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If you own and live in a home in Wilmington that has a leaky roof, faulty electricity or a rickety porch, you could be eligible for up to $10,000 from the city government for repairs.
Under a program that has $500,000 allocated to it through next June, Wilmington says the first-come, first-served initiative seeks to keep residents — especially older ones — in their homes when they can’t afford needed fixes.
“We want to make sure that we keep property owners in their homes longer and we know that the cost of repairs can be high,” said Daniel Walker, deputy chief of staff to Mayor John Carney. “Most of these individuals are seniors and we believe that people should be able to age in place and costly home repairs should not be a deterrent to that ability.”
Beginning Monday, Oct. 26, the online application will be available at this link. Interested residents are encouraged to download the online application and submit their proposal and all required paperwork.
The program replaces what had been a lottery program to qualify for home repair grants that began three years ago under Carney’s predecessor, the late Mike Purzycki. Walker said the city decided to have a more predictable process for residents who apply and qualify.
To qualify, the income of the owner and other adult residents of the home must not exceed 80% of the median family income for the Wilmington area — $78,550 for a family of two, and $98,150 for a family of four.
City Councilwoman Christian Willauer, who sponsored the bill that led to the latest program, said it’s better for residents than waiting to see if your number is picked in a drawing.
“Homeowner repairs are an expense that are sometimes unanticipated and can come in a big chunk,” Willauer said. “So when people are facing those kinds of repairs that they can’t afford, it’s great that the city can provide some kind of support because it helps people stay in their homes.”
“If you have a leaking roof, it can have immediate health effects, it can undermine the viability of the house over the long run and it needs to be fixed,” she added. “But if the barrier is coming up with the chunk of change to make that repair, sometimes those repairs that need to happen get put off.”
Bob Weir, the city’s real estate and housing director, agreed, and said delays can be devastating.
“We know that deferred maintenance is the shortest path to a vacant home,” Weir said.
Weir’s office is partnering with Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County to implement the initiative.
