New Jersey (NJ) has over 127 official home improvement grants, repairs grants, programs and local resources available to low income homeowner families and individuals (most programs are based on income). This article provides you with all the main home repair programs offered throughout the state in 2023.
Updated: November 12, 2023
There are 4 main sources of financial assistance for home improvement and repair in NJ:
You can review the Federal and the State of New Jersey home repair grants but ultimately your county and city are the ones you need to contact and where you apply for funding.
Every homeowner is eligible for home improvement and repairs grants and assistance in New Jersey (find them all in this article). In reality, because the needs are so big, some groups like seniors, veterans, disabled and low-income households are given priority. Even in those cases, you need to apply as soon as possible because funds are limited.
So it’s often first arrived on a 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.
In general, in New Jersey repair and improvement help with:
More precisely the following work and repair are usually covered by home improvement grants programs:
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.
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 fixed 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 means you have nothing to pay monthly. The organization offering these loans usually takes a lien on your home to be certain to be paid in the future.
Forgivable home improvement loans: It’s a traditional loan but you do have to pay it back monthly. Instead after a few years the organization forgives your loan.
Note: In some rare cases you may find yourself with a mix of the types above. In all cases the important thing 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 is the federal agency providing help and funding to States’ Housing agencies, Counties and Cities. HUD have many programs from home buyer help, renter help, homeowners funding for home repairs and improvements, among many programs.
New Jersey does not have a direct home improvement or repair program for homeowners. The sole program is for lead paint removal (see below).
Lead assistance: The program exist to deal with lead-based paint hazard. It assist eligible occupants in remediating and/or abatement lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 one to four family residential units..
These 24 non profits located throughout New Jersey offer many services to their residents area. One is often home repair assistance programs for low and moderate income homeowners.
Find your area CAP by looking in this table. Then contact your closest agency to see the programs they have for homeowners like you.
With 17 local organizations in NJ and its volunteers, Habitat provide help to low income, disable and elderly homeowners to fix their home. Find and contact your local Habitat organization in New Jersey.
ReStores provide discounted used and surplus building materials, plus appliances and furniture in over 56 location throughout the state.
RT helps homeowners in need repair or modify their home and be able to live safely in it much longer. RT have 2 local chapters in Jersey city and the Northern Jersey.
Home improvement & modification: Program provides medically necessary improvements and structural alterations to Veterans/Service members’ primary residence for $6,800.
Work purposes:
– Allowing entrance to or exit from the primary residence
– Use of essential lavatory and sanitary facilities (e.g. roll in showers)
– Allowing accessibility to kitchen or bathroom sinks or counters (e.g. lowering counters/sinks)
– Improving entrance paths or driveways in immediate area of the home to facilitate access to the home through construction of permanent ramping
– Improving plumbing or electrical systems made necessary due to installation of home medical equipment
Find more details and how to apply
WAP: Weatherization Assistant Program (WAP) is funded by the Federal but managed locally. It helps 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’s energy efficiency.
Types of assistance:
Find the program detail and contact your county since they manage funds locally.
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 contact your county since they manage funds locally.
If you have been in a natural disaster, you may qualify for New Jersey’s Disaster Recovery Programs for disasters. These homeowners repair programs exist for a long duration after a natural disaster happened and they help repair homes during a natural disaster such as hurricanes.
The USDA provide home improvement loans and government grants to low-income homeowners in NJ’s rural areas.
Who may apply for this program? To qualify, you must:
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?
What are the terms of the loan or grant?
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.
There are official elderly home repair assistance in New Jersey but they are not only for seniors. Seniors, just like all New Jerseyans, are eligible to the same home improvement programs listed on this page.
You can also contact your local Area Agency on Aging to find local programs for seniors home repairs and home modifications.
You can also find home modification programs for seniors
Some New Jersey counties have approved home repair and government grant programs and most major cities also have similar help for homeowners. You can find most of them below.
