Who Is Eligible for Government Home Improvement Grant?

Being eligible for a government home improvement grant typically varies and depends on factors such as income level, age, property ownership, and location. Federal home improvement grants help homeowners maintain and repair their homes, ensuring they stay beautiful with perfect structural integrity for the longest time. You can use the grant to upgrade your house, including the kitchen, bathroom, and other interior and exterior parts, for increased comfort and home value addition.

There are many home improvement grants that you can access at the federal, state, or county level through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The department’s main aim is to improve the quality of life of eligible people by making housing affordable. Eligibility usually depends on aspects such as income level, age of applicant, property ownership, and location. 

At RenoFi, we want to help you understand all of your borrowing options; here, will identify some of the government home modification grants and people who are eligible for them. 

1. Single Family Housing Section 504 Home Repair Grants and Loans

It is a home repair grant that the federal government, through the Rural Housing Service (RHS), offers for elderly homeowners. Grants from the Rural Development Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) branch are primarily for repairs of damaged homes to enhance accessibility and mobility. The grant helps elderly homeowners eliminate any health and safety issues that arise after a disaster.

Sometimes, if the damage is beyond repairs, the government home improvement grant allows homeowners to have a total home replacement. Through the housing grant, eligible individuals or groups can own and live in a decent, safe, clean, and modest house. The maximum the homeowners can get is around $7,500 in a lifetime.

Eligible individuals can also qualify for a loan of up to $20,000. You might qualify for both the grant and loan, which has an interest rate of 1%.

Eligibility for the 504 Home Repair Grants

To qualify for the federal grant, you should be:

• Elderly aged 62 and above 
• Owning the house or home and living in it
• Unable to get the grant from another source or credit institution 
• A very low-income earner is below the meager limit in your county
• Unable to pay back the funds  

The elderly homeowner should also be living in a presidentially declared disaster area (PDDA). By 2022, some presidentially declared disaster places were Alabama, Alaska, Florida, California, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and West Virginia. Luckily, the RHS and USDA do not discriminate against applicants based on sexual orientation, nationality, religion, sex, gender, race, color, or disability, making the application process free.

Stipulation for the Grant

The elderly homeowners who qualify for the loan can only use it to repair homes with safety and health hazards. If the homeowner finds and sells the home within three years after receiving the RHS funds, it is advisable or mandatory to repay the grant in full.

2. Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) Grant

Another government home improvement grant is the specially adapted housing grant. It helps qualifying individuals repair or purchase a home that meets their disability needs. The grant is from the Department of Veterans Affairs for veterans with service-related injuries or disabilities that affect their everyday living.

The funds, which can get up to $117,014, help in home remodeling or modifications to make the living space fit for the injured veterans. They can pay for the installation of ramps, automatic door openers, safe rooms, roll-under sinks, or pull-down shelves, which promote independent living of the injured soldiers. Sometimes, the homes might need widening hallways or doorways.

Who qualifies for the adaptation grant?

Veterans or service members eligible for the federal home improvement grant should:

• Be using the money to buy, build, or remodel a permanent home to live in
• Have service-connected injuries and disabilities 
• Have lost the use of the lower extremities and limbs. For example, veterans who need wheelchairs, canes, braces, or crutches to move
• Have blindness in both eyes with loss or loss of use of legs
• Have lost hands or arms
• Have experienced the lasting effects of an injury or disease
• Have nonfunctional hands or arms
• Have severe burn injuries
• Have serious respiratory ailments or injuries

Stipulations for the Grant

For the injured or ill service members or veterans to receive the specially adapted housing grant or compensation, the character or the discharged veteran should be honorable or under honorable conditions. Veterans serving as reserve and national guards should only have an honorable discharge to apply for and access the grant.

In addition, injured veterans discharged due to undesirable charges and bad conduct might qualify for the benefits if the Department of Veteran Affairs allows them. The service members or soldiers can only get the grant six times in their lifetime.

3. Special Home Adaptation (SHA)Grant 

The SHA grant has numerous similarities to the SAH grant that the veterans receive. Unlike the SAH, SHA offers a much lower grant, around $23,000 for injured veterans. Veterans qualify for at most three SHA grants in their lifetime. Getting the grant to remodel a home that a family member owns is possible as long as you live there. 

Eligibility for this government home improvement grant for service members includes:

• Having a service-related disability that includes loss or loss of use of both hands, severe burns, blindness in both eyes, and respiratory ailments due to service-connected injuries. 
• Owning or planning to own the home as a permanent residence.

4. VA Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) Grant

Veterans eligible for the Special Home Adaptation and Specially Adapted Housing grants can also qualify for the Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) funds.

The grant helps family members host veterans with service-related injuries before they move to their new or remodeled home. Family members receive a fraction of the approved SHA and SAH funds to make their house comfortable for the injured veteran. They can use the funds to expand hall and doorways and install ramps, safe rooms, and smart doors.

5. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

Besides the above government home improvement grants, there is the low-income home energy assistance program. It offers federally funded assistance to low-income families to enhance their safety and health and reduce energy costs.

