Niles, Michigan Launches Free Home Repair Program for Low-Income Homeowners

The City of Niles, Michigan has launched a Homeowner Assistance Program that delivers free home repairs to eligible low-income homeowners, starting with a targeted rollout on 3rd Street. The city partnered with the Edwin and Irma Hunter Foundation and the Michigan Gateway Community Foundation to fund the work, and officials have framed the program as both a housing-stability measure and a neighborhood-revitalization effort. According to the city's program page, "Home repairs and improvements will increase individual property value and improve the look and safety of the neighborhood."

Who is eligible

The program is open to owner-occupant households inside Niles city limits who meet several requirements laid out in the city's participant guidelines:

• Household gross annual income cannot exceed 80% of area median income, adjusted for household size.
• The applicant must own the home and live there year-round as their primary residence.
• All property taxes and special assessments must be paid current before any rehabilitation work can begin.
• The home must carry property insurance covering fire damage, plus federal flood insurance if the property is in a flood zone.
• The home must be habitable both before and after the repairs and cannot already be under separate rehabilitation or construction.

How the program works

Eligible homeowners submit an application along with supporting documentation. The city's fact sheet and participant guidelines, both linked from the program page, spell out the scope of covered repairs and the approval workflow. Because the program is grant-funded through the partner foundations rather than a repayable loan product, qualifying households do not take on new debt for the covered repairs.

The initial phase of the program focused on 3rd Street, a deliberate choice by the city to concentrate visible improvements on a single corridor before expanding.

Why it matters

Niles, a city of roughly 11,000 residents in Berrien County in southwest Michigan, has an older housing stock where deferred maintenance can quickly push low-income owners toward code issues, rising insurance costs, or uninhabitable conditions. A locally administered, foundation-backed repair program fills a gap that statewide resources like USDA Section 504 loans and grants, the Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund, and Habitat for Humanity home-repair programs do not always reach on their own.

Homeowners interested in applying should review the participant guidelines and fact sheet on the City of Niles website and submit the application form directly to the city.