More public funding is available for landlords looking to maintain and repair empty rental units in Chattanooga.
The Chattanooga City Council voted Tuesday to set aside an additional $100,000 in federal funds for the city’s rapid rental repair program. The money comes from grant dollars officials received during the COVID-19 pandemic.
(READ MORE: Chattanooga announces funding opportunities to boost affordable housing development)
Eligible landlords would be able to use the money to buy materials to make minor repairs, patch cracks and holes, fix doors and windows and replace appliances like washers and dryers, according to a fact sheet the city released in late January.
Document
Applications are available on a first-come, first-served basis until all funding has been depleted. The housing units to be repaired must be set aside for households that earn less than 60% of the area median income and must be vacant during the time of the repairs.
As of 2021, the median household income in Chattanooga was $50,437, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
In March 2021, council members authorized city staff to use $400,000 for the program. Eligible landlords can receive up to $4,900 per unit. The funding was designed to help low-to-moderate income families quickly find rental housing amid a shortage caused by the pandemic, according to the initial resolution.
City spokesperson Kirsten Yates said in a text Tuesday that landlords have so far repaired 64 units using funding available through the program, and 30 more are in progress.
The city’s chief housing officer, Nicole Heyman, said Tuesday that the initial funding set aside for the program has dwindled.
“We have projects in the pipeline and applications in the pipeline,” Heyman said in an interview. “We anticipate that the original $400,000 will be spent sometime in the next year, and so we wanted to set aside additional funding to ensure that program is sustainable and continues through the budget year.”
Chattanooga receives annual funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Heyman said.
“As we’re looking at where the biggest needs are, we are going to continue to make sure that money is available as long as landlords are willing to come and apply and help maintain their units as safe and habitable,” Heyman said.
The rapid rental repair program was one of three funding opportunities the city announced in late January using dollars supplied by the federal department. The others are the HOME affordable housing program and the landlord renovation program.
Among other uses, the HOME affordable housing program is available for the rehabilitation of owner-occupied housing, the construction of rental housing and down payment assistance for homebuyers, according to the city. It supplies up to 50% of construction costs for affordable housing at a maximum of $40,000 per unit.
The landlord renovation program offers grants ranging from $12,000 to $17,000 to cover 50% of renovation costs based on the number of bedrooms. Landlords can use the money to cover hard costs associated with renovations to one- and two-unit rental housing.
Yates confirmed that funding is still available through those two programs, and the city is accepting applications on a rolling basis.
Contact David Floyd at dfloyd@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.