APCHA launches essential home repairs pilot grant program
Up to $10,000 can be granted to low-income homeowners to enhance health, safety of their properties
ASPEN, CO – In an unprecedented move, the Aspen-Pitkin County Housing Authority (APCHA) is excited to announce the launch of the Home Repairs Pilot Grant Program, designed to aid qualified APCHA homeowners facing issues and repairs that threaten the health and safety of their households.
This program, which launches Monday, Oct. 16, offers a maximum grant of $10,000 to address these critical conditions, with the grant amount and required match determined by a homeowner’s requalification income category at the time of application.
In collaboration between the City of Aspen and Pitkin County, this pilot program is made possible by Aspen City Council and the Board of Pitkin County Commissioners, who each allocated $200,000 for a total of $400,000 going toward essential home repairs.
“I’m proud that both City Council and the Commissioners recognize how important it is to invest in the sustainability of the APCHA inventory and acknowledge the challenges and burdens that homeowners face,” said Mayor Torre. “This program aims to assist APCHA owners in making essential repairs to their homes while alleviating a portion of the cost burden associated with repairs in the valley.”
Francie Jacober, chair of the Board of Pitkin County Commissioners, adds: “Not only does this program allow homeowners to be able to afford needed repairs, but this also gives APCHA a better understanding of the condition of units in the affordable housing inventory. Problems related to health and safety like furnace and water heaters, roof hazards, heating issues, and more are covered in this program. The county is happy to be supporting making residences more livable for low-income community members.”
To be eligible for the housing repairs grant program, applicants must meet the following qualifications:
- Applicants must be APCHA deed-restricted category 1-3 homeowners, based on the previous year's income.
- Homeowners must be up to date on their HOA dues, taxes, and in good standing with APCHA, with no outstanding notice of violations, and comply with the current deed restriction.
- Assistance eligibility is based on a simplified partial requalification process, with the required match percentage determined by the requalification category.
- Owners must provide this information for anyone on the title of the unit, including last year's W2 or 1099, last year's tax return, and current employment verification.
Applicants can provide forms in person at the APCHA office located at 18 Truscott Place, or upload forms to their personal account on HomeTrek.
Eligible repair categories under the program include essential repairs necessary to improve the health and safety of living conditions for residents. Categories include inoperable furnace or water heaters, hazardous plumbing or electrical conditions, roof hazards, heating issues, flooring hazards, accessibility modifications (e.g., ramps, grab bars, or shower replacements), septic system issues, window repairs, and ceiling repairs. Repairs that fall under the responsibility of a homeowner rather than an HOA are eligible, and only individual applications will be accepted.
In the event of more eligible grant applications than available funding, a prioritization process will be implemented to select grantees. The prioritization process categorizes applications into different repair priority levels, with priority level 1 being the highest priority for immediate repair needs for the health and safety of the household and is further damaging the property and is considered an emergency.
Priority level 2 identifies that the item in need of repair is needed for the health and safety of the household but is not an emergency.
Priority level 3 is defined that the items needing repair are not immediately needed for the household's health and safety of the household. The issue is stagnant, and it will not worsen anytime soon, but it is still an essential repair.
If not all grant funds are utilized, the application will reopen, and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Important dates:
- Monday, Oct. 16 – Grant application opens at 8 a.m.
- Monday, Oct. 30 – Grant application closes at 8 a.m.
- By Nov. 3 – Grantees will be notified of application funding status.
The application process will be conducted through Google Forms, which can be found by clicking here.
The full program guidelines can be found here.
The program has several key goals, including testing the internal processes of a home improvement program. That necessitates piloting a program to evaluate how an internal APCHA capital improvement program would function within established policies and procedures.
Another goal is to measure the need within the APCHA program, which allows the agency to collect data on properties, repairs, and owners in most need of repairs, and tracking the average cost of repairs.
Additionally, the pilot program supports aging properties in the APCHA Inventory.
For more information, please visit apcha.org.
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For more information, please contact:
Matthew Gillen, Executive Director of APCHA
Phone: 970.920.5068
Email: matthew.gillen@aspen.gov