The PY2020 Lake County Affordable Housing Project Guidelines is intended to inform potential funding applicants of the many rules and regulations that accompany all funding sources and serve as a referral source to addition information. This guide is a summary and is by no means exhaustive. Recipients of Lake County Consortium funding are expected to be familiar with the federal regulations and abide by all local, state, and federal rules during the application process, for the duration of project activities, and throughout the period of affordability (as applicable). The Lake County Consortium includes Lake County, the City of Waukegan, and the City of North Chicago. The Consortium collaborates to distribute federal and local grant funds for the purposes of furthering the goals identified in the Lake County 5-Year Consolidated Plan. Lake County Community Development (LCCD) acts as the Consortium’s lead entity.

In addition to affirmatively furthering fair housing, Lake County’s Consolidated Plan helps identify housing needs and use these identified needs to develop housing goals that are most relevant to the immediate needs of Lake County residents. The plan has four total goals, one of which focuses strictly on affordable housing. There are three sources of affordable housing funding in Lake County, including two federal sources and one local source. Federal housing funding is awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and includes both HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) funding and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding. Local housing funding is from Lake County and is called the Lake County Affordable Housing Program (LCAHP). Affordable housing funding is only to be used for permanent housing, and may include single-family housing, permanent housing for eligible subgroups, transitional housing, single-room occupancy units, or group homes. Affordable housing funding cannot be used for temporary housing, such as student housing or half-way houses.