VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — With less than 50 days left until the 2024 Hurricane Season, Volusia County is seeking applicants for the Hurricane Housing Recovery Program to help them with pending repairs from hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022.

Volusia County received Hurricane Housing Recovery Program funds last year from the federal government to assist homeowners impacted by hurricanes Ian or Nicole with owner-occupied rehabilitation.

According to the Housing and Grants Activity Manager for Volusia County Brittany Louis, the county has approximately $3.3 million in program funding available, but did not receive enough applications the first time the program was advertised. So far, she said they’ve only received 16 applications.

“We actually advertised previously — we didn’t receive many applications," Louis said. "And so, we’re really trying to reach more residents in Volusia County who still need repairs done to their homes. So, this is an attempt to re advertise the program."

Along the coastline in Wilbur-by-the-Sea, some residents are still working to repair their homes from the damages caused by hurricanes Ian and Nicole. 

“Between the two hurricanes, we lost the stairs, the deck, the upstairs balcony doors and other damaged roof and lots of drywall damage from that,” said resident Gary Hubbs, who owns one of the impacted homes.

As he walks outside, he described what the property used to be.

“This used to be a deck that went all the way down to about halfway down," he said. "And then we had stairs going to the sea."

Almost two years later, he is still dealing with permit applications, waiting for the insurance, and dealing with busy contractors who have plenty of work in the area. He also applied to a state program to cover part of the seawall replacement.

“It’s been very frustrating,” Hubbs said.

Since the storms, Hubbs and his family had to leave the house.

“We got a letter that the home was uninhabitable in July, so we have been staying in Fort Lauderdale,” he said.

They only come back when they’re working on the repairs.

Volusia County officials say that through the Hurricane Housing Recovery Program, an eligible household may receive up to $100,000 in owner-occupied rehabilitation assistance. Assistance is provided as a secured loan, and the terms and conditions of the mortgage will be determined upon eligibility.

“If the household is eligible to receive the assistance, we may be able to assist them with significant repairs to their home," Louis said. "So, it could be their roof or their flooring there. Maybe they had significant damage in their kitchen because of flooding. So, the funding will allow us to do those repairs."

To be eligible, the home must be in Volusia County but not within the city limits of Daytona Beach or Deltona, and it must be a post-1994 home built on land that is owned by the applicant. The property’s just value cannot exceed $321,100, and the applicant must have owned and occupied the home at the time of the disaster.

Additionally, the applicant must have homestead exemption status and owned the home for a minimum of one year, and the household income cannot exceed the area median income (AMI) limits below:

County officials say the funds need to be expended by June 2025 or they will be returned to the state.

Residents interested in applying must contact the Community Assistance Division at 386-736-5955, or via email at communityassistance@volusia.org, to schedule a prescreening appointment. The appointment will be used to determine if the applicant and home meet the initial criteria and does not guarantee assistance from the program.

Eligible applicants will be processed based on funding availability.