Capacity building and technical assistance; grants for the development of local programs to
address housing-related health hazards; demonstration projects and research, outreach, and
education authority related to lead hazard control and healthy homes issues; enforcement of the
Lead Safe Housing Rule and the Lead Disclosure Rule.
Nature of Program: This program addresses childhood lead-based paint poisoning and other
diseases associated with poor housing conditions, such as exposure to moisture, mold, poor air
quality, residential application of pesticides, the presence of allergens, vermin, dust, and other
substances that contribute to asthma, and hazardous conditions that increase the risk of injury. It
promotes preventive measures to correct multiple health and safety hazards in the home
environment through several components:
- Authority to perform research and technical studies through grants, contracts, and
cooperation with other federal agencies, to establish standards for such matters as
performance of detection, mitigation and cleanup for lead-based paint and other
residential health and safety hazards; to evaluate the effectiveness of methods and
strategies for hazard evaluation and reduction; to gain knowledge to improve the costeffectiveness and efficacy of evaluation and control; and to help communities use this
knowledge to reduce these hazards in their housing.
- Grants to state and local governments to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards in
privately-owned low-income housing; grant funding to state, tribal and local governments
to develop methods to assess and reduce additional housing-related hazards with
particular focus on low-income housing.
- Establishment of procedures to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint hazards in federallyowned housing and housing receiving federal assistance, including public housing.
- Oversight of the Lead Safe Housing Rule (24 CFR Part 35, subparts B-R) for housing
built before 1978 under all HUD programs, and enforcement of the Rule for Multifamily
Housing programs, the Single-Family Asset Management program, and PIH programs.
- Enforcement of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazard disclosure requirements (24
CFR Part 35, subpart A) upon rental or sale of housing built before 1978.
Applicant Eligibility: For lead hazard control grant programs, state, tribal, and local
governments are eligible; for other programs, these government and nonprofit entities, for-profit
entities that waive their fees, and universities are eligible.
Legal Authority:
- Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act (42 U.S.C. 4821 et seq.);
- Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (Title X of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1992; 42 U.S.C. 4851 et seq.);
- Sections 501 and 502 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 (12 U.S.C.
1701z-1 and 1701z-2).
Regulations are at 24 CFR part 35.
Information Sources: Director of the Office of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes.
On the Web: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/healthy_homes
Current Status: Active.
