Florida Homeowners who meet the following requirements may qualify for a free Inspection:

1. The home must be a single-family, detached residential property or a townhouse as defined in section 481.203, Florida Statutes (F.S.);
2. The home must be site-built and owner-occupied; and
3. The Homeowner must have been granted a homestead exemption on the home under chapter 196, F.S.

PLEASE NOTE: Single-family homes that are attached to other units will be treated as Townhouses for the purposes of the MSFH Program.

Properties that are NOT eligible for a free Inspection include:

• Multi-Family Homes (such as apartments, duplexes, and triplexes)
• Condominiums
• Cooperatives
• Retirement Homes
• Mobile Homes & Manufactured Homes
• Second Homes, Vacation Homes,& Rental Properties

PLEASE NOTE: Not all applicants who received an Inspection through the Program will be eligible for a Hurricane Mitigation Grant.

A homeowner is eligible for a Grant if all of the following criteria are met:

1. The home must be eligible for a Hurricane Mitigation Inspection and must have received an Initial Inspection through the Program.
2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of $700,000 or less. Low-Income Homeowners, as defined under section 420.0004 (11), F.S., are exempt from this requirement.
3. The building permit application for initial construction of the home must have been made before January 1, 2008.
4. The Homeowner must provide the name and license number of the Contractor selected to perform the Mitigation Project.
5. The Homeowner must agree to make the home available for a Final Inspection once the Project is complete; and
6. The Homeowner must agree to provide to the Program any and all information received from the Homeowner’s insurer identifying the discounts realized by the Homeowner because of the Improvements funded through the Program.

PLEASE NOTE: The My Safe FL Home Program is currently closed to new inspection and grant applications, as program funds have been fully allocated due to high demand.

Homeowners are encouraged to regularly check the My Safe Florida Home website at MySafeFLHome.com. 

There are four (4) improvements that are eligible for grant funding under the My Safe FL Home Program when recommended in an initial inspection report:

The Florida Legislature has authorized the Department of Financial Services (DFS) to offer two types of hurricane mitigation grants: 1) Matching Grants and 2) Low-Income Grants.

Matching Grants

My Safe FL Home program provides $2 in grant funds for every $1 contributed by the homeowner. This means that the homeowner will be reimbursed for 2/3 of the total costs of the mitigation project up to a maximum state contribution of up to $10,000, subject to legislative appropriation.

Examples of funding calculations:

1. An eligible homeowner paid $15,000 for recommended impact-rated windows. The homeowner would be reimbursed $10,000, and the remaining $5,000 is the homeowner’s required match.
2. An eligible homeowner paid $9,000 for recommended impact-rated windows. The homeowner would be reimbursed $6,000, and the remaining $3,000 is the homeowner’s required match.
3. An eligible homeowner paid $20,000 for recommended impact-rated windows. The homeowner would be reimbursed the maximum grant allowance of $10,000, and the remaining $10,000 is the homeowner’s responsibility.

Low-Income Grants

Eligible Low-Income homeowners can apply for grant funds up to $10,000, subject to legislative appropriation. Low-Income homeowners are not required to provide a matching amount.

Yes. As of July 1, 2024, the My Safe Florida Home Program is allowing homeowners to choose any certified and/or registered Florida State contractor to make reimbursable upgrades to their homes.  The contractor’s license must be certified or registered with Florida’s Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) as one of the following types:

• General Contractor
• Building Contractor
• Residential Contractor
• Specialty Contractor
• Roofing Contractor

Homeowners can find all licensed Florida Contractors at the Florida Department of Business Professional Regulation at MyFloridaLicense.com.

PLEASE NOTE: My Safe FL Home will no longer maintain or provide a list of authorized program contractors. It will now be up to each individual homeowner to find and manage their own eligible contractor relationship.

