Government agencies, public and private foundations or organizations offer home repair grants to homeowners that struggle to maintain their home due to financial hardships. Most home repair grants cater towards specific groups, especially senior citizens and veterans. The federal governments grant programs target these two groups specifically, along with specific guidelines that state how the awarded money is to be used for those repairs.
- The USDA branch of the federal government offers home repair grants known as Section 504 Home Repair to very low income elderly homeowners. To qualify for this grant, the homeowners must be 62 or older, with health and safety hazards that they are unable to afford to repair themselves. The federal government also offers home repair loans, so the elderly applicants must be in a financial state that they would not be able to repay that loan. The awarded grant money has a lifetime limit of $7,500 and if the home is sold within 3 years of the repairs it must be repaid in full.
- The Veterans Affairs branch of the federal government runs two grant programs for qualifying veterans and service members. These programs are the Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) and Special Housing Adaptation (SHA), which helps service members and veterans that have permanent and/or total service related disabilities. The SAH grant allows those to use the awarded money to build an adapted home, modify an existing home, or pay off principle on an adapted home that is already purchased without the use of VA grants. The SHA grants allow for those awarded funding to make modifications to an existing home or purchase a home with all of the proper modifications needed due to the military disability. Additional information about each program can be found on the federal government website.
- Home repair assistance programs are also available on the state and local levels. There are several programs that have home repair grant money for individual homeowners or the community as a whole. HUD (Housing and Urban Development) will assign a set amount of money to a state’s county or local community to help improve troubled areas. These programs are available to help improve the community and the different programs and eligibility information can be found on each state’s website.
- Home repair grants are also funded by private foundations and nonprofit organizations. These groups can be found on national and local levels available to homeowners that are eligible and meet the criteria. A committee will then choose the homeowners that fit the goals of the home repair grant best and award them the money. It is important for homeowners looking into these grants to note the rules if awarded grant money, because if they are not followed the money will most likely have to be paid back in full and it will be a waste of time and effort.