Housing Rehabilitation Program
About the Program
The County of Blair’s Rehabilitation Program is a way by which elderly and lower income homeowners can make or keep their homes safe, decent, and affordable. This is accomplished by providing financial and technical assistance where they live.
The program helps preserve home ownership by offering a means for homeowners with limited resources to complete necessary work without the risk of losing the home to unmanageable debt.
The Rehabilitation Program promotes stability and livability while adding value to the neighborhood as a whole by assisting individual homes in need of repair due to lack of financial or technical resources.
Financial Assistance
The average amount of assistance available for rehabilitation is $60,000 per unit.
Assistance will be given in the form of 100% forgivable loan. The term “grant” is used for ease of usage and the fact that no repayment is required except in those instances when forgiveness is terminated.
The grant shall be forgiven over a five-year period, as long as the applicant continues to reside within the home during the forgiveness period, the homeowner will have no payback to the housing rehabilitation program.
Forgiveness is reduced by one-sixtieth 1/60 each month. On the fifth-year anniversary, the grant shall be forgiven. Forgiveness is terminated if the applicant no longer resides or decides to sell, transfer, convey or if the applicant’s equitable interest is extinguished. The remaining portion is returned then back to the program.
Common Repairs Include
▪ Safe water and sanitation systems ▪ Adequate and safe heating systems ▪ Electrical and plumbing to meet code ▪ Correcting structural problems ▪ Retrofit for persons with disabilities ▪ Replacement of roofs, gutters, doors & windows ▪ Energy efficient upgrades of home ▪ Any condition that can cause an eminent hazard to the occupants.
Technical Assistance
A Housing Rehabilitation Specialist will assist homeowners in determining the repairs needed, prepare construction documents, inspect work and authorize payments as the work progresses.
Where required, homes will be tested for Radon and Lead Based Paint. If these hazards are present, the extent and level of mitigation may vary depending on the type and amount of rehabilitation to be undertaken.
Minimum Qualifications
- You must be the owner of the home (title in your name) and live in the home as your primary residents.
- Your home must be located in any of the 22 eligible municipalities, homeowners location in the City of Altoona and Logan Township are not eligible under the County's program.
- Homeowners must be current on taxes and property must be free from other judgments, claims or liens outside of traditional mortgage debts.
- Your combined household income must be below Income Limits Set by HUD below:
| Household Size | Total Combined Yearly Household Income |
| 1 | $43,250 |
| 2 | $49,400 |
| 3 | $55,600 |
| 4 | $61,750 |
| 5 | $66,700 |
| 6 | $71,650 |
| 7 | $76,600 |
| 8 | $81,550 |
Contact
BLAIR COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Blair County Courthouse
Suite 441B
423 Allegheny Street
Hollidaysburg, PA 16648-2022
Phone: (814) 693-3023
Fax: (814) 693-3052
director
Tricia Johnson
tjohnson@blairco.org
Ext 1480