The following program changes became effective July 1, 2024:

1. All grant dollars will be paid directly to the Florida homeowner for them to distribute, including low-income grants.
2. Homeowners may now select any registered licensed FL contractor to do their program upgrade work. You must use a licensed Florida contractor for grant work, or you will not be reimbursed. Confirm license status at MyFloridaLicense.com.
3. All applications will be processed using a tiered approach to prioritize low-income and moderate-income Floridians who are sixty and older.
4. Applicants approved for a grant BEFORE July 1, 2024, can still be reimbursed for installing Secondary Water Barrier (SWB) instead of Secondary Water Resistance (SWR).
5. Applicants approved for a grant AFTER July 1, 2024, must install SWR. The following are NOT SWR and installing them will result in a denial of payment disbursement.

• Hot mop
• Tar
• Felt
• Peel-and-stick applied OVER any other kind of underlayment
• Any underlayment (synthetic or otherwise) that is not self-adhering

No. If you received notification that your grant application was approved and were instructed to hire a contractor prior to July 1, 2024, the changes will NOT affect your grant.

No. Do not begin any reimbursable construction PRIOR to receiving your official grant approval notice.

Step 1: Talk to your contractor. Confirm the mitigation project is complete and that all contractor permits have been approved and closed.

Step 2: Request a Final Inspection through your portal account in the “Draw Request – Final Inspection Request” step. Each homeowner will only have one opportunity to request a Final Inspection. Our inspectors will contact you to confirm and time and date to conduct an inspection and complete a Final Inspection Report. This report will then be uploaded by the Inspector to your Applicant Portal.

Step 3: Complete the reimbursement process below which can also be found on the DRAW REQUESTS page of our Homeowner’s Guide using this link: https://msflh.com/homeowners-guide

Submit your Final Inspection Report to your insurance provider to request discounts. Once your insurance provider has responded, you must complete or submit the following in the Applicant Portal:

1. Draw Request Summary – contains basic information about the Homeowner’s Mitigation Project.
2. Original Contractor Invoice – a detailed invoice or quote that describes the Mitigation Project that was performed.
3. Proof of Payment In Full – cancelled check, receipts, paid invoice, or financing agreement, etc. PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT required for Low-Income participants.
4. Proof of Insurance Premium Discounts – email, letter, new declarations page, new insurance quote.
5. Payment Verification – contains information about where the disbursement will be sent.

Once the Homeowner has completed the Draw Request, the Draw Request will be reviewed by the Program. If there is a problem with the Draw Request, the Homeowner will be alerted to correct the information.

Reimbursement for Approved Draw Requests

Homeowners approved for their Draw Request will receive an approval email. A disbursement check will arrive in the mail in the following weeks. Please look for emails from the Program and check your spam folder regularly.

If there is an issue with a Homeowner’s Draw Request, the request will be returned to the Homeowner. Please check for emails from the Program.

Any disputes regarding work performed by contractors must be resolved between the homeowner/client and the contractor. The My Safe Florida Home Program and the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) are not involved in or responsible for the contractor selection process or any aspects of the construction and payment process, and does not provide any warranties or guarantees, express or implied, regarding the work performed by grantee selected contractors.

By participating in the My Safe Florida Home Program, the homeowner/grant recipient agrees to hold My Safe Florida Home Program (DFS) harmless and release the program from any and all liability related to the work of the contractors they select. Selecting the right contractor is critical to you having a successful construction experience.

We recommend using Google Chrome as your web browser for best performance when accessing the program portal.

Your initial wind mitigation report identifies the wind mitigation upgrades that are eligible for program reimbursement. You will not be reimbursed for ineligible repairs.  Share your inspection report with your contractor to be sure.

Verify your contractor’s state license at MyFloridalicense.com before entering your contractor’s license in your portal and select your program mitigation project.

Make sure to request your final inspection through your portal. Only the homeowner can request this vital step.

Submit your final inspection report to your insurance carrier and request a discount. (not required for low-income grants)

Load and submit your reimbursement documents at one time.