FL HLP: Florida’s Down Payment Loan, With a Small Monthly Payment
Nelson Paredes · REALTOR® · One Stop Realty Center Inc
Updated October 20, 2026
Up to $12,500
No pause notice — checked October 20, 2026. The rates to reserve this assistance, on Florida Housing’s page for lenders, carry the date of each business day. How much money is left is not published. Whether your case receives it is confirmed by the lender handling your purchase. Official source.
The most the state lends with this assistance; what you receive in your case can be less.
The figures and requirements come from Florida Housing’s official term sheet. The status above comes from the last time we read the source, with its date.
Checked October 14, 2026.
- How much: up to $12,500 as a loan for the down payment and the costs of the day you sign for the home.
- How it works: a loan that does come with a small monthly payment, unlike state programs such as FL Assist or Hometown Heroes.
- Who: first-time buyers, with an income limit that depends on how many people live in your household and a maximum price for the home.
- How to apply: through a lender that offers this assistance; the lender reserves it, inside your purchase.
Florida Housing Finance Corporation gives up to $12,500 as a loan for the down payment and the costs of the day you sign for the home.
It is a loan at 3% interest over 30 years, with a small payment each month (about $52.70). Whatever is left to pay, you pay all back when you sell the home, put it in someone else’s name, replace your loan with a new one or stop living in it.
This assistance is for first-time buyers. The income limit depends on how many people live in your household:
People in your household Miami-Dade Broward 1 $136,200 $126,800 2 $136,200 $126,800 3 $156,630 $145,820 4 $156,630 $145,820 5 $156,630 $145,820 6 or more $156,630 $145,820 Maximum home price: up to $697,889, in Miami-Dade and in Broward.
The assistance also requires what is on this list, which we do not ask about in the finder. Confirm it with your lender:
- The payment you make each month for this assistance has to fit within what your lender lets you owe each month.
- Your credit score has to be 640 or higher.
- You have to take a homebuyer course approved by the federal government before you sign for the home.
- If your loan is a government-backed one (the 3.5%-down loan, the veterans loan or the rural loan), you have to be a permanent resident. With a regular bank loan, living here legally is enough.
- You can only use one Florida Housing purchase assistance in your whole life, so you must not have used one before.
- The income limit can change depending on the type of loan you get; your lender tells you which one applies to you.
- 1Compare with assistance that has no monthly paymentThe assistance finder reviews this one and the others with your information, to see whether one with a monthly payment or one without fits you better.See which programs could fit
- 2Talk to a lenderAsk whether it offers FL HLP, and ask it to check that this assistance’s payment fits within what it lets you owe each month.
- 3Take the homebuyer courseIt has to be approved by the federal government, and you take it before you sign for the purchase.
- 4The lender reserves the assistanceIf everything fits, the lender reserves it, meaning it sets that money aside for your purchase. Until it confirms that, do not count on it.
It does not stack with another state assistance. It can be added to a county or city one, if that one allows it.
Before you count on both, check that the other assistance’s rules allow it.
In the assistance finder you can compare this one with other Miami-Dade and Broward programs. The Assistance Tracker shows each program’s status with the date we checked it. This guide explains FL HLP, but it does not replace your lender’s review.
Is this assistance’s payment my home payment? No. It is the payment on the assistance, separate from the payment on your main loan. This guide calculates neither: your lender tells you what you would pay in total.
What does it mean that the payment “has to fit” within what the lender lets me owe? The lender adds up what you pay each month on your debts and checks whether that fits within what your household earns. This assistance’s payment counts as one more debt. We explain how it is calculated in the guide on how much of your income goes to debt.
How is it different from state assistance with no monthly payment? Some state assistance, such as FL Assist and Hometown Heroes, does not ask you to pay anything each month. FL HLP does ask for a small payment, so the lender takes it into account when it reviews your case.
I saw a different amount or term for FL HLP. Which one is right? The one Florida Housing publishes in its current official terms, which is where this guide comes from, with the verification date at the bottom. If you see another figure on an old page or a third party’s page, confirm it with your lender or in the official source.
Is it open today? The card above shows the latest we read in the official source, with its date. If how much money is left matters to you, ask your lender.
Figures and requirements checked on October 14, 2026 against the official terms of Florida Housing’s programs. The terms of a public program can change without notice: always confirm with Florida Housing Finance Corporation or your lender before applying. This guide orients you, it does not advise you.
