The federal government has cleared a long-standing hurdle in Lorain, Ohio, allowing the city to expand access to homeownership and accelerate housing rehabilitation projects. The changes affect the HOME Investment Partnerships Program, one of the federal government's primary tools for supporting affordable housing at the local level. The city had been placed under special grant conditions on its HOME funding for fiscal years 2017 through 2025 due to earlier program deficiencies, which limited how the city could commit and spend funds and required a reimbursement-based process. After a multi-year effort to overhaul its internal systems, the city's Building, Housing and Planning Department has now met federal requirements.