Money to harden your home? Florida program is changing. Here’s how.

Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Fla.· Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS
Lawrence Mower, Tampa Bay Times
4 min read
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TALLAHASSEE — Good news for Florida homeowners: The popular state program that awards up to $10,000 to harden your home is being renewed this year, and it now includes condominiums.

But now, older and low-income homeowners are the priority.

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday approved another $200 million for the My Safe Florida Home program, which was revived by state lawmakers in 2022.

He also signed legislation creating a pilot program expanding My Safe Florida Home to coastal condo owners.

In the last two years, the program has been so popular that funding has dried up quickly. Here’s how the program is changing, and when to apply for the money.

What’s My Safe Florida Home?

It’s a program designed to harden homes, saving homeowners (and insurance companies) from costly repairs after hurricanes and storms.

Applicants can get a free home inspection to identify ways to harden their houses and townhomes. They can also apply for a grant of up to $10,000 to upgrade windows, exterior doors and garage doors and strengthen roofs. (Townhomes are not eligible for roof upgrades.)

For every $1 a homeowner spends on qualifying upgrades, the state will provide $2, up to $10,000. It applies to homes valued up to $700,000 with homestead exemptions.

Since 2022, the state has conducted more than 104,000 home inspections and approved more than 38,000 grant applications, according to the Department of Financial Services, which administers the program.

DeSantis said the program has helped “stabilize and in some cases reduce insurance rates as a result of those improvements.”

Homeowners can apply online at mysafeflhome.com. The money often goes fast. The portal is currently closed because of demand, and July 1 is the next chance to apply.

Prioritizing older, low-income Floridians

Instead of a first-come, first-served program, lawmakers this year decided to prioritize older and lower-income homeowners.

Beginning July 1, applications will be staggered in 15-day increments, starting with low-income homeowners age 60 and older.

The law defines “low-income” as households making less than 80% of the median household income. The state couldn’t immediately say how it plans to calculate those income levels, but federal data shows it would be about $70,800 across the state.

The next phase is for “moderate-income” homeowners, defined as 120% of the median household income, or $106,300, according to federal data.

Here are the timelines for when to apply:

  • Low-income homeowners 60 and older: July 1–July 15

  • Low-income homeowners of any age: July 16–30

  • Moderate-income homeowners 60 and older: July 31–Aug. 14

  • Moderate-income homeowners of any age: Aug. 15–29

  • All other eligible Florida homeowners: Aug. 31

It’s not immediately clear how the state plans to enforce the age and income restrictions. Homeowners who have completed an inspection and are waiting for the grant portal to reopen should be hearing from the program about those requirements within the next 30 days, a spokesperson said.

Once the money runs out, the portal will be closed until more funding is assigned.

What about condominiums?

For the first time, lawmakers and DeSantis are extending the program to condo owners, who have struggled to afford new inspection and maintenance costs required after the 2021 Surfside collapse.

The My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program will function differently than the homeowner program.

Instead of individual owners applying for inspections and grants, the condo association or board will have to vote to apply. The program only applies to condos within 15 miles of the coastline.

The condo grants can apply to upgrading exterior doors, garage doors, windows and skylights and strengthening roofs.

Like the home program, the condo program also matches $2 in state money for every $1 owners spend. But it has more restrictions on how much money can go to specific upgrades. The total grant award is up to $175,000 per association.

More details can be found in the legislation, HB 1029.

Since it’s a pilot program, funding is limited. Legislators have assigned $27.6 million for grants, which should go fast. If successful, the program could be expanded in future years.

“I think it is going to work, but we will see as we get into that,” DeSantis said during a news conference in Redington Shores on Wednesday.

Times/Herald staff writer Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.

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