Home Rehabilitation Program
The Knox County Home Rehabilitation (KCHR) Program provides essential repairs to eligible homeowners to prevent home deterioration, provide accessibility modifications, and maintain housing quality and safety.
Home Rehabilitation is offered as two forms of assistance:
Emergency Home Repair
Provides repairs needed to remove or reduce threats to the health, safety, or well being of a dwelling's occupants. Qualifying emergency repairs may be offered without repayment.
Minor Home Repair Loan
Covers all other eligible repairs that fall under the moderate and low priority categories. These repairs are offered with a 0% interest loan.
Note: This program is not available for homeowners who intend to sell their property or wish to use the home for rental income upon completion of the repairs.
Eligible Repairs
After your home inspection, the KCHR team will let you know which repairs qualify for Emergency Home Repairs or Minor Home Repair Loans.
Program Eligibility
To qualify for Emergency Home Repairs or a Minor Home Repair Loan, applicants must:
- Be a U.S. Citizen or Legal Resident
- Complete the KCHR application
- Be at or below the 80% Area Median Income (see table below)
- Submit documentation verifying their income and assets
- Own and occupy their home as their sole residence for at least the last three (3) years prior to applying
- Reside within Knox County but outside of the Town of Farragut and City of Knoxville limits
- Provide proof of ownership or similar document if residence is a manufactured home located on leased land
- Not have received Emergency Home Repair financial assistance from Knox County in the previous five (5) years
- Be current on all County taxes (or be abiding by a written agreement with the County outlining a payment plan for delinquent taxes)
- If there is a mortgage on the home, the mortgage payments must be current (homeowners with a reverse mortgage are ineligible)
Income Eligibility
Income eligibility is based on your household’s pre-tax income. Your gross household income must be equal to or less than the amount shown in the chart below.
Household Size | 80% Area Median Income |
|---|---|
1 Person | $58,100.00 |
2 Person | $66,400.00 |
3 Person | $74,700.00 |
4 Person | $82,950.00 |
5 Person | $89,600.00 |
6 Person | $96,250.00 |
7 Person | $102,900.00 |
8 Person | $109,500.00 |
Application Process
Applications are reviewed to determine eligibility and identify the repairs necessary to protect the health and safety of the homeowners.
Application Steps:
- Gather required documentation
- Take photographs of your repair needs
- Create an account on Neighborly
- Complete and submit the application
Required Documentation
To apply, you need to provide the following:
- Valid government-issued photo ID
- Proof of Assets
- Cash (e.g., checking, savings)
- Stocks
- Retirement Accounts
- Pension Funds
- Life Insurance
- Personal Property
- Lump Sums
- Deeds
- Additional Properties
- Proof of Income
- Paystubs, wage statements
- Social Security and/or Veterans retirement benefit award letters
- Unemployment, Disability, and/or Worker’s Compensation, and Severance Pay
- Alimony, Regular Contributions or Gifts, Child Support statements
- Retirement Pensions/Annuities, Interest statements
- Welfare Assistance (TANF)
- Other Similar Types of Periodic Income
- Additional documents may be required
Application Review
KCHR prioritizes addressing applications with the most severe home repairs first. Applications with life-threatening repair needs are reviewed first, before those with severe, then moderate, and finally low repair needs. Adding clear photos and details to your application helps staff understand your repair needs better. A home inspection will allow us to evaluate the repair needs and determine the order that repairs need to be conducted.
Step One: Review Case and Scoring
- Staff will review repair description and photos.
- Staff will determine severity of repairs
- Your application will be scored to determine priority for a home inspection.
Step Two: Home Inspection
- A team member will reach out to schedule a home inspection.
- During the home inspection, staff will evaluate the repair needs.
- We will confirm or redetermine the severity of repairs based on the results of the inspection
Note: The submission of an application or determination of eligibility does not guarantee acceptance into the program. Additionally, a home inspection does not guarantee that repairs will be completed or that home rehabilitation assistance will be provided. Home repair services are subject to the availability of funding.
FAQs
You can check the status of your application at any time on Neighborly.
Please review these status definitions for further information.
Only homeowners who occupy their residence are eligible for this program. Homeowners who rent the land where their residence is located, such as in a manufactured home community, are only eligible for Emergency Home Repair financial assistance up to $10,000. Exceptions may be available in cases where mitigation or abatement of hazardous materials is required. In the case of manufactured homes situated on leased land, repairs of external housing systems (i.e., septic systems) are not eligible.
If you are a renter and need assistance, please call 211 for a list of agencies that may be able to help.
Assistance is subject to the availability of funding, and many factors determine what kind and how much assistance is available. Some conditions that limit assistance include:
- Applicants who do not own the land that their home is on may be only eligible for Emergency Home Repairs in the amount of less than $10,000.
- Manufactured homes that are not on a permanent foundation may also be limited to $10,000 of assistance.
- When an applicant is eligible for repairs in the amount of $10,000 or more, a forgivable lien will be placed against the property. If applicants do not want a forgivable lien, they will be limited to staying under $10,000 of Emergency Home Repair assistance. Please Note: All individuals listed on the property's deed will be required to sign if a lien is placed on the property, or a loan is taken out.
A Minor Home Repair Loan allows eligible homeowners to borrow and repay funds to address repairs that are not covered by Emergency Repair Assistance. Minor Home Repair Loans are offered at 0% interest. KCHR utilizes the Knox County Property Assessor to identify the value of the property, and eligible applicants can borrow up to 95% of the estimated value of the real property, (minus any existing liens/loan amounts for the home), so long as the debt-to-income ratio of the applicant does not exceed 43% of their gross annual income. KCHR staff will work with homeowners to set the due date and terms of the loan. The table below demonstrates the maximum length of time that loans are available based on the amount borrowed. Homeowners have the option to shorten the loan terms, if desired.
| Maximum Loan Term (months) |
|
|---|---|---|
|
| $2,000 = $41.60/month |
|
| $5,000 = $69.44/ month |
|
| $10,000 = $83.33/ month |
|
| $16,000 = $88.89/ month |
HUD provides a CPD Income Eligibility Calculator tool to help determine income eligibility for program assistance. Utilize this tool to determine if your household falls within the income requirements.
You can check to see if your home is located in a floodplain through the FEMA Flood Map Service Center. Flood insurance will be required if financial assistance exceeds $10,000.
You can utilize KGIS Maps to determine which jurisdiction your home is in. Properties located with the yellow shaded area of the map are in the Knoxville City limits, and those in the purple shaded area are within the Town of Farragut.
You can contact Knox Housing Assistance by calling (865) 215-3983 or by email at: knoxhousingassistance@knoxcounty.org.