Minnesota has over 127 grants for home repair and home improvement grants available to lower income homeowner families and individuals. This article provides you with all the main home repair programs offered throughout the state in 2024.
There are 5 main sources of financial assistance for home improvement in Minnesota:
You can review the Federal and the State of Minnesota home repair grants but ultimately your county and city are the ones you need to contact and where you can apply for funding.
Jump to specific needs or project:
In Minnesota all homeowners are eligible to home improvement and repairs grants and assistance (find them all in this article). In reality, because the needs are so big, some groups like seniors, veterans, disable and low-income households are given priority. Even in those case, you need to apply as soon as possible because funds are limited.
So it’s often first arrived first served basis: apply early.
Each programs have their own eligibility, so you need to verify with programs in your area to see info you meet the income eligibility level.
Cities & Suburbs | Rural | |
---|---|---|
Low income | WAP, Cities & Counties programs, State, Non-Profits, Disasters | USDA, WAP, Cities & Counties programs, State, Non-profits, Disasters |
Medium/High income |
Traditional loans, State, Disasters | USDA, Traditional loans, State, Disasters. |
In general, in Minnesota all repair and improvement programs are there to help with:
More precisely the following work and repair are usually covered by home improvement grants programs:
It can be confusing to understand the terms. Lots of different organizations have different words for the same type of help programs: home improvement grant, home repair grants, programs, free grants, relief service, repair assistance, etc. They are all synonyms of programs designed to help low and moderate income homeowners repair and fix important element of their house.
Can you get a $10,000 grant for home improvement? Quick answer is yes. Find on this page all the information you need for home improvement programs in Minnesota, by cities and by counties. Learn: how much they provide, if you’re eligible and where to apply.
Home repair programs comes in many form but they are usually in the 5 types:
Home Repair Grants & Home Improvement Grants: Typically homeowner grants for home improvement don’t need to be repaid. The organization providing the funding covers the cost of the work and you don’t pay anything back.
Volunteers and charities home repairs: Some organizations rely on volunteers to repair your home so there’s no cost to you.
Home improvement loans: These are traditional loans where you have to repay a fix amount monthly but they are usually with a lower than normal interest rate.
Home improvement loans paid at term: It’s a traditional loan paid back in full only when you leave or sell your home. This mean you have nothing to pay monthly. The organization offering these loans usually take a lien on your home to be certain to be paid in the future.
Forgivable home improvement loans: It’s a traditional loans but you do have to pay it back monthly. Instead after a few years the organization forgive your loan.
Note: In some rare case you may find yourself with a mix of the types above. In all cases the important is you get help to fix your home and keep it secured and a place for you to live in a safe and healthy home.
HUD is the federal agency funding the Minnesota’s Housing agencies, Counties and Cities. HUD have many programs from home buyer help, renter help, homeowners funding among many for home repairs and improvements.
2 loans programs helps people renovate, rehabilitate or improve their home (mobile homes included). Both are loan insurances for Minnesota’s homeowners who couldn’t otherwise get a loan:
Rehabilitation and repair loan (insurance): Known as “Title I Property Improvement Loan Program”, it helps you if you have not enough equity for a traditional loan, and the FHA (part of HUD) insure your loan for your lender.
203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance: This a special FHA loan that allows you to finance both the purchase or refinancing of a house and the cost of renovations into a single mortgage.
In both Tittle 1 and 203(k), the money for the renovations is put in an escrow account and is only released to the contractor when the work is completed and inspected by a qualified professional. This helps ensure that the renovations are done properly and that the money is used for its intended purpose. It protects both the lender and you the homeowner.
The Department have 3 home improvement and home repair loan programs to help homeowners.
Rehabilitation & Accessibility Program (RLP/ELP): Program assist low-income homeowners in financing home improvements that directly affect the safety, habitability, energy efficiency or accessibility of their homes. Maximum forgiven loan amount is $37,500 with a max term of 15 years.
Disaster Recovery Program: Program provides assistance as a last resort when private insurance and federal assistance are not adequate to return a damaged home to its pre-disaster condition (such as the May – June 2022 Minnesota Flooding, Severe Storm and Tornado Events).
Fix Up loan: Program can finance between $2,000 to $75,000 most home improvement projects. The loan’s affordable, fixed interest rates and longer repayment terms (up to 20 years on some loans) means lower and more affordable monthly payments.
More information on the 3 programs.
When the Federal Agency FEMA declare some area(s) of Minnesota a disaster area, the area’s residents can then apply for financial aid.
You can find if your area is declared a disaster area by FEMA here then if it is, claim disaster assistance with the federal government. If you’re impacted by a disaster, you may be able to claim housing, financial, food, medical, etc.
Thanks to their volunteers, Habitat rehabilitates houses for families and people in need in Minnesota with 25 local chapters with their own home programs. They may be able to help with home repairs and updates to make your home safer. This organization relies on you, or some neighbors if you’re elderly, to put some of the work into your home repairs. You can apply through Habitat to learn about help available in your area.
ReStores provide discounted used, surplus building materials, appliances and furniture.
These 24 non profits located throughout Minnesota offer many services to their residents area. They usually offer home repair assistance programs, WAP and LIHEAP for low and moderate income homeowners.
Find your area CAP by looking on this map. Then contact your closest agency to see the programs they have for homeowners like you.
Window replacement can be done for homeowners with 4 different programs (some cities and counties also have a program for roof only). You’ll find more resources in the article for Minnesota windows programs.
WAP is funded by the Federal but managed locally. It help improve or change windows for energy efficient ones at no cost. It also pay for attic insulation and ventilation, repair or replace broken heating, cooling and water heaters, as well as many other small work to improve your home energy efficiency.
Spent per Home | Homes Weatherized | Budget | |
---|---|---|---|
Minnesota |
$8,007 |
4,582 | $55M |
Find the program detail and contact your local organisation managing WAP.
LIHEAP: This program is mostly to help pay your heating and cooling cost but it may also help fix, repair or replace broken windows for energy efficient ones.
Find more info about the program eligibility and your local organisation managing LIHEAP.
Minnesota’s Department of Aging offer many services to seniors. You can find the list here.
Question: Are home repair for senior citizens free?
Answer: Yes, usually, but it’s often different for each program. Some programs are 100% free while some other require a contribution and in other case. In most case they are free if the senior have a low income. You find your programs and your eligibility with the programs on this page.
Home Modification and Repair: This program promote the safety and well-being of adults in their homes; designed to increase accessibility, reduce the risk of injury, and improve older adults’ ability to stay at home; it may also include the purchase of certain assistive devices. It’s managed locally by your local Area Agencies on Aging.
The USDA provide home improvement loans and government grants to low-income homeowners in Minnesota’s rural areas.
MN homeowner amounts:
Grant (average): $13,200
Loan (average): $7,800
Who may apply for this program?
To qualify, you must:
What is an eligible area?
Applicants may check the address of their home to determine eligibility.
How may funds be used?
How much money can I get?
What are the terms of the loan or grant?
Is there a deadline to apply?
Applications for this program are accepted through your local USDA’s RD office all year round
How long does an application take?
Approval times depend on funds availability in your area.
Minnesota counties have approved home repair and government grant programs and most major cities also have similar help for homeowners. Cities and counties received over $72M ($52M CDGB + $20M HOME) last fiscal year to help residents with various programs.
If you don’t see your county or city below you should contact it directly and ask them if the city have a home repair program.