ORDINANCE approving and authorizing amendment and restatement of the Repair Agency Agreement between the City of Houston and REBUILDING TOGETHER HOUSTON, as Repair Agency, for performance of minor critical emergency repairs to homes owned by qualified households, to focus the agreement on repairing storm damaged roofs and to broaden the eligibility criteria for qualified households; approving the third amended and restated administrative guidelines for the Minor Critical Emergency Home Repair Program

On April 13, 2016, City Council approved Ordinance No. 2016-298, a contract between the City of Houston and Rebuilding Together Houston (RTH) for the 3^rd Minor Critical Emergency Home Repair Program to provide emergency home repairs to low-income elderly and/or disabled households with incomes below 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI) by providing vital roofing, plumbing, electrical and heating repairs or system replacement to alleviate life, health or safety hazards.  Since the commencement of that program in mid-May, approximately 15 households are in process of being assisted at an aggregate amount of more than $75,000.

HCDD recommends approval of an amendment to the contract between the City of Houston and Rebuilding Together Houston (RTH) for the Minor Critical Emergency Home Repair Program (MCEHRP) to focus on the replacement or repair of a roof to any eligible residence that has been storm-damaged and is covered with a blue tarp.  To meet the demand of replacing or repairing the number of blue-tarped roofs in the city, the MCEHRP Administrative Guidelines Eligibility Criteria will need to be amended. 

The current eligibility criteria reads as follows:  “that the total annual gross income of the Owner’s household does not exceed 120% of the AMI adjusted for family size and that the household of the Owner of the residence is composed of one or more persons, at least one of whom is either an elderly person (age 62 or older) or a Person with Disabilities”.  HCDD desires approval to amend this specific Eligibility Criteria to read as follows: “The household must be Owner Occupied, the total annual gross income of the Owner’s household does not exceed 120% of the AMI adjusted for family size and that the household of the Owner of the residence is composed of one or more persons, priority may be given to households where there is at least one elderly person (age 62 or older) or a Person with Disabilities”. 

This change in criteria will allow HCDD:

• to serve a much broader segment of City residents living in homes with blue tarps;
• greater flexibility in requiring a more robust commencement and completion time frame toward blue tarp roof repair/replacements; and
• the opportunity to update the 2015 income limits with the previously unavailable 2016 income limits.

April 13, 2016

(O) 2016-298

Roxanne Lawson

Phone: (832) 394-6307