Housing Action
Training Center
National Trainings for Housing Counselors
A core part of our Capacity Building program is bringing a robust lineup of trainings for nonprofit housing professionals, with a specific focus on educating housing counselors.
Our goal is to equip housing counselors with the skills and knowledge they need to better help individuals and families find and keep good homes. In 2021, we expanded our training program beyond Illinois, and since then, we have continued to grow our programming, educating housing counselors from across the country.
Interested in joining us to expand your knowledge and better serve your community? Join our email list to learn about ongoing learning opportunities.
Going Nationwide
Housing Action has been training housing counselors since 2006. In 2021, we expanded our training program beyond Illinois, and since then, we have continued to grow our programming, educating housing counselors from across the country.
In 2024, our trainings were attended by
participants
from across the U.S.
On-Demand Trainings
Recognizing the need for housing counselors to have flexible and dynamic learning opportunities, we’ve launched our first on-demand training opportunity, Compliance Matters: The 2024 Definitive HUD Data Compliance Course for HUD-Certified Housing Counselors.
Prerecorded Trainings & Materials
HUD Updates with Jerrold H. Mayer (2023)
Helping Illinois Homeowners Navigate the Home Appraisal Process (2022)
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing: The Role of Housing Counselors (2022)
Fair housing is the right to choose housing free from unlawful discrimination. This training is to help housing counselors better understand the how fair housing works in the United States and why it is so important. Learn about the history of the Fair Housing Act and Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), why these legal protections are essential to expanding housing opportunities, what has happened recently when it comes to fair housing, and how housing counselors can play a critical role in furthering fair housing for your clients and your communities.
Housing Action Illinois brought this training partnership with CAFHA.
Stay Informed & Hear from Experts
We partner with well-respected trainers to make sure that participants get the critical updates and key foundational information needed to support clients.
Becoming a HUD-Certified Housing Counselor
Housing Action Illinois has designed a training series to help newcomers who are interested in a career as a housing counselor. Our Housing Counseling Career Path is a comprehensive program designed to help you understand the six core principles of housing counseling and prepare to pass the HUD Individual Certification Exam, which makes you eligible for hire by a HUD-approved housing counseling agency.
Learn more »
Making the Case for Housing Counseling
HUD’s Office of Housing Counseling has launched a campaign called Let’s Make Home the Goal to help people understand how HUD-certified housing counseling can help with reaching financial and homeownership goals.
See campaign materials »
Latest News for Housing Counselors
Launching a Housing Counseling Program
“Information is power,” says Guadalupe Gasca. As a housing counselor at Centro Romero, the information that Lupe gives families on the northeast side of Chicago helps them find and keep good apartments and homes. “Too many people don’t know their rights,...
Welcome to Our New Housing Counseling Intermediary Affiliates
This spring, Housing Action is excited to welcome three new housing counseling agencies to our Housing Counseling Intermediary network: Central Detroit Christian CDC, The Housing Partnership, and Advantage Housing. Housing counselors work with clients at all income...
New Faces at Housing Action Illinois
Housing Action Illinois has come a long way since we hired our first full-time staff member in 1988—a single employee who shared our offices with the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing. Today, we have 14 full-time staff members, and we’ve grown so...
7 Reasons We’re Proud of 2017
1. Housing Action Illinois turned 30! We celebrated thirty years of leading the movement for affordable homes in Illinois—and renewed our resolve to continue working until everyone in our state has a stable, healthy, affordable place to call home. 2. We...
Housing Action Illinois Awarded $820,030 in Housing Counseling Funds: 26 Agencies to Receive Sub-Grants
HUD has awarded $820,030 to Housing Action Illinois to distribute resources to local organizations whose housing programs and services prevent foreclosures and help families rent or buy safe, affordable homes. This year’s network of 26 housing counseling...
Housing Action Trainings Go Nationwide
We're excited to announce that Housing Action Illinois is beginning to facilitate housing counselor trainings not just in Illinois but in states across the nation. In response to needs expressed by housing counselors, Housing Action has started to develop...
New Housing Counselor Training: The Fundamentals of Rental Counseling
Americans are more likely to rent a home today than at any other time during the previous 50 years. Given this landscape, it is essential for housing counselors to empower clients with information and resources during every step of the rental process....
New Housing Counselor Training: Housing Counselor Online Made Easy
Home Counselor Online (HCO) is a free client management system (CMS) developed and managed by Fannie Mae that can make required reporting to HUD and other funders easier. But until now, there hasn’t been a comprehensive hands-on training to teach housing...
March 2017: Federal and State Housing Advocacy Update
Federal Level Advocacy Along with advocates from across the country who work to create affordable housing and end homelessness, we are dismayed by President Trump’s budget “blueprint" for next year. Why? The proposal cuts the HUD budget by $6.2 billion (13%). The...
Housing Counseling Program Final Rule Summary
On December 14, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a Final Rule for the Housing Counseling program. The most significant of these changes is the requirement that all individuals that provide housing counseling in connection with a HUD...