The program provides energy-related home repairs, weatherization and deals with energy crises. It ensures low-income households have a comfortable home during the icy winters and hot summer seasons. The grants from the project assist homes to repair or replace their HVAC systems in preparation for the cold and hot seasons.

Even though the benefitting households do not receive the grant directly from the US Department of Health and Human Services, they receive services that will reduce energy bills, increase home value, and enhance comfort. 

Eligibility Criteria for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)

• Families or individuals participating in or benefiting from programs such as TANF, SSI, and SNAP are automatically eligible for these programs. 
• The annual household income limits should be below $22,590 for a home with one person and $79,080 for a household of eight people before taxes.
• Homes with high energy costs can also be prioritized for the program.

6. Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME)

Home Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) is another government program by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that offers grants to state and local governments to provide affordable housing for low-income families.

It is a block grant that ensures states and localities get the required resources to solve all housing needs for low-income families. They work with homeowners and landlords to respond to affordable housing challenges.

How does it work?

HOME supports landlords who provide housing rental solutions. It funds over 90 percent of the units in an area so that low-income families can rent them and have a roof over their heads. The landowners and non-profit organizations work with the state and local governments to buy, build, and remodel buildings for subsidized renting.

The state can also provide loans and grants to offer rental assistance to households earning low incomes. Together with the local government and agencies, a state can also demolish structures, make site improvements, and pay building costs to ensure the construction of affordable homes. In some cases, tenants can receive grants or security deposits, which is rental assistance, to ensure they do not spend more than 30 percent of their income.

Who is eligible for the HOME grant?

• States and local governments that deal with affordable housing for low and medium-income earners. 
• Non-profit organizations are community housing development organizations responsible for low-income residents in the community.

7. Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP)

Due to the country’s high electricity costs, the US Department of Energy has the Weatherization Assistance Program to help households with energy efficiency and health and safety promotion. The program ensures homeowners access to several services, such as energy education, to learn effective ways to reduce energy costs and the most energy-efficient systems to use in their homes. 

This home improvement program also offers cold crisis intervention, installation, replacement, and repairs of water heaters, heating systems, furnaces, insulation units, energy-efficient lighting, and digital thermostats. The weatherization program offers energy efficiency services that keep outdoor elements such as extreme sun, heat, winds, and rain out and encourage energy saving. 

These services that increase your home value and indoor air quality are free of charge for qualifying households in the country. 

Additionally, the program provides free weatherization services to around 35,000 homes nationwide annually. It works with several state, tribal, or local organizations for weatherization services.

Who is eligible for the weatherization assistance program?

Though the eligibility criteria differ in each state, the following are some common guidelines. 

• Homeowners, mobile homeowners, and tenants can qualify for assistance if their household income exceeds 200% of the set poverty income guidelines.  
• Households with older people aged 60 and above, people with disabilities, with dependent children, and high electricity costs are given priority. 
• Homes that receive the supplemental security income are also considered for the free weatherization services.

8. HUD Property Improvement Loan Program

To add to the list of government improvement grants is the HUD Property Improvement Loan Program by the Federal Housing Administration. It is a government program that insures loans from private lenders such as RenoFi to make it easy for families to get loans for home repairs and modifications. Also known as Title 1 loans, they enable individuals who might not be eligible for the loans to get funds by paying for insurance. 

The funds from the loan help homeowners who wish to accommodate an older person renovate their homes to make them safer and more accessible. Some improvements homeowners install or add in their homes using the loan include a ramp in homes with stairs for wheelchairs, widened doorways, automatic doors, handrails in the bathrooms, or a seated shower to make the elderly residents comfortable. 

The private HUD-approved lender pays the insurance or provides the loan and lends up to $25,000 to improve a single-family home or $12,000 per family unit for apartments and other multi-family units. 

Eligibility 

The following are eligible for this home improvement grant or loan. 

• Homeowners should own the property they intend to remodel or repair.
• If the borrower does not own the property,  the lease lasts six more months after the repayment date. 

9. Other Government Home Improvement Grants and Loans

Apart from the above government home improvement grants and loans, there are many others offered at the federal, state, and local levels. You can qualify for some, such as:

• The choice Neighborhood Implementation Grant Program.
• Rural Energy for America Program
• Housing Repair Loans and Grants 
• Community Development Block Grant

Conclusion

Eligibility for government home improvement grants depends on numerous aspects, including household income and size. It is best to always check the eligibility of home enhancement loans and grants before applying to know where you stand. 

So, if you are ready to repair or renovate your old or damaged home, check for the numerous government and private programs you are eligible for to make the improvement project affordable. RenoFi loans are the smartest way to finance a home renovation project. Unlike traditional loans, which are based on your current home value or require you to refinance your primary mortgage and give up your low rate, RenoFi loans are based on the After Renovation Value of your home. This allows you to borrow on average 11x more, get a low monthly payment, and keep your low rate on your first mortgage. 

Apply for a RenoFi loan today!