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.
RE-HOUSING & IMMINENT EVICTION PREVENTION ASSISTANCE
The Leon County Re-Housing & Imminent Eviction Prevention Program provides eligible households (individuals) that are considered homeless or that face imminent eviction (must have been financially impacted by COIVD-19) with first month’s rent and security deposit to live in a home in the unincorporated areas of Leon County. The program may also provide assistance with utility deposit (past due if needed to initiate service), past due storage fees and moving expenses. Additional rent and utility assistance may be provided if the household cannot pay future rent and/or utilities when due.
If you are experiencing homelessness and are not yet connected with a Case Manager associated with CESC, Inc./Kearney Center, Big Bend Homeless Coalition, CCYS, Catholic Charities, Refuge House or Ability 1st, please contact the Big Bend Continuum of Care 850-792-5015 to be referred to an agency that will best meet your immediate needs and assist you in completing your application.
IF YOU NEED ASSISTANCE FOR PAST DUE RENT AND/OR UTILITIES PLEASE MAKE APPLICATION WITH THE LEON CARES PROGRAM.
This program is funded by the CARES Act. The application period will end on December 7, 2020 at 11:59PM.
Questions, requests for additional information or reasonable accommodation should be directed to Division of Housing Services staff. Contact information can be found at the bottom of this page.
PLEASE CLICK THE PROGRAM TITLE TO APPLY FOR THE RE-HOUSING & IMMINENT EVICTION PREVENTION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
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.
EMERGENCY HOUSING REPAIR PROGRAMS
Funds will be awarded to eligible homeowners living in the unincorporated areas of Leon County 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. Funding for Mobile Homes is extremely limited. Mobile Homes manufactured prior to June 1994 are NOT eligible for State Housing Initiative Partnership (SHIP) funds.
The eligible applications we have already received for CARES Emergency Repairs is expected to exceed the available funding for the program. We regret that we must temporarily suspend intake of applications for all our Home Rehabilitation & Repair programs on October 30, 2020 at 3PM. A waitlist will not be created.
We expect to reopen the application portal for our Home Rehabilitation & Repair programs in late November or early December. Information will be posted on our website in late November in advance of the reopening of the application portal. You will be able to start a new application when the portal reopens.
If you live inside City limits (Tax Code 1) please contact the City of Tallahassee for emergency repairs.
Questions, requests for additional information or reasonable accommodation should be directed to Division of Housing Services staff. Contact information can be found at the bottom of this page.
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.
Tarps are available for pickup and installation by the homeowner if you have a leak in your roof.
We regret that we must temporarily suspend intake of applications for all our Home Rehabilitation & Repair programs on October 30, 2020 at 3PM. A waitlist will not be created.
We expect to reopen the application portal for our Home Rehabilitation & Repair programs in late November or early December. Information will be posted on our website in late November in advance of the reopening of the application portal. You will be able to start a new application when the portal reopens.
If you live inside City limits (Tax Code 1) please contact the City of Tallahassee for emergency repairs.
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.
FUNDING FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE IS NOT AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.
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 HOME 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.