"Those We Serve;" photography by JustinCalhoun.com

Rebuilding Together Houston has provided no-cost home repair to seniors in Houston for more than 30 years.  These services are restricted by age, income and home-ownership qualifications.

Below are guidelines to provide a better understanding of the application and approval process.  Before an application can be provided, all interested parties must be processed through our Homeowner Assistance Counselor, who can be reached by calling our main phone number, 713.696.2511, or via email, 
info@rt-houston.org

Homeowner Qualifications for Assistance from RTH

• Currently, general qualifications are as follows:
  • must be the homeowner (name must be on the legal deed to property)
  • must reside in the home
  • must be currently paid up on property taxes, or have an official tax deferral with the appropriate government agency
  • must be elderly (normally age 62 or older), or a military service veteran or spouse of a veteran (can be of any age), or disabled (and receiving a government recognized disability income)
  • must have annual household income of no more that 80% of AMI (Adjusted Mean Income), and in some cases no more than 50% of AMI
    • the intake counselors at RTH can explain the details of income
  • home must be one-story wood frame, or largely wood frame, in order for volunteers to be assigned to the exterior work
  • home must be in Harris County or the City of Houston, with rare exception
• Specific funder requirements may alter some of the general qualifications
  • in certain cases (veterans, other situations) allowable income may be higher than the general AMI requirements
  • the one-story, wood frame requirement may be waived in severe circumstances when specific funding is available for contractors to make the repairs
  • in certain funding instances, homeowners may be required to sign a lien stating that they agree to remain in their home for five (5) years following completion of repairs, at which time the lien is removed

RTH Process for reviewing Homeowners for Assistance from RTH

• Homeowner (or homeowner family member or representative) must initiate request for help - normally by calling 713.659.2511 or e-mailing info@rt-houston.org - and be referred to a Homeowner Assistance Counselor (HAC) (currently Karla Carranza who is bilingual in English and Spanish)
• During the initial phone call the homeowner should clearly be able to discuss the need for help, provide information on home ownership, age and estimated income, and address of home
• During the initial phone call the RTH Homeowner Assistance Counselor (HAC) will be able to look on the internet at ownership, tax status, and look at exterior photos of the property to determine size of home and principal exterior building material
• The HAC will be able to tell the homeowner or caller immediately whether the home MAY be qualified, and if so, an application package will be mailed to the homeowner at the address of the property
• The homeowner must complete the application and return it via US Mail to RTH - along with proof of age, home ownership, and income
• Once the application is complete the home will be assigned to the RTH "Waiting List" where it will await funding for contractor repairs, and volunteer crews for exterior repairs.  The wait can be anywhere between six and twenty-four months, or in some cases longer (again, based on funds available)
• When funds become available, RTH will send a housing inspector to meet with the homeowner at his/her home to review the application, determine what work RTH would be most likely capable of doing, and ask the homeowner to sign and acknowledge the work to be done
• Normally, contractors will first do the roofing and other electrical, plumbing, and technical work called for by the inspector, and volunteers will come to complete the exterior work.  Contractors may come during any month throughout the year, while volunteers tend to be concentrated in March/April or Oct/Nov
• When all work is completed a housing inspector from RTH will visit the homeowner and finish a "completion report" to be signed by the homeowner agreeing that the work originally specified to be done had been completed
• In certain cases, if work is not competed satisfactorily, the home will be reassigned to an additional crew of volunteers to complete unfinished tasks

Benefits to Homeowners

• Warranties will be provided by contractors for certain aspects of work (e.g. roofs)
  
• Critical, or emergency, repairs will enable homeowners to be warmer, safer and drier as they continue to live in their own homes, but cosmetic interior repairs are rarely able to be done

Bottom Line

• ALL WORK COMPLETED BY RTH ON BEHALF OF A QUALIFIED HOMEOWNER IS COMPLETELY, 100% FREE TO THE HOMEOWNER