Tampa is providing up to $100,000 to residents for eligible homes that need critical repairs. Renovations will be made through the Healthy Homes Program, which is funded by a federal grant of $1.9 million from the Housing and Urban Development, or HUD.
The city has enough funding to help at least 90 people.
To leverage funds Tampa also added $1 million from the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) to successfully repair houses.
“We hope that we can give homeowners peace of mind while the program’s funding takes care of expensive repairs that will ensure the longevity of these homes,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a press release.
To be eligible for the funds, residents must:
- Be located in Tampa’s city limits
- Owned home for at least two years and occupy it
- Household income must not exceed 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI)
Kayon Henderson is the city’s director of Housing and Community Development.
“The goal of the program is to identify homes that have some health hazards and refine the process to really assist the resident with remediation of the hazards,” she said.
Some hazards include lead, asthma, radon, and mold.
Henderson said the program aims to sustain people in their homes if it’s already affordable, instead of pushing them out.
Monie Davis is an East Tampa homeowner in the middle of receiving her repairs that started in June.
Davis’s roof collapsed into her home. After she called the city, she had her roof tarped within 48 hours
Her roof is complete now, and over the next few months, contractors will assist with replacing new drywall, baseboards, and cabinets from the severe water damage Davis’ home had.
Contractors will also work on her HVAC, water heaters, gutters, smoke detectors, and more. In total, the city will pay over $98,000 for her home’s repairs. Davis and several other homeowners around the city are currently having repairs done on their houses.
Eligible repairs on homes include:
- Roof
- Plumbing
- Electrical
- Structural systems
- HVAC
- Exterior deterioration
- Water heater replacement
- Weatherization
- Accessibility improvements
- Lead-based paint remediation
- Radon remediation
- Water intrusion
- Smoke/Carbon Monoxide detectors
- Fence replacement
As of Wednesday, the city has received 25 applicants for the Healthy Homes program. Funding will last just over a year.
This particular program can only help a certain number of people. But Henderson said whether people qualify or not, there are still other options.
“We have the owner-occupied rehab program that we will continue to administer that indeed does a lot of the fixes like roof but however, does not allow us to do lead and mold mediations,” she said.
There is no limit to how many residential homeowners can apply for the owner-occupied rehab program.
