How California Homeowners Can Get Money for Earthquake Retrofits

With Tuesday’s 5.1 earthquake being a formidable reminder of the continuing earthquake danger in California, more homeowners in the Bay Area and across California can now apply for government grants of up to $3,000 to retrofit their homes in preparation for the next big earthquake, thanks to a state program which has recently expanded its scope.

Earthquake Brace + Bolt will now offer grants to residents living in 521 “high risk” ZIP codes – 126 more than last year that includes more Bay Area cities. The California Seismic Authority and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services established the program in 2014 to help reduce property damage from earthquakes. Registration is now open until November 29.

Zip codes are determined using the United States Geological Survey’s earthquake hazard map for the state, according to program officials. Additional funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will allow the program to “almost double the number of modified homes in California,” said Janelle Maffei, the program’s executive director and chief mitigation officer for the California Earthquake Authority.

A total of 17,500 homeowners have received grants since 2014, officials said. With this year’s additional funding, officials aim to provide at least 15,000 grants in more than 500 ZIP codes statewide. The expansion will include parts of Concord, Benicia, San Rafael, Santa Cruz and other cities in northern and southern California.

“It’s very exciting to focus on the community we’ve been in for years and see just how many retrofits we’ve been able to help with our grants,” Maffei said. “I’m really starting to see a resilient community throughout the neighborhood.”

Homes at risk are usually built before 1980, are timber framed, have a crawl space under the house and are not properly supported on their foundation. Instead, the house is attached to short walls that are not solid and can cause the house to collapse during an earthquake, Maffei said.

Maffei explained that the retrofit consists of “going into the house and fixing it to the foundation with new anchor bolts between the wooden and concrete parts of the house.”

The process takes two to three days to complete and costs an average of about $5,200 statewide compared to $6,000 to $8,000 in the Bay Area. The difference in the Bay Area is due to the higher cost of living in the region in general, including more expensive labor and materials, Maffei said.

“This is not a surprise to anyone familiar with the Gulf region,” she said. “Everything is more expensive in the Bay Area.”

Here’s how to find out if you qualify and how to apply:

Am I eligible?

To qualify for the scholarship, you must:

• Own and live in the single-family home that you plan to modify.

• Live in one of the postal codes included in the program. You can enter your zip code on the program website (https://www.earthquakebracebolt.com/) to see if you qualify.

• Own a house that was built before 1980.

• Own a home with a raised foundation or crawl space under the first floor of your home.

• You have a home built on flat land or with a slight slope.

• You did not start construction work or obtained a permit prior to being accepted into the program.

Maffei said the program currently only retrofits single-family homes and is working to obtain funds to expand into multi-family homes.

Extra money

The program also offers additional grants to families making $72,080 or less, which may cover the full cost of the retrofit. These grants will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis (as opposed to a regular grant), with a few non-taxable exceptions. The amount of money recipients receive depends on the type of retrofit the home needs (bolt only or retrofit with brace and bolts) and where they live in California.

Northern California residents can get more money compared to Southern California residents.

Eligible homeowners can apply for the supplemental grant while filling out the regular application and answering “yes” to the income eligibility question. Once you are accepted into the Regular Program, you will be notified if you can apply for the supplementary grant and you will have to fill out income verification forms for each family member.

How to apply

Register for the EBB program on their website by answering a list of questions about your home and residence. You can also request a paper registration form by calling the Customer Service line at 877-232-4300 or sending an email to [email protected].

Jessica Flores is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: jesssmflores

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