The Texas General Land Office is reaching out to areas impacted by Hurricane Harvey to encourage households to apply for two available programs to help them with costs associated with repair and recovery.
In 2018, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gave $5.2 million to the Texas regions affected, and GLO is charge of administrating the funds through seven programs, said GLO Community Outreach Coordinator Melissa Washington, who spoke to Missouri City City Council on Feb. 4.
She discussed two of the programs that help homeowners directly, including the homeowners assistance program and the homeowners reimbursement program.
The program provides assistance for the following:
- Repairing and rehabilitation homes;
- Reconstruction;
- Improving a damaged home so that it is stronger against natural disasters;
- Elevating homes above flood level; and
- Temporary relocation assistance
The assistance program has received 3,700 applications to date, but only 40 percent of the money is in use, she said. People who need help repairing their homes can apply for this program.
The rollout of the reimbursement program began at the end of February, Washington said. It is available to low- to moderate-income households as well as others who do not fit that category but have receipts showing they pulled money from their personal accounts to pay for damages. This program will provide up to $50,000 per household.
Applicants can apply these ways:
- Visit the Texas General Land Office intake office at 1 Sugar Creek Center Blvd., Sugar Land;
- Apply online at http://recovery.texas.gov: Potential applicants should review the Homeowner Assistance Program Checklist to have all applicable documents ready prior to applying; or
- Download a paper application from the Texas General Land Office website.
Additional inquiries about the program can be emailed to [email protected] or 1-844-893-8937.
