in homes. Up to $30,000 is generally available for homes.
Kendall County (1 program)
Seniors Services Associates
Home Rehab: The program rehabilitate seniors’ homes in order meet local housing codes and standards. Homeowners in Kane and DeKalb counties may be eligible for the program’s interest free, deferred loans to rehab their homes.
Lake County (3 programs)
Homeowner Rehabilitation: Homeowners with a house that needs repairs or accessibility improvements may be eligible for financial assistance. If the property is located in Waukegan, please contact the City of Waukegan, as it administers its own Homeowner Rehabilitation Program.
If your home is located elsewhere in Lake County, please contact the Community Partners.
Contact for Affordable Housing Department for more information.
Community Partners for Affordable Housing
Home repair program: Eligible homeowners may receive up to $40,000 to make necessary life-safety, health and accessibility repairs and improvements.
Repairs can include but are not limited to roofing, windows & doors, heating & cooling, electrical, plumbing, lead Based Paint, mold and asbestos remediation, kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, foundation and structural repairs.
In Lake County, assistance is structured as a 0%-interest forgivable loan with no monthly payments.
In Evanston, grant assistance may be structured as a 0%-interest forgivable loan with no monthly payments or as loan, depending on the program.
Home Accessibility Program: Grants of up to $20,000 are available for homeowners and renters. At least 50% of the work needs to be accessibility-related; the remaining funds can be used for other life-safety and health repairs.
Assistance is structured as a 0%-interest forgivable loan with no monthly payments. Grants are forgiven 1/60th each month (fully forgiven after 5 years in the home).
Eligible improvements: ramps, lifts, accessibility improvements to kitchens and bathrooms, flooring, widening doorways, grab bars, and other accessibility, health and safety improvements.
Madison County (1 program)
Home Repairs: Madison County Community Development partners with IMPACT provide accessibility ramps for disable residents. Madison County Community Development partners with Senior Services Plus to provide a small home repair program to help senior homeowners remain in their homes.
The county also offer a Wheatarisation program to help homeowners save on their energy consumption.
McHenry County (1 program)
Home Rehabilitation: The program assist low-income homeowners with Health, Safety, and accessibility issues in their home. Work cost under $3,000 qualify as no payment, no interest loans that will be forgiven over a five year recapture period. Work costing $3001 and over qualify as a no payment no interest deferred payment loan that must be paid in full upon the home’s sale.
McLean County (1 program)
City of Bloomington
Housing Rehabilitation Loans: The loans are available to income-qualified residents who are the owner/occupant of a single-family housing unit located within the city limits. Assistance is provided through a 0% interest, deferred payment loan up to $25,000.
Eligible repairs include but are not limited to structural and mechanical repairs, roof, windows, siding, gutters, electrical, plumbing, energy conservation and accessibility modifications. Housing issues affecting the health and safety of the occupants are addressed first.
Peoria County (1 program)
PCCEO
The county’s organisation provide a home rehab for eligible residents.
Rock Island, Whiteside, Carroll, Jo Daviess and Ogle Counties (2 programs)
Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation
Single Family Rehabilitation: The program offer up to $45,000 for critical home repairs that improve health and safety.
Home Accessibility: The program offer grants up to $25,000 to low-to-moderate income seniors and disabled residents in order to make home modifications and repairs, provided in many different forms and may include the addition of walk-in showers, installation of wheelchair ramps, fixing leaky roofs, and remodeling hallways and flooring for wheelchair access and more.
Rock Island, Henry and Mercer Counties (1 program)
Project NOW, Inc. Community Action Agency
Housing Rehab: Programs address necessary repairs such as leaky roofs, plumbing issues, electrical problems, handicapped accessible bathrooms, and ramps.
This organisation also manage a weatherization program.
Sangamon County (1 program)
Weatherization Program: Eligible improvements are attic and wall insulation, caulking, glazing, weather stripping etc.) to income eligible clients based on income for the preceding twelve months for all members in the household. Furnace tune-ups, retrofits and repairs are included with dollar limits for all work done.
St. Clair County (1 program)
The county offer programs for homeowners.
Stephenson and Jo Davies Counties (1 program)
N.I.C.A.A
Home rehabilitation assistance: Eligible homeowners can repair their homes and remove health and safety hazards by replacing costly maintenance items. Eligible homeowners may receive up to $45,000 in assistance as a five-year forgivable loan.
Will County (1 program)
Will County Center of Community Concerns
Home Rehabilitation: The programs cover home & safety repairs, accessibility improvements, roof repair & Replacement, energy efficiency improvements, environmental hazards, replace inoperable or inefficient appliances, structural improvements to home, electrical, plumbing, insulation, HVAC.
Winnebago and Boone County (1 program)
NW HomeStart
Single-Family Rehabilitation Roof Only: The program offer grants eligible homeowners a five-year forgivable loan to assist with the roof repair and to remove health and safety hazards.