City offering forgivable home improvement loans for low-income homeowners

SAN ANTONIO — A program to help restore your home will soon be on offer from the City of San Antonio.

Applications for the home rehab program will open on Monday, October 23 and will be open through November 23. The city received more than 3,500 applications last year and is expecting demand to be even higher this year.

The program is offered through the city’s Neighborhood and Housing Services department and offers funding provided through a forgivable loan. The city says the money is to help address health and safety issues. 

Homeowners must meet certain criteria. Families must make less than $63,000 per year and live in a single-family home in need of improvement.

City staff members say the program has many benefits.

“Yes, we’re really interested in helping people stay in their homes in the affordable housing that they already have,” Veronica Garcia, Director of the Neighborhood and Housing Services Department says. “So our improvements can help with replacing roof shingles, addressing foundation problems, really looking for improvements that if we do the smaller improvements now, it helps the family avoid more major rehab down the road. So that’s a critical piece that we’re looking for.”

This week, the city is hosting its final two information sessions. Monday, one of the sessions will be held at Second Baptist Church on East Commerce at 5:30 p.m. Check in begins 30 minutes prior to the start of the session.

Families will be contacted in January to see if they are eligible.

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