Alabama program can help homeowners rebuild after Hurricanes Sally and Zeta

GCM Staff Report
Posted 3/31/23

Homeowners whose houses were damaged by hurricanes Sally or Zeta in 2020 can begin applying today for grant money to help with remaining damage.The Alabama Department of Economic and Community …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Subscribe to continue reading. Already a subscriber? Sign in

Get the gift of local news. All subscriptions 50% off for a limited time!

You can cancel anytime.
 

Please log in to continue

Log in

Alabama program can help homeowners rebuild after Hurricanes Sally and Zeta

Posted

Homeowners whose houses were damaged by hurricanes Sally or Zeta in 2020 can begin applying today for grant money to help with remaining damage.

The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the Home Recovery Alabama Program, which assists property owners by providing funds to repair, reconstruct or replace single-family homes that suffered damage from one or both storms. The program is funded by Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds made available to Alabama by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Baldwin County officials said Hurricane Sally caused upwards of $8 billion of damage in the county when it struck in September of 2020.

Low-to-moderate-income homeowners and landlords with rental homes in the nine counties designated as most impacted by the 2020 hurricanes may apply at HomeRecoveryAL.com. Those counties are Baldwin, Mobile, Clarke, Dallas, Escambia, Marengo, Perry, Washington and Wilcox. Homeowners and landlords must have owned the property when the hurricanes made landfall in the fall of 2020 and must still own the home.

"Hurricanes Sally and Zeta impacted many homeowners and landlords who still have not been able to repair their properties," ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. "This program will help them make the necessary repairs and resume a normal life."

Last year, HUD and Congress allocated $501 million in funding to the state to assist with unmet hurricane recovery needs. A total of $280 million has been allocated to the Home Recovery Alabama Program - $42 million of the Home Recovery Alabama Program funds have been set aside to serve rental properties and $238 million is dedicated to serve low-income homeowner-occupants. The remaining funds will be made available to the above-mentioned counties to carry out projects that are not single-family housing and may include infrastructure, housing, economic development and mitigation from future disasters.

If an application is approved, the funding is a grant, not a loan, and does not have to be repaid as long as applicants comply with the terms of the grant and the program rules. Funds are provided to repair unrepaired storm damage. Reimbursement for repairs already completed is not eligible.

For more information about qualifications and necessary documents needed to apply, visit HomeRecoveryAL.com, download the Alabama Home Recovery app from the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store or call (251) 265-7958.

Potential applicants can also visit an official Intake Center located at the following addresses. Intake Centers are open from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday and are at the following locations:

  • 110 Montlimar Drive, Suite 299, Mobile
  • 200 East Laurel Ave., (Hwy 98), Foley