Housing assistance for American Indian and Alaska Native families

Tribal housing programs (NAHASDA)

The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) funds tribes through the Indian Housing Block Grant (IHBG). Tribes or their tribally designated housing entities use it for:

• Rental housing and rental assistance
• Homeownership, including lease-purchase programs
• New construction and rehabilitation
• Down payment assistance
• Emergency housing and services

Eligibility and priorities are set by each tribe, usually for low-income American Indian and Alaska Native families (up to 80% of AMI), with some flexibility for essential workers or others under program rules.

Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant programs serve eligible Native Hawaiian families on Hawaiian home lands.

Homeownership

• Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee: low down payment mortgages for eligible Native borrowers, on trust land and fee-simple land in eligible areas.
• VA Native American Direct Loan (NADL): direct loans from VA for eligible Native American veterans (and non-Native veterans married to Native Americans) to buy, build, or improve homes on federal trust land.
• USDA Section 502 direct and guaranteed loans in rural areas, including on tribal lands.

Repairs

• BIA Housing Improvement Program (HIP): grants for repairs, renovation, or replacement for eligible tribal members who have no other resource, administered through tribes or BIA.
• USDA Section 504 repair loans and grants for low-income rural homeowners.
• Tribal weatherization and LIHEAP: many tribes run their own programs.

Veterans

Tribal HUD-VASH combines rental assistance from tribal housing programs with VA services for Native veterans who are homeless or at risk. Contact your tribe’s housing department and the VA homeless hotline at 877-424-3838.

Off-reservation and urban Native households

Urban Indian organizations, Native community centers, and Indian health programs can connect families to housing help. American Indian and Alaska Native households can also apply for public housing, Section 8, and other programs in their city.

NAHASDA program rules for tenants and buyers

Tribal housing programs set their own admission and occupancy policies. Common features:

• Income eligibility: most assistance is for low-income families (at or below 80% of area median income), with limited exceptions allowed under NAHASDA.
• Rent: NAHASDA-assisted rental housing for low-income families is subject to a 30%-of-adjusted-income rent limit under program rules; tribal rent policies and the funding source determine the calculation. Ask the tribal housing provider for the applicable policy.
• Preferences: tribes may prioritize tribal members, elders, veterans, and families with specific needs.
• Lease-purchase (mutual help) programs: families make payments that build toward ownership over time.

Ask your tribe’s housing department for its admissions and occupancy policy in writing.

Section 184 in more detail

• Available to eligible American Indian and Alaska Native families, tribes, and tribally designated housing entities
• Low down payment requirements
• Can be used to buy, build, rehabilitate, or refinance
• Works on trust land (with BIA and tribal approval) and fee-simple land in eligible areas
• Lenders must be approved for Section 184

Because trust land can’t be sold to non-Indians, lending on trust land requires leases approved by the tribe and BIA. Processing can take longer—start early.

Rental help off the reservation

Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing, and other programs are open to American Indian and Alaska Native households in cities and towns. Urban Indian health and community organizations can help with referrals, and some tribes provide assistance to members living off-reservation.

Emergency help

For homelessness or housing crises, contact your tribe’s housing and social services departments, Indian Health Service or tribal health programs, and 211. Veterans can call 877-424-3838.

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