Qualifications for Habitat homeownership

Thank you for your interest in obtaining a Habitat for Humanity home. Since 1976, we have helped more than 39 million individuals and families achieve strength, stability and self-reliance through shelter. If you or someone you know finds themselves facing barriers to opportunity due to inadequate living conditions, we may be able to help.

At Habitat, we believe that everyone deserves a safe, affordable place to call home. Unfortunately, statistics tell us that one in four households in the U.S. pays more than 30% of their income for housing and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food or clothing.1 So, we have spent the past 40 years partnering with those who want to build better lives for themselves. We know, and have seen the data, that people thrive physically, mentally and financially when their home environment improves.

If you support our mission and now find yourself asking how you too can become a Habitat homeowner, please review the qualifications below. From both our perspective and yours, this process is a significant investment in people who can shape what is possible. Habitat homeownership is a foundation for a brighter future.

As active participants in the building process, eligible Habitat homebuyers are:

1. In need of better housing.

Potential homebuyers might be dealing with poorly built, unhealthy, damaged or inadequate housing. Alternatively, you might have a rent or mortgage that you cannot afford, or may be living in a home that is inaccessible for your disabilities.

In need of better housing: Qualifications for Habitat home ownership

2. Willing to partner with Habitat.

Our homebuyers put in hundreds of hours of “sweat equity,” which means they help build their own home and the homes of others in the Habitat for Humanity house building program, or volunteer at a Habitat ReStore. These prerequisite hours may also include classes in personal finances, home maintenance and other relevant topics to help ensure capability for the demands of owning a home.

Willing to partner with Habitat: Qualifications for Habitat home ownership

3. Able to pay an affordable mortgage.

Habitat offers homebuyers an affordable mortgage. Those payments are then cycled back into the community to help build more affordable homes.

    Able to pay an affordable mortgage: Qualifications for Habitat home ownership

    In addition to building new homes, Habitat also:

    • Repairs and renovates existing housing.
    • Helps communities clean and rebuild after natural disasters.
    • Leads holistic neighborhood revitalization efforts.
    • Advocates for fair and just housing policies.
    • Accepts and re-sells donated housing materials through our ReStores.
    • Provides microloans for home improvement in many international locations.
    What Habitat for Humanity does in addition to building new homes

    All homeowner selection is carried out at a local-level in the communities we partner with in the U.S. and around the world. If you’ve read the above requirements and feel that you or someone you know is a good candidate for Habitat homeownership, please contact your local Habitat or call 1-800-422-4828 (1-800-HABITAT) for more information. We look forward to speaking with you soon.

    1 “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2015” Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, 2015.

    Share this page on your: