HOUSTON — The Houston City Council approved a $45 million program on Wednesday to repair and rebuild single-family homes damaged by the 2024 derecho and Hurricane Beryl, with applications expected to open in early August.
The program will provide up to $100,000 for home repairs and up to $300,000 for reconstruction for eligible households earning 80% or less of the area median income.
According to the city’s Housing and Community Development Department, the derecho was the most damaging wind event to hit Houston in nearly 25 years, while Hurricane Beryl made landfall as a Category 1 storm and caused flooding that damaged homes, infrastructure and businesses.
The funding comes from a $315 million disaster recovery grant awarded to Houston by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) following the two storms.
The housing program was added after community members, housing advocates and City Council Housing Committee Chair Tiffany Thomas urged the city to dedicate disaster recovery funds to housing. Mayor John Whitmire’s original proposal did not include housing assistance, but he later increased the allocation to $100 million, covering both single-family and multifamily housing programs.
HUD estimated in 2024 that Houston had $229 million in housing repair, reconstruction and property losses from the storms, with nearly 4,000 households identified as having serious unmet housing needs.
Council member Julian Ramirez said the funding would not meet the full demand for assistance.
“I think we should be getting more for our money and trying to help more families,” Ramirez said before voting in favor of the program. “This is a philosophical difference with our housing leadership.”
The remaining HUD funding will support backup power generators at city facilities, operations at the city’s residential service center for people experiencing homelessness and debris removal efforts.
Housing Director Mike Nichols said the Housing and Community Development Department expects to begin accepting applications in early August.