FHA required repairs: what must be fixed to close

What repairs does FHA require before closing?

FHA, the Federal Housing Administration, has no fixed list of required repairs, so ask your loan officer for your lender's list in writing and price each item before your contingency deadline. The appraiser flags each place the home is not "safe, sound, and secure," and your lender makes the final call. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) says so in Handbook 4000.1, section II.D.3.n: whatever the appraiser suggests, "the Mortgagee will determine which repairs are required" for your loan.

Key takeaways

• A roof passes on remaining life, not age. It needs at least two years left.
• In a home built before 1978, chipped or peeling paint anywhere, inside or out, is a required repair.
• If you pay for the appraiser's required repairs and your contract names you as the payer, your lender may add the cost to the price it uses to size your loan, up to a cap.

What does an FHA appraiser flag?

The appraiser checks the home against HUD's Minimum Property Requirements, known as MPR. The handbook tells the appraiser to "limit required repairs" to three aims. They are safety, security and soundness, "continued marketability," and the occupants' health and safety. Beyond roofs and paint, here are six more findings the handbook names.

If the appraisal goes to a pest inspection, your lender must also get "evidence of any required treatment" (section II.A.3.a.ii(Q)). Ask the seller for the treatment receipt now, not in closing week.

Cosmetic wear is different: "Cosmetic or minor repairs are not required," the handbook says. Its examples include "holes in window screens, cracked window glass" and a dripping faucet.

Can you get an FHA loan if the paint is chipping or peeling?

You can get an FHA loan once the peeling paint is repaired. The rule depends on the year the home was built.

• Built before 1978: the appraiser must "note the condition and location of all defective paint and require repair" (section II.D.3.m.i). That covers "all interior and exterior surfaces, including common areas, stairs, deck, porch, railings, windows and doors." A peeling porch rail counts. So do "fences, detached garages, storage sheds."
• Built in or after 1978: only exterior paint that "exposes the subsurface to the elements" needs repair (section II.D.3.i). The handbook lists peeling interior paint in homes built after 1978 as cosmetic.

In an older home, hire a lead-safe certified painter. The Environmental Protection Agency's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule requires "anyone paid to perform work that disturbs painted surfaces" in those homes to be certified. Ask for the firm's certification with its written bid.

How old can a roof be for an FHA loan?

FHA sets no age limit for a roof. It must "prevent entrance of moisture" and have "a remaining physical life of at least two years" (section II.D.3.g). If it has less, the appraisal goes "subject to inspection by a professional roofer."

Age alone is not a reason to replace. When a part "is functioning well but has not reached the end of its useful life," the handbook says the appraiser "should not recommend replacement because of age" (section II.D.3.n.ii). If your inspector flagged the roof, get a roofer's written estimate of remaining life and repair cost. It answers your lender's question and yours.

Who pays for FHA required repairs?

Your purchase contract names who pays. Ask the seller to complete the lender's required repairs before closing, and put it in the addendum.

You can also pay for them yourself. Under section II.A.2.a.v, a lender "may add repair costs to the sales price before calculating the mortgage amount" when three things are true:

• "the repairs are required by the Appraiser to meet HUD's MPR"
• you pay for them
• "the sales contract or addendum identifies the Borrower as the party responsible for payment and completion of the repairs"

The amount added is the lowest of three figures: how far the value exceeds the price, "the Appraiser's estimate of repairs," or "the amount of the contractor's bid."

Say the home appraises $5,000 above the price, the appraiser estimates repairs at $6,000, and your contractor bids $7,000. The lender may add no more than $5,000, the lowest of the three. If the home appraises at or below the price, the first figure is zero, so nothing can be added.

Seller cash for repairs is trickier. Section II.A.4.d.iii lists "repair allowances" among inducements to purchase, which cause "a dollar-for-dollar reduction to the purchase price" when your loan is sized. Ask your loan officer how to word any seller money before you sign. How a repair credit works at closing shows where it lands on your paperwork.

Do FHA repairs have to be done before closing?

Required repairs have to be done before closing unless your lender sets up a repair escrow. When the appraisal shows required repairs, "the Mortgagee must comply with Repair Requirements" (section II.A.3.a.iii).

If repairs "cannot be completed prior to closing," the lender "may establish an escrow account" for them. Section II.A.6.a.viii sets the limits. The home must be "habitable and safe for occupancy at the time of loan closing," and the funds must be "sufficient to cover the cost of the repairs" without counting your own labor. An escrow is the lender's option, not your right, so ask your loan officer early whether they will use one for your file.

When the work is done, your lender "must obtain evidence of completion" (section II.A.3.b), and an appraiser's recheck uses Fannie Mae Form 1004D. Send the contractor's invoice and any permit to your loan officer as soon as the work is finished.

What if the seller won't make the required repairs?

If the seller won't make the required repairs, you still have four moves:

• Pay for them yourself, with the contract naming you as the payer, up to the cap above.
• Ask for a repair escrow if the home is safe to live in.
• Renegotiate the price with a priced list behind your number.
• Cancel if your contract's appraisal or repair terms allow it.

Your contract sets the exact dates and terms, so confirm them with your agent or attorney. Most of these moves need a dollar figure. Kept prices every line of an inspection report for $79, usually under 4 hours, and marks the ones that need a professional quote. What to ask for after a home inspection covers the items outside the lender's list.

Is an FHA appraisal the same as a home inspection?

No. For termites alone, the appraiser's look "is not required to be at the same level as a qualified pest control specialist" (section II.D.3.m.iii). Lenders must hand you HUD's form "For Your Protection: Get a Home Inspection" at first contact (section II.A.1.a.ii).

Did FHA change its repair rules in 2026?

Not for the appraiser rules on this page. HUD issued the current handbook update on August 12, 2026, but the roof, structural and repair-requirement sections still carry a 2015 revision date. The update's property changes include flood-zone rules and well water test wording.

How do I know what my FHA required repairs will cost?

Start with the lender's list and get a written bid on each item from the right trade: a roofer, an electrician, a structural engineer. Then price the rest of your inspection report, so you know the full total before you answer the seller.

If your FHA appraisal came back with required repairs and your deadline is close, upload your inspection report to Kept and walk into the repair talk with numbers.

Sources

• HUD Handbook 4000.1, FHA Single Family Housing Policy Handbook, sections II.A.1.a.ii, II.A.2.a.v, II.A.3.a.ii, II.A.3.a.iii, II.A.3.b, II.A.4.d.iii, II.A.6.a.viii, II.D.2, II.D.3
• EPA, Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program