If you don’t see your county or city below you should contact it directly and ask them if the city have a home repair program.
Home Improvement (HIP): Program assist qualified low to moderate income Bergen County home and condominium owner occupants with an interest free, no monthly payment loan with improvements that upgrade the home and enhance the neighborhood. HIP provides loans of up to $17,500 for a one-family home and condominium interiors and up to $25,000 for a two-family home.
Eligible work:
Home improvements to basements and attics (other than related to infrastructure, e.g., plumbing, heating, HVAC, etc.) are not permissible.
The county provide funding to local communities for home rehabilitation. Contact your city housing or community department to find out about their housing rehab program.
Home Improvement: Program is up to $22,000 loan for repairs with no interest ten year forgivable.
Eligible work:
Housing Rehab: Program offers a no-interest ten-year loan up to $15,000 to assist low and moderate income persons for the purpose of rehabilitating their home.
Eligible repair:
Home Improvement: Program provides Deferred Loans to low-and moderate-income homeowners who occupy a 1 to 3 family home. Homeowners in following municipalities may be eligible for assistance through this program: Belleville, Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Glen Ridge, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn, Montclair, North Caldwell, Nutley, Orange, Roseland, South Orange, Verona, West Caldwell, and West Orange.
Examples of repairs:
HOME FACADE IMPROVEMENT: Program provides up to $20,000 no-interest forgivable loans for owner-occupied homes. The loans is used for repairs or improvements to the property’s exterior which are intended to beautify the community and may also satisfy code violations or threats to the health and safety.
MINOR HOME REPAIR & WEATHERIZATION: This program offer free home repairs to seniors residents age 62+, homeowner, household income not to exceed $40,000, must have current home owners insurance – most retirees are eligible.
Work can include:
The county provide funding to local communities for home rehabilitations through the HOME investment partnership. If you live in 1 of the following communities call them to find out about their housing rehab program: Bayonne, East Newark, Guttenberg, Harrison, Hoboken, Kearny, North Bergen, Secaucus, Union City, Weehawken, or West New York.
Home Improvement Program (HIP): This forgivable, deferred payment loan assists low-moderate income homeowners in abating code violations and to eliminate health & safety hazards existing in the Jersey City. Maximum amount of assistance is $24,900 per home and the Emergency repairs will receive up to $15,000 assistance.
Eligible Work Items Include:
Housing Rehabilitation: Heating, Weatherization, Aging in Place, Plumbing, Code Issues Structural Concerns, Roofing.
Habitat for Humanity Ocean
Habitat low income and seniors homeowners with minor and substantial repairs through volunteers. Contact them to see if you’re eligible, the work they can do and when they could do it at your home.
Rehabilitation & Improvements: The programs are a rehabilitation Deferred Loan not to exceed $25,000 will be made available on a first come, first served basis. A lien will be placed on your home which will be recorded with your property deed.
Eligible Major Repairs or Replacements:
Eligible Minor Repairs or Replacements:
Toms River housing authority have the program as Lakewood above.
Home Repair: Program funding is not clear but it can help homeowners with minor and major repairs. Contact the county to learn about program funding.
Major Repairs Examples
Minor Repairs Examples
Barrier Free examples:
Home Improvement: Program is a Deferred Payment loan of up to $24,999.
Eligible work:
Senior Home Improvement Grant: Program’s grant is capped at $5,000 and it assist with home rehabilitation
Senior Home Repair: Home repairs eligible for consideration should be $500 or less, and should increase or restore the individual’s health and safety. Feasible home repairs include, but are not limited to, fixing a door or broken window, installation of grab bars, toilet repair, and window insulation.
Emergency repair: Program to repair or change hot water boilers and furnaces.
Home Repair: Program help residence of 1-2 families for up to $25,000.
