The My Safe Florida Home program has reopened applications with replenished funding — but still less than what the governor requested.
There are also new eligibility requirements.
The program conducts a free home inspection to identify areas that need to be upgraded to better withstand winds during a hurricane.
Then, if eligible and accepted, a homeowner receives assistance in upgrading their homes and is reimbursed at the end of the process.
Governor Ron DeSantis had previously asked state legislators for $600 million to be allocated for My Safe Florida Home, but they instead allocated $280 million in this year’s budget.
Steven Fielder, the chief business officer at the Florida Department of Financial Services, said the program had residual grant funds from last year.
“We have had some homeowners who were previously awarded grants, but then, for whatever reason, they either moved or decided they changed their mind and didn't use the money,” he said.
Fielder said 7,200 people allowed their grant to expire without using it.
This upped the total funding for the program to $352 million, which will allow as many as 33,000 homeowners to receive a grant this year.
“That is one of the reasons why the legislature didn't have to give us the full amount that the governor originally asked for,” Fielder said.
He added another reason is that the legislature directed the program to prioritize low- and moderate-income homeowners. The program will not give grants to anyone who exceeds the moderate income.
The program defines “low-income” as having a household income at or below 80% of the median for the county they live in, and “moderate-income” as below 120% of their county’s median income.
“Those folks are totally not eligible for the grant anymore,” he said. “Because they are no longer eligible, the legislature decided that they wouldn't need to give us as much money.”
Fielder said the program will prioritize grant awards by age and income, with two-week application windows opening on the dates below:
- Over 60, low income- August 4 at 8 a.m.
- Under 60, low income- August 18 at 8 a.m.
- Over 60, moderate- September 1 at 8 a.m.
- Under 60, moderate- September 15 at 8 a.m.
“The advantage of having these two-week increments is everybody isn't hitting us all at once, so the applications come in in a more methodical flow,” Fielder said.
Fielder said another change is that low-income applicants now need to show proof of homeowners insurance — something they were exempt from in previous years.
“Everyone will have to show proof of homeowners insurance regardless of income,” he said. “Most people did have insurance last year, so I don't expect that to really affect a lot of folks, numerically.”
Those who meet the low-income eligibility criteria are eligible for a grant up to $10,000 to be applied towards either roof items, doors or windows — as recommended in their inspection report.
Those on moderate-income criteria are eligible for a matching grant.
This means that for every dollar they invest, the program would match it with up to $2. To receive the full $10,000 grant, they would need to contribute $5,000.
And Fielder said this year's total funding of $352 million is broken up into three categories.
Around $329 million is dedicated towards grants, a little over $5 million for inspections and the remaining goes toward administration, such as staffing, grant reviewers and call center employees.
The state provides home inspections for free and gives homeowners documentation of the status of their home from a wind mitigation perspective.
But homeowners do not need to continue with the process after the inspection if they don’t want to.
“I understand that everyone's financial situation is different, and you might not have the money to do all these things at once,” Fielder said. “The homeowner is under no obligation to go any farther if that's all you want to do.”
Still, for those who want to go through with the process, they need to finish filling out the application after their home inspection.
Fielder said the process of reviewing the application goes fairly quickly, and applicants should expect a response within a few days.
If approved for the grant, the homeowner would start looking for contractors.
Because the My Safe Florida Home is a reimbursement program, it does not have the legal ability to give homeowners money on the front end.
"As long as the work's been inspected by the local building department, and we verify through our inspectors that the work is finished, we then would reimburse the homeowner,” Fielder said.
He added homeowners usually navigate that by financing through the contractor or getting a short-term loan from a credit union.
Still, he asked applicants to stay diligent and be patient. He added that there are video tutorials that can help with the application process.
“If you have created an account with us, make sure you're checking back and looking at your status to see if it has changed,” he said. “Make sure you're checking your emails and text messages.”
