What you need to know about My Safe Florida Home Program

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The My Safe Florida Home Program has been wildly popular, providing up to $10,000 toward home improvements.

But for the second year in a row, the program was put on hold because funding was exhausted. Some applicants said they are in limbo.

With storm after storm hitting the Tampa Bay area, homeowners like Geralyn Massa want to protect their investments by upgrading their homes.

When Massa heard about the government program, she jumped at the chance to get up to $10,000 toward new hurricane impact doors.

In July, shortly after this year’s program opened, the state announced the pause.

Massa had already started the process, had her inspection, and now said she can’t reach anyone to find out whether she still has a chance to have have her project funded.

“What I’m trying to do is plan for the future,” she said. “With three doors to replace, am I going to get some relief or not now that I’m on a fixed income?”

Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken called the office of the state’s Chief Financial Officer, which administers the program, and was told it is actively approving grants for applicants currently within the program and who have completed the inspection process.

That describes homeowners like Massa, so a spokesman assured me the state would call her to get her back on track.

The state has touted the program as a success, providing 109,000 free home inspections and approving more than $575 million in projects on saving homeowners, on average, $1000 a year in insurance premiums.

Although the current home inspection funding has been fully obligated and no new applications are being taken at this time, the program is actively approving grants for applicants currently within the program and who have completed the inspection process. Current grant applicants can login to their online portal for most recent updates and application status.  

The office sent this information:

“Going forward, CFO Patronis will put forth ideas for additional program funding and improvements including new revenue streams and potentially making program funding reoccurring. The program intends to continue to take contact information from interested parties as the Legislature considers new opportunities for homeowners. To receive program updates, homeowners should visit MySafeFLHome.com and click “Stay Tuned.”