My Safe Florida Home is a state program, administered by the Florida Department of Financial Services, that provides eligible homeowners a free wind mitigation inspection and a matching grant of up to $10,000 for hurricane-hardening improvements such as roof reinforcement, secondary water resistance, and impact-rated openings.

Yes. The program reopened on August 4, 2025 and continues taking applications as of July 2026. Florida’s 2026 budget reappropriated more than $405 million in unused funds toward the program and its backlog. Funding moves first-come, first-served within priority groups, so confirm the current window at mysafeflhome.com.

The state’s maximum contribution is $10,000. Moderate-income homeowners receive a 2-to-1 match — the state pays $2 for every $1 you spend — so reaching the full $10,000 requires at least $15,000 of approved work. Low-income homeowners can qualify for a fully funded grant up to the maximum.

You need a site-built single-family home or townhouse that is your homesteaded primary residence, an original building permit issued before January 1, 2008, an insured value of $700,000 or less, and household income at or below 120% of your county’s median. Homeowners at or below 80% of county median qualify for the fully funded low-income tier.

Yes. The MSFH inspection is free, takes about 1 to 3 hours, and carries no obligation to apply for a grant. The report alone can qualify you for wind mitigation discounts on your homeowners insurance.

It can cover a roof covering upgrade — replacing your roof covering with a stronger hurricane-rated system — but only when your MSFH inspection report recommends it. The program funds wind hardening, not roof replacement for age or leaks alone, so the inspection report controls what qualifies.

Four categories: roof-to-wall connection upgrades like hurricane straps, roof deck re-nailing to current wind standards, secondary water resistance (a sealed peel-and-stick barrier under the covering), and a hurricane-rated roof covering upgrade when recommended. All must appear in your inspection report.

A self-adhering polymer-modified bitumen underlayment (“peel-and-stick”) applied directly to the roof sheathing, or a closed-cell foam adhesive applied from the attic side. Standard felt underlayment does not qualify under the program.

Since mid-2024 the program no longer maintains its old pre-approved contractor list, and homeowners select their own properly licensed Florida certified contractor. Contractor requirements can change between cycles, so verify the current rules at mysafeflhome.com. 1st Choice Roofing holds Florida licenses CBC1253663 and CCC1327354, both verifiable at myfloridalicense.com.

Only after you receive written grant approval from the program. Starting work or signing a contract before approval is the most common mistake in the program and makes the work ineligible for reimbursement.

Plan on 8 to 12 months from application to reimbursement for most homeowners. Simple projects for low-income applicants 60 and older have finished in 4 to 6 months, while backlog periods have stretched some cases past 18 months. The final inspection must happen within 1 year of grant approval.

MSFH is a reimbursement program. You pay your contractor, pass the local building inspection and the final MSFH inspection, then submit a draw request with paid-in-full invoices. Many homeowners pair the grant with financing to cover costs until the reimbursement arrives.

It’s a mandatory eligibility questionnaire completed in your program portal after your inspection. Tens of thousands of homeowners completed inspections but never filed it, which left their applications frozen. If you had an inspection and never heard back, log in and check this first.

In most cases, yes. Roughly 45,000 homeowners completed inspections without receiving grants when earlier funding ran out, and the 2026 reappropriation specifically targets that backlog. Log into your account at mysafeflhome.com, confirm your questionnaire is complete, and watch for your priority group’s window.

Applications process in four groups: low-income homeowners 60 and older first, then low-income under 60, then moderate-income 60 and older, then moderate-income under 60. Your group determines when your application window opens.

The free wind mitigation inspection is generally still available to higher-income homeowners, and the report can earn insurance discounts on its own. Grant eligibility rules are set each legislative cycle, so it’s worth rechecking mysafeflhome.com annually.

No — the homeowner grant covers site-built single-family homes and townhouses of three stories or fewer. Condominium associations have a separate My Safe Florida Condo Pilot program with its own rules.

Often, yes. A wind mitigation inspection (Form OIR-B1-1802) after the work documents features like a sealed roof deck and improved roof-to-wall connections for your insurer. About half of grant recipients who reported outcomes saw premium reductions, averaging roughly $981 per year — though savings aren’t guaranteed and depend on your policy and the scope of hardening.

For low-income applicants, up to $1,000 of the grant can go toward structural repairs needed to install the authorized improvements — for example, replacing rotted decking so hurricane straps can be installed properly.

Two big ones: you have 60 days after the award to assign your contractor, and the final inspection must be completed within 1 year of grant approval. Award notices often land in spam folders, so watch your email closely after applying.

Apply for your free inspection at mysafeflhome.com. If your report recommends roof improvements, call 1st Choice Roofing at (727) 847-7663 for a free assessment and a written scope matched to your inspection report — we handle MSFH roof projects across all four counties and never start work before your written grant approval.

Yes. We hold two Florida licenses — Building Contractor CBC1253663 and Roofing Contractor CCC1327354, both verifiable through the Florida DBPR at myfloridalicense.com — and we’re an Owens Corning Preferred Contractor and GAF Certified, serving Tampa Bay from Hudson since 2004.