HUD-Approved Housing Counseling

HUD-certified counselors at approved agencies provide independent guidance on foreclosure, eviction, homelessness, renting, buying, credit, budgets, reverse mortgages, and disaster recovery.

Renter, homeowner, buyer, or person facing housing instability

Entitlement facts

Benefit type: Community program. A locally or regionally administered public or nonprofit service program, often with defined geographic and eligibility rules. Taxonomy definition →
What it unlocks: Customized housing counseling; foreclosure, eviction, and homeless counseling are always free, while other topics may be free or carry a limited fee.
Who qualifies: Renter, homeowner, buyer, or person facing housing instability
Requirements: Anyone may contact a listed agency, but services, languages, appointment capacity, and topic coverage vary. Agencies may screen income when waiving fees for other counseling.
How to activate: Search the HUD directory or call 800-569-4287, choose an approved agency that handles the issue, and schedule intake.
Cost basis: Variable by provider or eligibility. The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.
Cost and fees: Foreclosure, eviction, and homeless counseling are always free. Other counseling or workshops may have a reasonable fee that must be disclosed and can be waived for inability to pay.
Geography: US, HUD-approved agency service areas
Personalization: Published eligibility is not described as individually targeted.

EVIDENCE / 1 SOURCE

Eligibility is conditional, not guaranteed.

Check the provider's final terms immediately before applying, depositing funds, spending, or changing a paid relationship.

01U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Developmentprovider↗

MACHINE RECORD

{
  "id": "hud-housing-counseling",
  "name": "HUD-Approved Housing Counseling",
  "provider": "U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development",
  "entitlement_type": "community-program",
  "entitlement_type_label": "Community program",
  "entitlement_type_context": {
    "definition": "A locally or regionally administered public or nonprofit service program, often with defined geographic and eligibility rules.",
    "domain": "community-services",
    "archetype": "direct-program",
    "agent_instruction": "Check jurisdiction, intake, eligibility, capacity, schedule, and whether the record represents a direct provider or referral route."
  },
  "summary": "HUD-certified counselors at approved agencies provide independent guidance on foreclosure, eviction, homelessness, renting, buying, credit, budgets, reverse mortgages, and disaster recovery.",
  "benefit": {
    "description": "Customized housing counseling; foreclosure, eviction, and homeless counseling are always free, while other topics may be free or carry a limited fee.",
    "estimated_value_usd": null
  },
  "discovery": {
    "focus": "public-service",
    "has_estimated_dollar_value": false
  },
  "access": {
    "relationships": [
      "Renter, homeowner, buyer, or person facing housing instability"
    ],
    "requirements": "Anyone may contact a listed agency, but services, languages, appointment capacity, and topic coverage vary. Agencies may screen income when waiving fees for other counseling.",
    "activation": "Search the HUD directory or call 800-569-4287, choose an approved agency that handles the issue, and schedule intake.",
    "cost_basis": "varies",
    "cost_basis_label": "Variable by provider or eligibility",
    "cost_basis_context": {
      "classification": "variable",
      "definition": "The user's out-of-pocket cost cannot be represented by one fixed amount because it depends on provider policy, income, household, geography, selected service, coverage group, subsidy amount, or the underlying program. It may be free, reduced, sliding-scale, or partly paid.",
      "agent_instruction": "Read and disclose the record's fees and requirements; use the most precise bounded price or variation reason available instead of repeating only that cost varies.",
      "variation_patterns": [
        "bounded price range",
        "provider-set price",
        "income-based sliding scale",
        "coverage or service-dependent cost sharing",
        "partial subsidy",
        "directory of programs with different terms"
      ],
      "does_not_mean": [
        "universally free",
        "cost information was necessarily omitted"
      ]
    },
    "fees": "Foreclosure, eviction, and homeless counseling are always free. Other counseling or workshops may have a reasonable fee that must be disclosed and can be waived for inability to pay.",
    "personalized": false,
    "regions": [
      "US",
      "HUD-approved agency service areas"
    ],
    "expires": null
  },
  "status": "verified",
  "last_checked": "2026-08-04",
  "claim_url": "https://www.hud.gov/hud-partners/single-family-about-housing-counseling",
  "source_url": "https://www.hud.gov/hud-partners/single-family-about-housing-counseling",
  "source": {
    "primary_url": "https://www.hud.gov/hud-partners/single-family-about-housing-counseling",
    "evidence": [
      {
        "source": "U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development",
        "url": "https://www.hud.gov/hud-partners/single-family-about-housing-counseling",
        "kind": "provider",
        "checked_at": "2026-08-04"
      }
    ]
  },
  "parent": null,
  "coverage": {
    "level": "national",
    "family": "housing-and-disaster",
    "jurisdiction": "United States",
    "maturity": "direct"
  },
  "web_url": "/benefits/hud-housing-counseling",
  "taxonomy": {
    "version": "1.0",
    "url": "/api/v1/taxonomy"
  }
}

View JSON ↗

HUD-Approved Housing Counseling

Entitlement facts

Eligibility is conditional, not guaranteed.

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