Houston homeowners have until Dec. 31, 2019, to make home repairs that could be eligible for reimbursement under the federal Harvey Homeowner Assistance Program (HoAP). If you did not have home insurance before this horrendous hurricane, now would be a good time to take action and look at getting some for your property. This may happen again and it is better to be as prepared as you can be when disaster strikes.
The deadline is set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The deadline is for the actual repairs to be completed; homeowners can still apply for reimbursement after December 31 for work completed before that date. “If you’ve been putting off repairs of damage caused by Hurricane Harvey, now is the time to make them so that you may be eligible to have federal funds cover some of your costs,” said Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.
The maximum amount of reimbursement depends on homeowners’ income:
- Below 80% Area Media Income (AMI): 100% of eligible expenses, up to $80,000
- 81 -120% AMI: 50% of eligible expenses, up to $40,000
- Above 120% AMI: 25% of eligible expense, up to $20,000
All homeowners impacted by Hurricane Harvey should take the Harvey Recovery Survey at recovery.houstontx.gov or by phone at 832-393-0550.
Program representatives are available in multiple languages to take questions and assist Houstonians in taking the survey. The survey takes less than 15 minutes and does not require documentation.
Almost 20,000 residents have taken the Harvey Recovery Survey. As a result, about 5,000 homeowners have been invited to apply to HoAP and are working on an application or have completed their submission.
Seventy-one percent of survey respondents potentially eligible for HoAP are low- to moderate-income as a result of an extensive outreach effort in vulnerable neighborhoods.
Almost $150 million is still available for reimbursements.
2019 Houston/The Woodlands/Sugar Land Region HUD Maximum Annual Household Income Limits (Area Median Income)
| Household Size | 80% AMI | 120% AMI |
| 1-person | $42,750 | $64,100 |
| 2-person | $48,850 | $73,200 |
| 3-person | $54,950 | $82,400 |
| 4-person | $61,050 | $91,600 |
| 5-person | $65,950 | $98,900 |
| 6-person | $70,850 | $106,200 |
| 7-person | $75,750 | $113,500 |
| 8-person | $80,600 | $120,800 |
Funds for Harvey Recovery Programs are provided by the City of Houston and the Texas General Land Office through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant Program.