Welcome Home Ohio Program

The Welcome Home Ohio Program is administered by the Ohio Department of Development and is intended to increase the supply of affordable, owner-occupied housing across Ohio. The program was established to provide grants for the purchase of qualifying residential properties at foreclosure sales, grants for rehabilitation or new construction, and nonrefundable tax credits for qualifying activities. House Bill 96 provided 91,250,000 in General Revenue Funds for grants and 20,000,000 in nonrefundable tax credits through the biennium. The Fiscal Year 2026-2027 guidelines state that each grant program offering will be funded at 22,812,500 in each fiscal year, with 20,000,000 in tax credits available through the biennium. The program has the potential to support the incorporation of 1,134 affordable, owner-occupied homes across Ohio. The program consists of three funding streams. Welcome Home Ohio Purchasing, or WHO-P, supports the cost of purchasing qualifying residential property at foreclosure sales occurring after July 1, 2025, with a maximum of 100,000 per residential property. Welcome Home Ohio Rehabilitation/Construction, or WHO-RC, supports rehabilitation or construction of qualifying residential property, also with a maximum of 100,000 per property. Welcome Home Ohio Tax Credits, or WHO-TC, provides a nonrefundable tax credit after a qualifying residential property is sold to a qualifying individual. The WHO-TC amount is limited to 90,000 or 90 percent of rehabilitation or construction costs, whichever is less, after subtracting state or federal grant funds from those costs. Tax credits may be issued through June 30, 2027. WHO-P funds may only pay for qualifying residential property acquired at foreclosure sales, while WHO-RC funds may only pay rehabilitation or construction costs. WHO-funded projects may leverage other funding sources, including other residential rehabilitation or construction grants. Up to 2,000 of each grant award may support the required qualifying financial literacy counseling, but grant funds are not available for other administrative functions. Qualifying properties must be owner-occupied and contain at least 800 square feet of habitable space per unit. Eligible property types include single-family houses, one unit in qualifying multi-unit properties with no more than 10 units, townhouses, row houses, condominiums, modular homes, manufactured homes, and residences zoned for mixed use. Rental properties, properties with more than 10 connected residential units, apartments with more than 10 units, commercial properties, and mobile homes are ineligible. Properties supported by grant funds or tax credits may not be sold for more than 220,000. WHO-P and WHO-RC applicants may include land banks, county land reutilization corporations, electing subdivisions, and qualified nonprofit developers. WHO-TC additionally permits eligible developers as defined in the guidelines. Qualified nonprofit developers must be incorporated in Ohio, engage primarily in community development activities within an identified Ohio geographic area, and have a primary purpose of improving the physical, economic, or social environment by addressing critical problems in that area, including housing. Individuals cannot apply directly and instead must work with an organization eligible to apply. Applicants must demonstrate sufficient administrative capacity to perform required monitoring, and performance on previous Welcome Home Ohio awards is considered when Development evaluates administrative and contractor capacity. Organizations may seek funding for as many qualifying properties as their capacity permits, and the program establishes neither a maximum application-level grant ceiling nor a minimum application-level grant floor. Funded properties must ultimately be sold subject to affordability and occupancy requirements. Eligible homebuyers must have annual income not exceeding 120 percent of area median income, demonstrate the financial means to purchase the property, and agree to maintain ownership and occupy the property as their primary residence without renting any portion for at least three years. Properties are also subject to a 15-year affordability deed restriction governing subsequent sales. Applicants are responsible for documenting buyer income eligibility, providing at least six months of financial literacy and counseling, completing annual certifications for the affordability period, reporting qualifying resales and applicable profits, and monitoring and enforcing affordability requirements. The July 2026 program guidelines require quarterly Performance Reports and Address Reporting for each address where funds are requested. Rehabilitation and construction must comply with applicable construction and design standards, including local building codes at minimum, and the Residential Code of Ohio applies to new construction units. The Ohio Department of Development website states that the Fiscal Year 2027 application period is now open and directs applicants to apply through the Department's application portal. The provided sources do not state a specific application opening date, final application deadline, pre-application deadline, letter of intent requirement, or award notification date. Applications must detail administrative and construction capacity, and previous Welcome Home Ohio performance is a factor in evaluating administrative and contractor capacity. Grant agreements will establish production and expenditure milestones, and funding may be reduced by amendment if funds are not expended in a timely manner so Development can reallocate them. The guidelines in effect when a grant agreement is executed remain applicable for the duration of that grant. For program information, the source provides the Ohio Department of Development program email OCE@development.ohio.gov and the Department telephone number 800-848-1300. No individual program contact is identified in the provided materials. The guidelines are updated as of July 2026, and Development may make changes or corrections to the program guidelines and post them on its website. The source indicates funding in each fiscal year, supporting treatment of the opportunity as recurring, although it does not provide an explicit opening date for the next application cycle. Based on the currently open Fiscal Year 2027 round and the fiscal-year structure, the next cycle is tracked as Summer 2027 for internal monitoring purposes rather than as a stated funder deadline.

Ensure strong administrative capacity and clear property pipeline; demonstrate readiness and compliance with affordability rules; include detailed funding plans