KNOXVILLE, TN (WLAF) – There are grants (money not to be paid back) that are eligible for persons 62 or older and who are low and very low income. The Tennessee USDA Rural Development Home Repair program has recently received its full allocation of home repair funds for 2021 according to Housing Program Director Don Harris.

Read ahead to see if you or someone you know qualifies for this program. These guidelines are from the USDA.

What does this program do? Also known as the Section 504 Home Repair program, this provides loans to very-low- income homeowners to repair, improve, or modernize their homes or provides grants to elderly very-low-income homeowners to remove health and safety hazards.

Who may apply for this program? USDA guidelines outline that to qualify, you must:
• Be the homeowner and occupy the house
• Be unable to obtain affordable credit elsewhere
• Have a family income below 50 percent of the area median income
• For grants, be age 62 or older and not be able to repay a repair loan

The maximum grant is $7,500 (money not to be paid back).

To apply, call Becky Pierce or Renee Patty at the local ETHRA Office at 423-562-2948.  Renee’s is extension 5202.

(WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 04/29/2021-6AM)