Hillsborough's $709M Recovery Fund Is Still Taking Applications — Here's What Homeowners Need to Know

If you own a home in Hillsborough County that took damage from Hurricane Helene or Milton — or if you're shopping for a home on a block that clearly still has repair work ahead — there's a very large pot of federal money still on the table, and a lot of people haven't tapped it yet.

The county's Rebuilding for Tomorrow Homeowner Repair and Reconstruction Program (HRRP) is now actively accepting applications, with more than $211 million in CDBG-DR funding dedicated specifically to single-family housing recovery after Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

That's a meaningful chunk of a much bigger award:

Hillsborough County was awarded $709 million by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to support overall recovery and mitigation efforts related to those 2024 storms.

What the Money Actually Covers

This isn't a small-dollar weatherization grant.

Depending on eligibility, homeowners may qualify for up to $350,000 to replace or rebuild storm-damaged housing, $10,000 to $50,000 in eligible reimbursement costs for permitted work already completed, and up to $150,000 for eligible repairs not covered by other programs.

The program focuses on making homes safe, structurally sound, and up to current code — repair funding supports fixes to roofs, electrical systems, foundations, and other critical components, while the replacement option assists families whose homes were too damaged to be repaired.

That last piece is important. A lot of Hillsborough homeowners took out personal loans or drained savings accounts to make emergency repairs right after the storms.

Qualified homeowners whose homes were damaged by Hurricanes Helene and/or Milton may receive assistance to repair or rebuild, be reimbursed for eligible past repairs, and address safety issues.

In other words, if you already fixed your roof and have the permits to prove it, you may still be able to get money back.

Who Qualifies

Applicants' homes must be located in Hillsborough County, and they must be single-family homeowners — not renters or landlords. Applicants must have lived in and continue to live in the primary residence that was damaged by Hurricanes Helene and/or Milton. Secondary homes are not eligible.

To qualify, applicants must have household income up to 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI).

Priority goes to households at 80% AMI or below.

Residents applying for assistance can live anywhere in Hillsborough County, including in the City of Tampa, Temple Terrace, or Plant City.

That's a detail worth flagging — a lot of Temple Terrace homeowners near the Hillsborough River corridor have been asking whether they qualify, and the answer is yes.

The Infrastructure Side of the Story (This Matters for Buyers, Too)

Beyond the homeowner grants, the county has been steadily deploying the broader CDBG-DR pool on flood infrastructure.

Hillsborough County Commissioners approved spending $95 million for 10 additional projects that will help improve drainage and alleviate future flooding across the county.

In all, the work is estimated to directly benefit 370,000 residents.

The $95 million will support seven infrastructure projects that the county listed as drainage improvements, ditch and drain restoration, culvert replacements, an emergency power-outage beacon, stormwater pump stations, a low-pressure sewer system, and flood-mitigation environmental land restoration.

As part of this initiative, the Rebuilding for Tomorrow Infrastructure Program — in partnership with the cities of Plant City, Tampa, and Temple Terrace — focuses on rebuilding and strengthening public systems in Hillsborough County damaged by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

For buyers looking at flood-affected streets near the Hillsborough River, Old Tampa Bay, or tidal tributaries in unincorporated areas, this infrastructure investment is the long-term answer to the "will this flood again?" question. It doesn't eliminate flood risk overnight, but a neighborhood where the county is actively replacing culverts and adding stormwater pump stations looks very different from one where nothing has been done.

How to Apply (and What Buyers Should Know)

Roughly 1,600 residents have applied for assistance through the program, which continues to accept applications while funding remains available.

The single-family housing program is intended to assist approximately 1,000 homeowners

— which means spots are finite, even if the dollar pool is large.

Applications are available online through rebuildingfortomorrow.hcfl.gov, at the Rebuilding for Tomorrow Service Center, the county's Community Resource Centers, and at pop-up locations throughout Hillsborough County.

You can also call (813) 540-7767 for help navigating the process.

For buyers: if you're considering a storm-affected property in Tampa, Temple Terrace, or unincorporated Hillsborough, ask your inspector and your agent whether the repairs on a given home were done with proper permits. Reimbursement-eligible repairs had to be permitted — which means a permitted repair history is actually a selling point, not a liability.

If you want to understand exactly how flood zones map onto specific Hillsborough neighborhoods — and which streets carry AE-zone risk that requires mandatory flood insurance — the Hillsborough County flood zone map guide for home buyers walks through it address by address. And if you're trying to figure out what a storm-affected home is actually worth right now, the home value calculator is a solid starting point before you make any offer.