Nearly two years after Hurricanes Helene and Milton tore through Pinellas County, the first storm-damaged mobile home has been demolished and replaced at no cost to the owner through the county's Pinellas Recovers program.
Program Pipeline Grows With Hundreds of Applications Pending
The replacement, completed in late June at a mobile home community in unincorporated Lealman, marks the start of a much larger pipeline. Four additional replacements are underway, 46 approved homes are in pre-construction, and more than 1,000 applications remain under review, according to Spectrum Bay News 9.
Palm Harbor and Dunedin are within the program's eligible service area, according to the county's program page. The program is funded through federal Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Who Qualifies
To be eligible, applicants must have owned and occupied the home as their primary residence when the storms hit and still own it. Household income must be at or below 120% of Area Median Income, with 80% of funding reserved for households earning 80% AMI or less. For a single-person household, that 80% threshold is $64,250; for an eight-person household, it's $121,150.
Priority goes to homes with children 18 and younger, adults 62 and older, or persons with disabilities.
What Owners Receive
The maximum award is $375,000. Replacement manufactured homes are rated for Wind Zone 3 and can be elevated up to 8 feet to meet flood requirements. Approved homeowners can choose among qualifying models rather than receiving a single standard unit.
The assistance is structured as a grant with a five-year forgivable mortgage. No payments are required as long as the owner stays in the home as their primary residence; the mortgage reduces by 20% each year.
Residents who lease the land under their mobile home may still qualify but must obtain the landowner's consent or identify another suitable location for the replacement.
How Long the Process Takes
According to the program's FAQ page, mobile home replacements typically require less time than full reconstruction projects. A conservative estimate is six months from a complete application to a replacement home.
The program has 120 total approved mobile home applications so far. More than 1,000 are still under review.
"If these applicants are willing to take full advantage of everything we have to offer and work with our case management and us throughout this process, we can really get them a new home that can withstand the test of time and anything that can be thrown at us this hurricane season," Grant Coordinator Mackenzie Bergstrom told Bay News 9.
How to Apply
Applications remain open with no stated deadline. Funding is allocated first-eligible, first-served, subject to HUD-approved priority criteria.
Residents can apply online at the Pinellas Recovers website, visit a help center at 2600 McCormick Dr., Suite 100, Clearwater, or call 727-606-3307 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
