Communities nationwide are suffering from a lack of affordable housing, and housing production is not meeting the increasing demand for accessible and available units in many urban and rural areas, particularly areas of high opportunity.

Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing (PRO Housing) supports communities who are actively taking steps to remove barriers to affordable housing, such as:

• Barriers caused by outdated zoning, land use policies, or regulations;
• Inefficient procedures;
• Gaps in available resources for development;
• Deteriorating or inadequate infrastructure;
• Lack of neighborhood amenities; or
• Challenges to preserving existing housing stock such as increasing threats from natural hazards, redevelopment pressures, or expiration of affordability requirements.

HUD is issuing this second PRO Housing NOFO under the authority of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 118-12242, approved March 9, 2024) (Appropriations Act), which appropriates $100 million for competitive grant funding for the identification and removal of barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Congress has directed HUD to undertake a competition using the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) statutory and regulatory framework. Under this NOFO, HUD will provide PRO Housing grants to identify and remove barriers to affordable housing production and preservation. Grantees may use awards to for sustainable actions to further develop, evaluate, and implement housing policy plans, improve housing strategies, and facilitate affordable housing production and preservation. Eligible applicants are State and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and multijurisdictional entities.

NOTE: Before submitting to HUD, applicants must publish their PRO Housing application or amendment in its entirety for public comment. The streamlined requirements mandate at least one public hearing at the Applicant’s level of government for the application and for each substantial amendment and require providing a reasonable notice of the hearing. The Applicant must publish the application for public comment for 15 days and provide ongoing public access to information about the use of grant funds. For more information, please visit Section VI.E.5.a.iii of the NOFO.

Grantees may use awards to further develop, evaluate, and implement housing policy plans, improve housing strategies, and facilitate affordable housing production and preservation. Eligible applicants are local and state governments, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), and multijurisdictional entities.

FY 24 (Round 2) PRO Housing Quick Summary

The NOFO and application package materials can be viewed here:

• FY 24 (Round 2) PRO Housing NOFO 
• Certification of Lobbying Activities
• Grant Application Detailed Budget Worksheet (HUD 424-CBW), including instructions on Excel Tab 3
• Applicant and Recipient Assurances and Certifications (HUD 424B)
• Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report (HUD 2880)
• Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)
• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL)
• PRO Housing Certifications for Entitlement Local Government Applicants
• PRO Housing Certifications for State Applicants
• PRO Housing Certifications for Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Applicants and Non-Entitlement Local Government Applicants
• PRO Housing Certifications for Multijurisdictional Entity Applicants
• Optional PRO Housing Urgent Need Certification

The application deadline is October 15th 2024, at 11:59pm ET (8:59pm PT) on Grants.gov.

HUD strongly recommends you submit your applications at least 48 hours before the deadline and during regular business hours to allow enough time to correct errors or overcome other problems. Grants.gov provides customer support information on its website at https://www.grants.gov/support. If you have difficulty accessing the application and instructions or have technical problems, contact Grants.gov customer support center by calling (800) 518-GRANTS (this is a toll-free number) or by sending an email to support@grants.gov.

The full application package must be downloaded through www.grants.gov. The CFDA number is 14.023. Interested applicants may submit questions on the NOFO to the following email address: CDBG-PROHousing@HUD.gov.

PRO Housing Related Materials:

• FY24 (Round 2) PRO Housing Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI)
• FY24 (Round 2) PRO Housing NOFO FAQ
• PRO Housing List of Priority Geographies (The Overview and Methodology tab and the updated NOFO FAQ provides clarification with jurisdictions that U.S. Census has listed as a place and a county.)
• PRO Housing Mapping Tool and Demonstration Video and Transcript – The mapping tool is designed to help PRO Housing applicants search for priority geographies. Under the Need rating factor, applicants will be awarded eight (8) points if their application primarily serves a priority geography.

• State Governments
• County Governments
• City or Township Governments
• Metropolitan Planning Organizations
• Multijurisdictional Entities

HUD will provide a webinar with a specific focus on the FY24 (Round 2) PRO Housing NOFO and application requirements. This webinar is designed for interested PRO Housing applicants seeking to apply for Round 2 funding.

• FY24 (Round 2) PRO Housing NOFO Walkthrough Webinar (August 21, 2024 at 3pm ET)
  • View webinar recording. View webinar slides.
• Lessons Learned from FY23 PRO Housing (September 4, 2024 at 3pm ET)
  • View webinar slides.

HUD previously provided webinars on the FY23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO and application requirements. These webinars include information that interested PRO Housing applicants may find relevant. PLEASE NOTE: The FY24 (Round 2) NOFO has been updated and is the definitive source for guidance for applicants to FY24 (Round 2) competition. Recordings of the FY23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO webinars can be found below.

• FY 23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO Walkthrough Webinar
  • View webinar recording. Read the transcript. View the slides.
• FY 23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO Appendix/Regulations Webinar
  • View webinar recording. Read the transcript. View the slides.
• FY 23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO Data Resources and Tools Webinar
  • View webinar recording. Read the transcript. View the slides.
• FY 23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO FAQs Webinar
  • View webinar recording, transcript, and slides.
• FY 23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO Resilience Considerations Webinar
  • View webinar recording, transcript, and slides.
• FY 23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO Fair Housing Considerations Webinar
  • View webinar recording, transcript, and slides.
• FY 23 (Round 1) PRO Housing NOFO Q&A Office Hours
  • View webinar recording, transcript, and slides.

Q: What does PRO Housing stand for?

A: Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing

Q: How much funding has Congress designated for the FY24 (Round 2) competition?

A: $100 million

Q: When are applications due for the FY24 (Round 2) competition?

A: The Application due date will be listed in grants.gov. All applications should be submitted no later than 11:59pm Eastern Time (8:59pm Pacific Time) on the stated deadline.

Q: My community applied for FY23 (Round 1) PRO Housing funding. Can we apply for this second round of funding?

A: Yes. Any eligible entity, including applicants for FY23 (Round 1) funding, are encouraged to apply.

Q: My community applied for FY23 (Round 1) PRO Housing funding and received a grant award. Are we still eligible to apply for this second round of funding?

A: Yes. FY23 (Round 1) awardees are eligible to apply for FY24 (Round 2) funding.

Q: I’m an individual. Am I able to apply?

A: No. This announcement does not fund individuals. Eligible applicants include State governments, County governments, City governments or townships, multijurisdictional entities, and metropolitan planning organizations.

Q: Where do I submit my application?

A: The NOFO is published on Grants.gov and all applications must be submitted to grants.gov to be eligible for review.

Q: Where can I learn more about barriers to affordable housing that may be present in my community?

A: The Barriers to Affordable Housing webpage hosts resources where applicants learn more about barriers and take trainings associated with addressing barriers. There is also a link to the barriers clearinghouse tool to further assist applicants who wish to apply.

On June 26, 2024, HUD announced the award of nearly $85 million in funding under the FY23 PRO Housing Notice of Funding Opportunity to 21 winners across the United States. More information on awardees can be found here.

On July 27, 2023, HUD issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the FY23 PRO Housing competition. The NOFO closed on November 6, 2023. More information can be found here.

Content Current as of September 18, 2024