No, if you have received notification that your grant application was approved and you were directed to obtain a contractor, you may continue to proceed with your project.

The My Safe Florida Home Program was re-enacted during the most recent Special Session of the Florida Legislature. The program consists of two primary components:

1. Wind Mitigation Home Inspections.  All owners of site-built, single-family, residential homes or townhouses are eligible to make application for a wind mitigation home inspection. This inspection will identify those elements of your home’s construction which could be improved to mitigate your home against future wind damages. All inspections will be provided to eligible homeowners free of charge by the State. Applications are reviewed and approved in the order in which they are received until current funding is exhausted.
2. Wind Mitigation Grants for home retrofitting construction for improvements identified on the free wind mitigation inspection.

An owner of a site-built, single-family, residential house or townhouse may apply for and receive an inspection without any further obligation to apply for a grant, if funding is available.

The Legislature has authorized DFS to provide a matching grant to eligible homeowners up to $10,000 for the actual cost of qualifying home hurricane mitigation projects. The program will provide $2 in grant funds for every $1 the homeowner provides.  A matching grantee must spend $15,000 to be reimbursed the $10,000. Low-income grants have increased from $5,000 to $10,000. The grant funds are not considered taxable income in Florida.

Mitigation upgrades are identified in the wind mitigation inspection report. Only weaknesses identified in that report are eligible for reimbursement using the grant funds.  Those include:

• Roof-to-Deck Attachment: This upgrade involves securing your roof deck. This reinforces your roof’s ability to withstand strong winds.
• Roof-to-Wall Attachment: This upgrade strengthens the connection between your roof and walls by adding clips or wraps, providing additional roof stability during a hurricane. 
• Opening Protection: This upgrade ensures your home has impact-resistant windows, doors, garage doors, and skylights to protect against flying debris.
• Secondary Water Resistance: This involves applying a self-adhering underlayment directly to the sheathing, seam tape, or using a foam adhesive barrier to protect the home from water intrusion if the roof covering is unfortunately lost.

No. Once you have applied and been approved for your free wind-mitigation inspection, a licensed inspector, contracted by the program will be assigned to you to complete inspections of your home. 

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.

To be eligible to make any recommended home-hardening improvements for reimbursement, designated Contractors must:

1. Be licensed and certified with the state of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation as:
   • General Contractor
   • Building Contractor
   • Residential Contractor
   • Specialty Contractor
   • Roofing Contractor

2. Homeowners can find all licensed Florida Contractors at the Florida Department of Business Professional Regulation website here.

Your inspection report is uploaded in the system.  Once reviewed and processed, you receive an email notification that you can now go back to your portal account to open and submit your grant application if you choose and funding is available

According to Florida Statute 215.5586, 2(b), “All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided by the applicant for $2 provided by the state up to a maximum state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cost of the mitigation project.” In other words, the homeowner must contribute funds equal to 1/3 of the cost of the project toward the project to be reimbursed for the remaining 2/3’s up to a maximum state contribution of $10,000.

For example, if an applicant were to pay $15,000 for new impact-rated windows, their required contribution would be $5,000, and the state’s contribution would be equal to the maximum grant amount of $10,000. If the windows cost $9,000, the applicant would pay $9,000 and would receive a state-matched Reimbursement of $6,000. If the windows cost more than $15,000, the applicant would still only receive $10,000, as that is the maximum reimbursement amount.

Your inspection report will address the following wind mitigation issues and upgrades that, if made, can provide a discount on your home insurance premium.

• Roof-to-Deck Attachment: This upgrade involves securing your roof deck. This reinforces your roof’s ability to withstand strong winds.
• Roof-to-Wall Attachment: This upgrade strengthens the connection between your roof and walls by adding clips or wraps, providing additional stability during a hurricane. 
• Opening Protection: This upgrade ensures your home has impact-resistant windows, doors, garage doors, and skylights to protect against flying debris.
• Secondary Water Resistance: This involves applying a self-adhering underlayment directly to the sheathing, seam tape, or using a foam adhesive barrier to protect the home from water intrusion if the roof covering is unfortunately lost.

When you and your contractor agree your project is completed and contractor local permits are closed, go to your portal account and request your final inspection from the program.  Our inspector will contact you to confirm a time.  They will complete a FINAL INSPECTION REPORT.  Submit this report to your insurance company and request your insurance discount.  This is a required step to complete your reimbursement process.  This step DOES NOT apply to low-income grants.

Talk to your contractor. Confirm they have had all their permits signed off. Then request your final inspection through your portal account. Follow the required program steps to apply for reimbursement. Please note that the program assumes no responsibility for the performance of the contractor you select and work with. It will now be up to every MSFH Grantee/homeowner to find and manage their own eligible contractor and relationship. The program and FL Dept. of Financial Services is not responsible for or involved in any way with the grantee’s contractor selection and/or the grantee construction and payment process.

The My Safe Florida Home Program (DFS) is not responsible for work performed by the certified independent Florida contractors selected by the grantee/homeowner. My Safe Florida Home Program does not provide any warranties or guarantees, express or implied, regarding the work performed by grantee selected contractors. Any disputes regarding work performed by contractors must be resolved between the homeowner/client and the contractor. 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 for work.

• We recommend using a computer with the chrome browser for best performance when accessing the program portal.
• Make sure you request your final inspection through your portal.
• 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.
• Verify your contractor’s state license atMyFloridalicense.com before entering your contractor’s license in your portal and select your program mitigation project.