Bay Area Homes’ Soft-Story Quake Retrofit Grant Money Set to Run Out

Time is running out for homeowners in Oakland, San Francisco, and Berkeley in California who have a “soft-story” structure, with a living space above a garage, to apply for a seismic retrofit grant. The deadline to take advantage of this pilot program, funded by the federal government, is rapidly approaching on Wednesday.

The Earthquake Soft Story (ESS) pilot grant program aims to assist eligible California homeowners in retrofitting their homes with soft stories. Under this program, homeowners can receive financial assistance of up to $13,000 to strengthen the walls and structure of their garage, thereby reducing the risk of the living space above collapsing into the garage during an earthquake. The initiative is overseen by the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP) and funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program.

This pilot program is specifically available to homeowners residing in certain zip codes in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, Pasadena, and Los Angeles. Eligible homes must have been constructed prior to 2000. It is crucial for homeowners to act quickly as the application deadline for the program is set for this Wednesday, May 31.

To access more information about the ESS Program and register for a grant, homeowners are encouraged to visit the CRMP website.