Riverside County First-Time Homebuyer Programs 2026
Updated July 2026. Figures and program status current as of this date.
Riverside County runs two standing first-time buyer programs for 2025-2026: PLHA and HOME. Both cap assistance at the lesser of $100,000 or 20% of the purchase price, with 0% interest and no monthly payments. PLHA covers more cities and converts to a grant after 30 years; HOME has stricter income limits and converts after 15 years. A separate 4th District ARPA program still exists for Cathedral City, Palm Springs, and other Coachella Valley cities, but it runs on already-obligated federal funds that are winding down and has been exhausted more than once, so verify current availability before counting on it.
PLHA vs. HOME: The Two Standing Programs
Riverside County Housing and Workforce Solutions (HWS) administers these as silent second mortgages recorded behind your first loan. Neither charges interest, neither requires a monthly payment, and both are meant to be paid back only if you sell or refinance out of the home before your affordability period ends (Riverside County HWS, PLHA and HOME FTHB Information Packets, 2025-2026 program year). If you're weighing this against a state-level option first, CalHFA's MyHome Assistance Program offers a deferred second loan of up to 3.5% of the purchase price with an FHA first mortgage, or up to 3% with a conventional, VA, or USDA first mortgage, and it can be layered with county programs like PLHA or HOME on the same purchase.
| Feature | PLHA FTHB | HOME FTHB |
|---|---|---|
| Max Assistance | Lesser of $100,000 or 20% | Lesser of $100,000 or 20% |
| Minimum Assistance | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Income Limit | 120% AMI | 80% AMI |
| Grant Conversion | 30 years, then grant | 15 years, then grant |
| Closing Costs | Not available | Not available |
| In-Ground Pools/Spas | Allowed if inspector/appraiser call out no issues | Not eligible, cannot even be removed pre-closing |
| Manufactured Homes | Up to 20 years old | Must be brand new |
| Interest Rate | 0% | 0% |
| Monthly Payments | None, deferred | None, deferred |
Both programs may be combined with CalHFA assistance, per HWS's own workshop guidance, so PLHA or HOME is not necessarily an either-or choice against a state program.
The prior version of this article stated both programs offer "up to $100,000 with a 30-year grant conversion" as if the terms were identical. They are not: HOME's grant conversion is 15 years, not 30, and HOME's income ceiling is lower (80% AMI vs. PLHA's 120% AMI). Closing cost assistance is also not currently available through either program, correcting an earlier claim that it was available through ARPA on a first-come, first-served basis.
2025-2026 Income Limits by Household Size
Income limits below are effective July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026 (Riverside County HWS, PLHA and HOME FTHB Information Packets, updated 1/14/2026 and 6/30/2025 respectively):
| Household Size | PLHA (120% AMI) | HOME (80% AMI) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Person | $87,300 | $62,650 |
| 2 Persons | $99,720 | $71,600 |
| 3 Persons | $112,200 | $80,550 |
| 4 Persons | $124,680 | $89,500 |
| 5 Persons | $134,640 | $96,700 |
| 6 Persons | $144,600 | $103,850 |
| 7 Persons | $154,620 | $111,000 |
| 8 Persons | $164,580 | $118,150 |
Maximum purchase prices for the 2025-2026 program year, effective July 1, 2025, apply to both programs equally: $564,205 for new construction or existing single-family homes, $513,000 for a condo or townhome, and $361,000 for a manufactured home (Riverside County HWS FTHB Information Packets).
Which Riverside County Cities Are PLHA and HOME Eligible?
PLHA has the broader map. It covers all unincorporated Riverside County areas (Cabazon, Glen Avon, Highgrove, Mira Loma, Mead Valley, Mecca, North Shore, Nuevo, Pedley, Thermal, Thousand Palms, Valle Vista) plus the city limits of Banning, Beaumont, Blythe, Canyon Lake, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Eastvale, Hemet, Indian Wells, Indio, Jurupa Valley, La Quinta, Lake Elsinore, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Norco, Palm Springs, San Jacinto, Temecula, and Wildomar. PLHA is NOT available in Calimesa, Corona, Menifee, Palm Desert, Perris, Rancho Mirage, or the City of Riverside.