Types of repair:
HOME IMPROVEMENT: Program’s assistance must be used for the correction of housing code violations which are dangerous or injurious to the occupants. Improvements considered as eligible repairs will be determined by the
Inspector at the time of inspection. Funding is a deferred payment loan up to $ 20,000.00.
Housing Rehabilitation: Program offers up to $40,000 in repairs as a no interest (0%) ten year forgivable loan. There are no monthly payments and the loan is forgiven if the homeowner maintains title and occupancy for a ten year period.
Eligible uses include:
Habitat for Humanity of Passaic
Critical Repair: The program helps low-moderate income homeowners alleviate health and safety issues in and around their homes.
Repairs Include
Minor home repair: Program offer a maximum grant of $15,000 per household for approved home repairs. A mortgage in the amount of the grant is placed on the property for a period of seven years. If the household retains ownership of the property and uses the house as their primary residence for the seven year period, the mortgage will be removed in its entirety.
Only minor exterior repairs are eligible, including the following:
Housing Rehabilitation: Program offer no Interest, no Payment 6- Year or 10-Year Forgivable Loan (Term is dependent on amount of assistance) to help fix by example:
Habitat of Morris
HOME REPAIR: Program helps lower income homeowners who are affected by age, disability, or family circumstances and struggle to fix and maintain the integrity of their homes. The maximum cost of repair is $5,000.
Services covered:
Emergency Home Repair: Program provides limited grants to eligible homeowners to make emergency repairs to their homes. Eligible repair services correct conditions that pose an immediate threat to Occupants’ health, safety and/or welfare and can include, but are not limited to the following:
Residential Rehabilitation: Code violations and safety improvement assistance
Weatherization Assistance: Energy conservation improvements
Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity (Somerset) (3 programs)
Owner Occupied Rehabilitation: The program provide funding to renovate homes through emergency repair loans and deferred payment loan programs. Loans are 0% deferred payment loans from $1,000 to $24,999.
Weatherization Assistance: The program help income-eligible families reducing their heating/cooling costs and improving the safety of their homes through energy efficiency measures. Energy efficiency measures performed through the program include:
Housing Rehabilitation: The program provide financing up to $25,000 per household for eligible activities,
All assistance is offered to the homeowner in the form of a 0% interest deferred loan, secured by a mortgage, to be repaid to the program in full at time of resale, transfer of title, or refinancing
Example of work allowed including major systems:
Fix-It: The program provides minor home repairs to protect the safety of county residents 60 years and older in to help them maintain their independence and their ability to remain in their own homes.
HOME REHABILITATION: Program pays for home repairs, focusing on those to correct code deficiencies, in residences of qualified homeowners. A maximum of $20,000 in assistance can be provided per eligible home within Carlisle Borough and $22,000 in Cumberland County.
Eligible work include but are not limited to:
EMERGENCY REPAIR: The program provide up to $10,000 in assistance to homeowners in need of emergency repairs to their home through an interest-free deferred loan.
Repairs can include:
WHOLE HOME REPAIRS: Program is paused but it improves habitability, energy efficiency, and disability accommodation concerns. Funding are grants of up to $25,000 are available with a maximum of $50,000 per household.
Habitat for Humanity
Home Repair: Program is paused right now but it usually help with floors, decks, ramps, painting, electrical, plumbing, and more.
Housing Rehabilitation: Program goal is to maintain safe, accessible, and energy-efficient housing by helping eligible residents to correct code violations and other deficiencies in their homes.
Eligible work:
Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity (Hunterdon) (3 programs)
Housing Rehabilitation : The program provides up to $16,000 per dwelling for home improvements such as: new roof, electrical improvements, smoke detectors, etc. The funds are in the form of an interest free loan which is forgiven after a 10 year period. The loan must be repaid only if the property is sold within the 10 year period.
Warren County Habitat for Humanity
Critical Home Repair Program (CHR): The program keep existing homeowners in their homes safely and affordably by providing critical home repairs to roofing, electrical, plumbing, interior or exterior damage or other items deemed necessary.