Housing Programs
The First Tennessee Development District’s housing program is funded through grants from Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA), the Northeast Tennessee/Virginia HOME Consortium and HUD Community Block Grant Developments. We provide technical assistance and grant writing to the communities in our eight-county region. We also assist in the development of non-profit organizations who are interested in low income housing in our area.
HOME Program
These are federal funds awarded through a THDA statewide competitive process. The program's goal is to bring substandard housing into compliance with HUD quality standards, as well as local building codes. Examples of eligible work may include plumbing, electrical, foundations, roof replacement or repairs, handicap accessibility, and window and door replacements. These forgivable grants are awarded as grants to low-income homeowners who live in the home.
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Every HOME Program applicant must return a completed, printed and signed application to the FTDD Offices along with the dwelling survey.
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Please click here to download the required documents.
Northeast Tennessee / Virginia HOME Consortium Rehabilitation Program
This home-rehabilitation program is similar to the HOME program. However this program is restricted to low-income homeowners of the Cities of Johnson City, Kingsport, Bluff City, Bristol (TN) and Bristol (VA), as well as Washington and Sullivan counties.
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Please click here to download the required documents.
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Click here to view the draft 2023 HUD Action Plan for the Consortium.
Consortium Down Payment Assistance
Grants for down-payment assistance are available to first-time homebuyers who meet low-income requirements. These grants will partner with a mortgage home lender.
Johnson City Community Development Block Grant
First Tennessee Development District partners with the City of Johnson City on a housing rehabilitation grant, funded through HUD’s Community Development Block Grants. Similar to the HOME program, the CDBG program is for low-income homeowners of the City of Johnson City.
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Please click here to download the required documents.
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For more information on the District's Housing Programs, please click here for housing staff contact information.
Appalachian Regional Commission on Homelessness (ARCH)
​​Beginning in 1994, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) encouraged communities to address the problems of housing and homelessness in a coordinated, comprehensive, and strategic fashion through ARCH. With input from practitioners throughout the country, HUD introduced the Continuum of Care (CoC) concept to support communities in this effort. This concept was designed to help communities develop the capacity to envision, organize, plan comprehensive and long-term solutions to addressing the problem of homelessness in their community.
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ARCH administers a number of programs that support communities throughout the region, including the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), The Coordinated Appalachian Resource Extension (CARE), and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA). In addition to these programs, ARCH also hosts an annual housing symposium to bring together service providers, to discuss best practices, information from that annual event can be found here. A video of the Housing with Care Symposium is available here.
State & Federal Housing Program Information
Tennessee Housing Development Agency
As the State’s housing finance agency, the Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) is a self-sufficient, independently funded, publicly accountable entity of the State of Tennessee. THDA’s mission is to ensure that every Tennessean has access to safe, sound, affordable housing opportunities.
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For more general information about the THDA, please visit their website at www.thda.org.
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THDA Homeownership
THDA’s Great Choice Loan Program offers 30-year, fixed rate mortgages and down payment assistance to eligible first-time, repeat and military homebuyers. Borrowers must meet certain requirements and conditions, including credit history, income limits and cost of home.
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For more information on THDA Homeownership programs please visit the following link.
Additional Homeownership Links
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If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact the Single Family Help Desk at 615-815-2100 or sfask@thda.org.
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THDA Community Programs
The Community Programs Division administers a variety of housing programs supported through federal, state and THDA funding. The Division awards grants to local governments and nonprofit agencies to meet the housing needs of low-income Tennesseans. Additional information about THDA Community Programs can be found here.
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For more information, please call 615-815-2030.
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TNHousingSearch.org
TNHousingSearch.org is Tennessee’s free housing locator. It is free for landlords to list housing, and free for tenants to search for housing. Affordable (income based and properties) and market rate properties, including those that accept Housing Choice Vouchers, may be found on the site. The service is ADA Title II 508 compliant; works with assistive technology; uses Google to translate content into almost 100 languages. For those needing additional listing or search assistance, a toll-free, bilingual call center is available.
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For more information, please visit www.tnhousingsearch.org.
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THDA Rental Programs
The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) or “Section 8 Voucher” program is a federal rental assistance program funded through HUD where very low-income families, the elderly and the disabled receive assistance to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market. As a state housing agency, THDA administers the Housing Choice Voucher program in 72 Tennessee counties, between 4 regional offices.
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For more information on THDA Rental Programs please visit the following link or call 615-815-2164.
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THDA Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit is a credit against federal income tax liability each year for 10 years for owners and investors in the development of low-income rental housing. The amount of tax credits is based on reasonable costs of development, as determined by THDA, and the number of qualified low-income units.
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For more information on THDA Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program please visit the following link.
THDA Research & Planning
For statewide and county-based information about housing and housing affordability, the THDA Research and Planning Division has multiple resources to gain insight into the state’s housing market.
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For more information on THDA Research & Planning please visit the following link.
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USDA Rural Development Housing Repair and Rehabilitation
Single Family House Repair Loans & Grants
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For more information on Rural Development programs, contact the Rural Development Area office in Greeneville at 423-638-4771 ext. 4, toll free at 1-800-342-3149 ext. 1490, or online here.