HOME's map is different and, in a few spots, the opposite of PLHA's. HOME covers unincorporated areas plus Banning, Beaumont, Blythe, Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Eastvale, La Quinta, Norco, Rancho Mirage, San Jacinto, and Wildomar. HOME is NOT available in Cathedral City, Corona, Hemet, Indian Wells, Indio, Jurupa Valley, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Perris, or the City of Riverside (Riverside County HWS, HOME FTHB Program Guidelines, updated 1/26/2026).
Notice Rancho Mirage: not eligible for PLHA, but eligible for HOME. Cathedral City is the reverse: eligible for PLHA, excluded from HOME. Confirm which program actually reaches your target city before you fall in love with a listing.
Cathedral City ARPA Funds: What's Actually Open in 2026
This is the question most people searching for "Cathedral City ARPA funds" actually want answered, so here it is directly: Cathedral City sits in Riverside County's 4th Supervisorial District, and the program search traffic is looking for is the 4th District Home Ownership Program, an ARPA-funded down payment assistance program the Board of Supervisors approved for that district, separate from the countywide PLHA and HOME programs above.
The 4th District program covers Cathedral City, Blythe, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, and unincorporated 4th District areas. It offers up to 20% of the purchase price (capped at $100,000), uses 120% AMI income limits, the same as PLHA, and, unlike PLHA and HOME, allows up to $10,000 of that assistance toward closing costs. It converts to a grant after 15 years of continuous owner-occupancy. To apply, you go through a participating lender and can also reach HWS directly at fthb-programs@rivco.org or (951) 955-0784.
PLHA and HOME are renewable programs: PLHA draws on California's Permanent Local Housing Allocation and HOME draws on annual federal HOME Investment Partnerships formula funding, both refreshed on a fiscal-year basis. The 4th District program's ARPA dollars are not renewable in that way. The federal deadline to obligate American Rescue Plan Act funds was December 31, 2024. Riverside County already committed this money before that date, which is why the program still exists, but the county can only spend down what was already set aside, through the federal expenditure deadline of December 31, 2026. Once it's gone, there is no mechanism to refill it the way PLHA and HOME get refilled every year. The program has already been exhausted and re-opened with additional allocations more than once since 2024, so "check current availability before you count on it" is not boilerplate here, it's the actual pattern.
Practically, that means: confirm 4th District fund status with HWS or a participating lender before you write an offer assuming this money will be there. If it's exhausted when you need it, PLHA is very likely your fallback in Cathedral City, since Cathedral City is PLHA-eligible (just not HOME-eligible).
City of Norco ARPA Funding: What This Query Is Actually Asking About
Norco sits in Riverside County's 2nd Supervisorial District, not the 4th or 5th, so it is not covered by the ARPA-funded district programs described above. What we could confirm is that the City of Norco has run its own, separate first-time homebuyer down payment assistance loan, historically capped around $40,000 as a second loan, funded and administered by the city itself rather than by Riverside County HWS or any ARPA allocation. We could not verify this city program's current 2026 funding status or terms from a source with a visible update date, so treat "still funded" as unconfirmed until you call the city directly.
What IS confirmed for Norco: it is one of the cities covered by both PLHA and HOME, Riverside County's two standing countywide programs described above, so a Norco buyer has a real path through the county even if the city's own program is currently unfunded or waitlisted.
For the city's own down payment loan: contact the City of Norco directly (norco.ca.us) for current funding status, since we found no reliably dated confirmation it's still active. For the county programs: Norco qualifies for both PLHA and HOME, so confirm your income tier and go through a participating HWS lender.
