$10,000 in My Safe Florida Home Grant money for hurricane protection? There hasn’t been a better time in decades to protect your home and get hurricane protection.
The My Safe Florida Homes Wind Mitigation Grant program is awarding government grants up to $10,000 for homeowners looking to get hurricane protection like accordion shutters and impact windows.
Learn how you can apply to take advantage of this program below.
What we’ll talk about:
Update:
The My Safe Florida Home program has recieved an additional $280 million in funding as of July 2025! To see if you may qualify or for next steps, please visit our 2025 program information page.
How do the My Safe Florida Home hurricane protection grants work?
The Florida State Legislature has authorized a matching grant of up to $10,000 for qualifying home hurricane protection projects (installation of hurricane shutters, windows, garage doors, and other hurricane protection systems) through the Department of Financial Services. When using a My Safe Florida Home approved contractor, the program will provide $2 of grant funds for every $1 the homeowner contributes towards their hurricane protection project. To receive the maximum grant amount, homeowners must contribute at least $5,000 of their funds to the project.
Since, on average, most Floridians will spend between $10,000-$15,000 on accordion shutters for their home. This grant is huge for Floridians looking to get hurricane protection.
For the average homeowner, the My Safe Florida Home program matches your spending up to $10,000
If you are accepted into the program and receive a quote for $15,000 for accordion shutters, you will only need to provide $5,000 of your own money. For investments over $15,000, you could save almost 70% on hurricane protection. After Hurricane Ian, the State of Florida launched this program to lessen the burden on Florida homeowners to get quality hurricane protection. As a My Safe Florida-approved contractor, we will be able to help all awardees of the My Safe Florida grant.
For the low-income homeowners, the My Safe Florida Home pays up to $10,000 for your hurricane protection
If you qualify for the My Safe Florida Home program’s low-income bracket, the program will pay up to $10,000 towards your hurricane protection project, without the need for you to put up your own money.
Use our My Safe Florida Eligibility Estimator Tool
If you need help determining where you stand, use the MSFH eligibility estimator tool. This tool will help you determine eligibility based on your income and household details. Alternatively, you can use the provided PDF.
Who can apply?
Anyone can apply, but from July 1 until August 31, 2024, My Safe Florida Home will accept applications in six stages. Over-60 and lower-income homeowners will be prioritized and able to apply earlier than other groups. Check the stages below to see when you can apply, or use our MSFH eligibility estimator.
- During Stage 1, from July 1 to July 15, My Safe Florida Homes will accept applications from low-income homeowners over 60.
- During Stage 2, from July 15 to 30, My Safe Florida will accept applications from all low-income homeowners.
- During Stage 3, from July 31 – August 14, moderate-income homeowners over 60 can apply for grant funding.
- During Stage 4, from August 15 – 30, all moderate-income homeowners may apply.
- All other eligible homeowners may apply during Stage 5 from August 31, 2024, and beyond.
How do I apply for the My Safe Florida Home Grant?
We will help you throughout the process of applying for the grants, but the gist of how the application process works are;
Step 1. Wind Mitigation Inspection
All site-built, single-family, residential homeowners can apply for a wind mitigation home inspection (this determines how prepared your home is in the case of a storm.) This inspection will check for any vulnerabilities your home may currently have. All Home Inspections will be provided for eligible homeowners for free by the State of Florida. Applications will be processed in the order they are received until funds run dry. However, the program has just received an additional $100 million in funding, which will become available starting on July 1, 2023, totaling up to $200 million in state assistance for Florida homeowners.
The State of Florida expects to complete around 140,000 free wind-mitigation inspections through the program.
Step 2. Wind Mitigation Grant Award
The Florida Legislature has passed a new law that allows homeowners who receive a wind mitigation inspection to apply for grants from programs in the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS). These programs are geared towards helping homeowners afford hurricane protection and strengthening their homes to withstand hurricanes.
The eligibility criteria are as follows;
- The homeowner must submit proof of homestead exemption.
- Homeowner must provide the declaration page of their property insurance policy to prove that their home is insured for less than $700,000.
- Your home must be in a wind-borne debris region of the state. Please use the map attached here to determine if your home is eligible for the grant program.
- The permit for the initial construction of your home must have been issued before January 1, 2008 (you can get this information through your property appraiser’s office or website if you do not have it.)
- You must have all grant-covered work done by an MSFH program-approved contractor (We were one of the first to apply and should be approved shortly. We were approved for MSFH’s last grant program in 2007)
- You must allow an inspector to inspect your home after the wind-mitigation work has been completed.
Update: February 2023
The criteria for eligible homeowners have been updated. Since February 2023, any door or window fitted with glass can now be covered under the My Safe Florida Homes grant.
The State of Florida (My Safe Florida Home Grant Program) expects to award between 11,000 and 12,000 grants based on its current funding. (Although after the April 2023 update, the state expects to award between 22,000 and 24,000 grants to eligible homeowners.)
To learn more and apply, visit the My Safe Florida Home website.
The State of Florida (My Safe Florida Home Grant Program) expects to award between 11,000 and 12,000 grants based on its current funding. (Although after the April 2023 update, the state now expects to award between 22,000 and 24,000 grants to eligible homeowners.)
To learn more and apply, visit the My Safe Florida Home website.
Get help applying for MSFH grants
It costs you nothing, but it can save you thousands of dollars, and plenty of headaches.
Step 3. Work with a My Safe Florida Home Approved Contractor to protect your home
Once you are accepted by the program, you will need to find a My Safe Florida Home approved contractor.
Here are some tips and questions to ask to find the right My Safe Florida Home Grant contractor for your needs.
- How long has the My Safe Florida Home approved contractor been in business?
- Most hurricane shutter and impact windows come with a warranty of 10 to 20 years. To protect your investment, you want to make sure that the company you choose to work with will be in business for the full term of your warranty. At this time, roughly 40% of hurricane protection companies go out of business in the first 5 years. We recommend that all people seeking hurricane shutters or impact windows choose a company that is established for over 5 years, as they are far less likely to close (We’ve been in business for over 30 years, and offer the most comprehensive hurricane window and shutter warranty in the business.)
- How do their prices stack up to the competition, and do they offer price matching?
- We offer some of the best prices in the industry, and offer a generous price matching program which will beat any recent written estimate (check our home page for more information on our price matching program.
- Do they offer the latest and greatest products?
- ES Windows has been considered one of the best options for hurricane impact windows for the past 2 years. They typically offer the best pricing and best features when compared to most other brands. Any My Safe Florida approved contractor who does not offer ES Windows is likely going to have a hard time competing with other hurricane window companies on pricing. (We carry ES Windows, as well as 5 other major brands such as PGT, CGI, ECO, and EAS.)
- How good are their reviews?
- Make sure to check any My Safe Florida Homes approved contractors reviews on Google. A rule of thumb is to make sure to only work with companies that have over 100 reviews and has a rating of at least 4 stars (We have over 400 reviews on google, and over 500 in other areas of the web.)
- Make sure to check our guides on how to check for hurricane protection reviews here:
Get help applying for My Safe Florida Home Grants
We are a My Safe Florida Homes approved contractor authorized to do work for homeowners using a My Safe Florida Homes grant. We will share some insight on how you can take advantage of the best time to buy hurricane protection in Florida’s history. With over 30 years of experience protecting over 25,000 homes, we are one of the largest and most established hurricane protection companies in South Florida. Get in touch with us for more information and a free quote.
Don’t miss this opportunity to apply for state funding for your hurricane protection project! This My Safe Florida Homes Wind Mitigation Grant will only be offered while funds last.
