(AUSTIN) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and State Senator Judith Zaffirini today announced a $542,000 award to the City of Taft that will help fund home repairs for low income homeowners, helping residents maintain homeownership while providing a significant boost to the local economy.

City officials anticipate the funds will help rehabilitate six homes owned and lived in by income eligible households.

“I am delighted that some of my low-income constituents soon will enjoy the benefits of new or substantially improved homes,” Senator Zaffirini said. “This assistance helps guarantee a safe and healthy living environment for residents who no longer can afford to make necessary improvements. I am impressed by TDHCA’s continued commitment to support homeownership in Taft and in rural communities across Texas.”

“Repairing older homes not only helps maintain homeownership for low income families, it also helps maintain the vitality of smaller Texas communities,” noted Tim Irvine, TDHCA Executive Director. “Home repair assistance also benefits the regional economy through an influx of construction payroll salaries and increased taxes and fees that help fund essential public services, so we anticipate that this award will have a significant impact on the community.”

TDHCA awards home repair funds to qualifying applicants through the Department’s HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Program, which helps repair or replace homes owned and lived in by low income homeowners. If a home has deteriorated to the point it no longer is cost effective to repair, it may be demolished and replaced with either a traditional “site built” home or a manufactured home.

Qualifying applicants include rural cities and counties, public housing authorities, Community Housing Development Organizations and other nonprofit housing groups, and certain for-profit organizations which then work with eligible households at the local level.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is the funding source for the HOME Program. The program serves households earning no more than 80 percent of the area median family income, which for the City of Taft equals an annual income of $42,800 for a family for four. For more information about this award, please contact the city directly at (361) 528-3512.