CLEVELAND — From now until Aug. 21, homeowners in the City of Cleveland can enter a lottery for help covering the cost of home repairs, maintenance or rehabilitation assistance.
The city is taking applications on their website from owner-occupants with current property taxes for the program, funded through $10 million in pandemic relief money as well as a $2.5 million grant from Key Bank.
That money has been distributed among five local nonprofits to help residents with their housing projects.
“For the past 11 months we have been working diligently behind the scenes to lay a foundation that sets these critical programs up for success,” said Mayor Justin Bibb said in a press release. “We know the need is great and we are committed to maximizing these resources and working with partners to accelerate our ability to improve the quality of housing in Cleveland.”
Typical home repair programs offer up to $30,000 for work on roofs, HVAC units, exterior violations and other similar repairs.
“Councilmembers hear from residents every day about the urgent need for resources to help them maintain their homes,” said City Council President Blaine Griffin in the release. “Addressing housing insecurity has always been a priority for Cleveland City Council. From the Lead Safe Ordinance, the Home Repair Assistance we championed to Right to Counsel, we have advocated for quality housing options.”
For this lottery, the city will match 150 eligible applicants with the best program to suit their needs.
The city is expecting to notify those selected in the lottery by Sept. 30, 2024.
“We know the need is greater than the dollars we have, and not everybody will receive support this time around. This is why we established the lottery process to ensure that all eligible applications have the same shot at being selected,” said Cleveland’s Director of Community Development Alyssa Hernandez in the release. “In addition, we are actively working on increasing our capacity, both internally and with contractors, to expedite federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help Cleveland residents with home repair assistance.”
Digital Producer Cody Thompson contributed to this article.