The four hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 damaged more than 700,000 homes. As part of Florida’s response, the Hurricane Housing Work Group was created and made recommendations in February 2005 for the appropriation of one-time hurricane housing recovery funds. During the 2005 legislative session, the Legislature approved funding for some of these recommendations, including a locally-administered Hurricane Housing Recovery Program (HHRP) that will accommodate the different housing needs of each impacted community.

Available Funding: $208,000,000

Eligible Recipients: Tier I, II and III Counties (listed below), SHIP eligible municipalities and non profit providers (Supplemental funding only) of affordable housing located in tier I, II and III counties.

Eligible Applicants: Households with incomes up to 120 percent of area median income (AMI), with 30 percent of program funds reserved for very low income households and an additional 30 percent of program funds reserved for low income households.

Eligible Activities:

• Repair and replacement of site built housing;
• Land acquisition, through community land trusts or other means, for properties that may include scattered sites, community revitalization sites, and older manufactured home parks;
• Construction and development financing;
• Down payment, closing cost, and purchase price assistance for site-built and post-1994 manufactured homes where the wind load rating is sufficient for the location;
• Repair, replacement, and relocation assistance for post-1994 manufactured homes where the wind load rating is sufficient for the location, including those on leased land in stable park situations;
• Limited repair and relocation assistance on a case by case basis to pre-1994 manufactured homes;
• The acquisition of building materials for home repair and construction;
• Implementation of long-term recovery plans prepared through a locally initiated collaborative community partnership or in conjunction with the Department of Community Affairs and FEMA;
• Housing re-entry assistance, such as security deposits, utility deposits, and temporary storage of household furnishings;
• Foreclosure eviction prevention, including monthly rental assistance for limited periods of time;
• Capital to leverage other private and public resources;
• Any other strategies authorized through the State Housing Initiatives Partnership Program or those approved by Florida Housing Finance Corporation.