The Division of Housing Services mission is: To efficiently and responsibly administer programs and develop community partnerships that preserve and grow the inventory of safe and sanitary affordable housing in unincorporated Leon County (Tax Code 2).
The Division's major programs are income driven and include owner-occupied rehabilitation, home buyer counseling, down-payment assistance, and emergency repairs. Most of our programs are funded through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP) program.
If you have been impacted by COVID-19, you may be eligible to receive direct assistance through Leon County’s Leon CARES program. The Leon CARES expenditure plan, approved by the Board of County Commissioners in July 2020, uses federal dollars to fund essential public health and safety expenditures related to COVID-19 including enhanced testing and contact tracing, direct assistance to individuals experiencing financial hardship, a variety of human service needs, critical economic relief to the local business community, and direct COVID-related costs incurred by the County, Constitutional and Judicial Offices, and the City of Tallahassee.
Individual Assistance – The Individual Assistance program is designed to provide eligible Leon County (includes City of Tallahassee households) households assistance with past-due rent, mortgage and utility bills. Click HERE to review the program brochure.
Leon County has received a distribution of $432,255 in Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF) from Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Florida Housing). A portion of the funding from Florida Housing may be used in conjunction with the Leon CARES Individual Assistance program. Therefore, applicants in need of rent, mortgage or utility assistance should complete an application directly through the Leon CARES Individual Assistance program.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR THE LEON CARES PROGRAM INCLUDING INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE.
Affordable Housing Rental Search
If you are looking for assistance in locating affordable rental properties please click HERE and search your desired location by city, county or zip code. This search tool also allows you to see the search results on a map or a list.
Short Term Emergency Housing Repairs
The Short Term Emergency Repairs Program assists low-income homeowners living in the unincorporated areas of Leon County short term-assistance to buy time for the homeowner to identify a permanent solution to their housing repair needs. The program provides grant assistance to address a dire situation and/or prevent further damage to the home. The most common emergency repairs are tarps for leaking roofs and emergency pump-outs of failing septic systems. The Short Term Emergency Repairs Program is NOT intended to be a permanent fix.
Funding for this program for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 has been EXHAUSTED. Tarps are available for pickup and installation by the homeowner if you have a leak in your roof.
Funding for this program for Fiscal Year 2020-2021 has been established at $50,000. The application period will begin on October 1, 2020 and will continue until enough eligible households are identified or served to exhaust the funds. Funds will be awarded on a first qualified first served basis.
If you live inside City limits (Tax Code 1) please contact the City of Tallahassee for emergency repairs.
Emergency Housing Repair & Housing Resilience
SHIP Funds will be awarded to applicants in need of rehabilitation of their home related to a dire situation that needs to be mitigated immediately via a short term and/or permanent repair. This includes: damaged roofing that is leaking, damaged windows causing exposure to the elements, electrical, plumbing or septic problems that could cause damage to the home or to remediate an immediate health hazard to the occupants. SHIP funds will also be awarded to applicants to protect and prepare the home’s resilience to the impact of a future disaster. Mobile Homes manufactured prior to June 1994 are NOT eligible for SHIP funds.
If you live inside City limits (Tax Code 1) please contact the City of Tallahassee for emergency repairs.
PLEASE CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR EMERGENCY HOUSING REPAIR & HOUSING RESILIENCE
Down Payment Assistance
Two sources of down payment assistance are available and are administered by the Tallahassee Lender’s Consortium (TLC) on behalf of the Leon County Housing Services Division.
THE FUNDING FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE HAS BEEN FULLY EXHAUSTED.
Until additional funding is made available, down payment assistance may be available through a partnership between the Leon County Housing Finance Authority (Leon HFA) and the Escambia County Housing Finance Authority Contact the Escambia HFA at a participating lender to learn more about the program.
Down payment assistance may also be available through the Florida Housing Finance Corporation. Click HERE to find out more about their programs
Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation
Due to the high number of homeowners already waiting to receive assistance, the Owner-Occupied Rehabilitation Program is NOT accepting applications at this time and the waiting list is closed. Check this website for updates.
SHIP Annual Report Public Comment
The public is welcome to review the SHIP Annual Report, which is located on the Documents and Reports section of this website or by clicking HERE. Comments can be provided directly onto the first page of the report along with your name and address which are needed for the record. When complete, please submit the report with your comments as an email attachment to: wymanm@leoncountyfl.gov. Comment can also be made by visiting our office located at 918 Railroad Avenue.