How Grant Conversion Actually Works
The grant conversion feature is what makes these programs worth the paperwork. Here's the mechanism for each:
PLHA: 30-Year Affordability Period
- You receive up to $100,000 as a 0% interest, deferred-payment second mortgage
- No monthly payments on the HWS loan for as long as you own and occupy the home
- After 30 years of continuous owner-occupancy, the entire balance converts to a grant, no repayment
- Sell or cash-out refinance before 30 years, and you repay the full assistance amount
HOME and 4th District ARPA: 15-Year Affordability Period
- Same silent-second structure, but grant conversion happens after 15 years instead of 30
- Faster path to full forgiveness, offset by HOME's stricter 80% AMI income ceiling
That appreciation figure is illustrative math at a flat 3% annual rate, not a forecast, actual appreciation varies significantly by city and market cycle. The structural point holds regardless of the exact number: a $100,000 head start that never has to be repaid, sitting inside three decades of whatever equity growth actually happens, is the core value proposition of PLHA specifically.
Eligibility Requirements for PLHA and HOME
Buyer Requirements (Both Programs)
- First-time homebuyer status: no ownership interest in a principal residence in the past 3 years
- Primary residence only: you must occupy the home within 60 days of purchase, no rentals or investment use
- 8-hour homebuyer education: a HUD-approved course, required before closing
- Participating lender: HWS does not take applications directly, only approved lenders can submit them
- Income within limits: based on household size, see the table above
- Asset limits: total household assets generally cannot exceed the income limit for your household size
- Citizenship: US citizen or qualified alien under PRWORA Section 431 for both programs; PLHA also accepts ITIN or DACA recipients
- No minimum credit score set by the county programs themselves, though your first-mortgage lender will have its own requirement
Property Requirements
- Single-family homes, condos, and townhomes are eligible under both programs
- Minimum 2 bedrooms
- Must be in standard, move-in condition, a home inspection and lender appraisal are required
- Tenant-occupied homes are not eligible unless the tenant is the one purchasing
- Pools and spas: allowed case-by-case under PLHA if the inspector and appraiser call out no issues; not eligible at all under HOME, and cannot even be removed during escrow to qualify
Working Through PLHA, HOME, or a City Program?
Every buyer's mix of income, target city, and program eligibility is different. I'll help you figure out which door is actually open.
Free consultation, no pressure
Application Process
- Contact a participating lender. Only approved lenders can submit HWS applications. Get the current list at rivcohws.org.
- Get pre-qualified. Your lender determines your maximum purchase price and which program(s) you're eligible for.
- Complete the 8-hour homebuyer education course through a HUD-approved provider (a small fee may apply).
- Find an eligible property in a participating city, using your agent to confirm program eligibility before you write an offer.
- Submit your application through the lender. HWS reviews complete files within about 10 county working days; incomplete files restart the clock.
- Home inspection and appraisal. The property must meet standard health and safety condition.
- Close on your home. The HWS loan records as a second mortgage, silent and interest-free.
PLHA and HOME are funded on a rolling fiscal-year basis and can still run out mid-year in a given city even though the program itself continues into the next cycle. The 4th District ARPA program is a smaller, non-renewable pool that has been exhausted and refunded multiple times since 2024. Before you count on any of these programs for a specific purchase, check the current bulletins at rivcohws.org/downpayment-assistance or ask your participating lender directly.
What Changed Since Early 2026
Three things are different from the version of this article published in January 2026:
- The old "up to $65K" title figure never matched the body of this article, which always described $100,000 caps. That mismatch is corrected: both PLHA and HOME cap at the lesser of $100,000 or 20% of price.
- HOME's terms were previously conflated with PLHA's. HOME's grant conversion is 15 years, not 30, and its income ceiling is 80% AMI, not 120%. The earlier version implied both programs shared PLHA's more generous terms.
- ARPA was described as a single, simple, ongoing program. It is not. The federal obligation deadline passed December 31, 2024, so no new ARPA money is being added; the 4th District program is spending down an already-committed pool through the December 31, 2026 expenditure deadline, and it has been exhausted and refunded more than once along the way.
Ready to Find Your First Home in Riverside County?
Search homes in PLHA and HOME-eligible cities, or text me your numbers and I'll tell you what you actually qualify for.
Start Your Home SearchOr call/text (951) 482-7918, no obligation
