Residents can apply in person on the third floor of the city building, 1 Donham Plaza, or online.
There are some regulations to how the money will be allocated:
- Property must be located within city limits;
- Property must be an owner-occupied, single-family residence;
- Applicants will need to provide a contractor quote, copy of deed, utility bill and owners’ name;
- Applicants must be income qualified based on 2024 Poverty Guidelines;
- If property is historical (45 years or older) then it will go to State Historic Commission for approval on the repair project requested and an environmental review will be done;
- Applicants must use grant to bring property into code compliance; and
- Applicants that have received funding in rounds 1 and 2 do not qualify.
Those households making above those amounts will not be eligible for funding.
If the property is 45 years or older, a separate approvals from the State Historic Commission and an environmental reviews would delay the repair process.
These separate approvals are a requirement of CDBG funds.
CDBG funds will not be available until late August, but with considerations on historic properties and the length of the application process, city staff wanted to get a “jump” on the process.
“Given the process that we are going to go through, we would like to open the application window, that way I can be available to answer any questions or walk people through the application process,” said Michalla Perkins, program manager for HIRP.
Improvements on swimming pools, spas or hot tubs; landscaping, plant materials or gardens; underground utilities and storm lines; play equipment and new detached accessory structures or additions to such structures are not eligible for funding, according to city documents.
In 2024, the Home Improvement Repair Program, or HIRP, was so popular that the application process was closed after five days.
Homeowners received up to $8,500 in grant funding for costs incurred during the repair/improvement process.
The program was done in coordination with the city’s code enforcement crack down, which resulted in a two-week Code Enforcement District Sweep at the end of last summer.
The city appropriated $800,000 in ARPA funds for neighborhood improvement programs.
About $400,000 was left for HIRP after two Trash Bash dumping days and the first HIRP round in May 2024.
Of around 170 applications received, only about 60 were accepted either because of no additional funding or the project did not meet specifications.
For the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN HUD Metro FMR Area, poverty guidelines are set at 80% income limits, and households making at or below the following incomes are eligible:
- 1 person family: $58,700
- 2 people: $67,100
- 3 people: $75,500
- 4 people: $83,850
- 5 people: $90,600
- 6 people: $97,300
- 7 people: $104,000
- 8 people: $110,700
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