Michigan Home Repair Assistance for Roofs: Real Programs and Who Qualifies

There is no single Michigan roof grant. Help for homeowners comes from a patchwork of federal money (Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds, USDA Rural Development, FEMA after disasters) that is handed to counties, cities and nonprofits, plus a few state and charitable sources. Each one sets its own service area, income limit, list of eligible repairs and form of assistance.

Three patterns hold almost everywhere. First, the program pays for health, safety and code problems, and an actively leaking roof usually counts while a cosmetic upgrade does not. Second, the help goes to owner-occupants, not landlords or second homes. Third, the bigger the job, the more likely the help is a loan secured by the house that is partly or fully forgiven if you stay, rather than a check.

Most programs also run the job themselves. They inspect the house, write the scope, get bids from contractors they work with and pay the contractor directly. That protects you from overpaying, but it means you usually cannot hire a roofer first and ask the program to reimburse you afterward. Apply before the work starts.

Kent County Community Development runs home repair assistance funded by federal CDBG and HOME money for homeowners who live in Kent County outside the City of Grand Rapids. The focus is health, safety, accessibility, code violations and essential systems, and roofs are named in both tiers of the program.

Income limits are updated every May 1. For the current year the county lists $59,750 for a one-person household and $85,300 for a household of four, with other sizes in between and above. The county's application pages have opened and closed during 2026, so check the current status before you count on it.

The Ottawa County Community Action Agency runs a Home Repair Program for health and safety repairs, and it names roof repairs or replacement first among the critical needs it covers. The agency helps you get quotes, manages the money as trustee and checks that the repairs are done properly.

The assistance is a loan with no payments until you sell or refinance, and half of it is forgiven after five years. You must own and live in a single-family home in Ottawa County, carry homeowners insurance and be current on property taxes and your mortgage. Manufactured homes qualify only on a permanent foundation. The 2026 income guideline is $61,950 for one person and $88,500 for a family of four.

Homes inside the City of Holland are not eligible for the county program. The county directs those homeowners to Holland's own Home Repair Program instead, and gives its phone number on the program page.

Storms and high repair prices bring out offers of government roof grants that do not exist. The Federal Trade Commission's rule of thumb is simple: the government will not contact you out of the blue about a grant, will not charge you a fee to get one, and will never ask you to pay with cash, a gift card, a wire transfer or cryptocurrency.

A contractor who says they can get you a free roof through a grant, as long as you sign with them today, is a warning sign too. Real programs choose or approve the contractor and pay them directly. If you are unsure, call the program's published phone number from its official page, not a number the caller gives you.