FOR HOMEOWNERS

A Florida homeowner whose residence is a single-family, detached, site-built home is eligible to apply for a free wind inspection.

 Properties not eligible for free wind inspections include mobile homes and manufactured homes, apartments, condominiums, multi-family dwellings and businesses.

The My Safe Florida Home program is working with local governments and the Volunteer Florida Foundation to offer low-income homeowners an opportunity to strengthen their homes against natural disasters.

Floridians whose homes have undergone a wind certification and hurricane mitigation inspection approved by the Department of Financial Services may be eligible to apply for matching grants up to $5,000.

Matching grant funds are available only for wind-resistance improvements in the following categories if your home was inspected on or after May 1, 2007.

  • Bracing gable-ends in your roof framing.

  • Upgrading exterior wall opening protections.

  • Upgrading exterior doors (including garage doors.)

Under law, only homeowners who received a wind inspection before May 1, 2007, will be eligible for a grant under the previous program rules.
 
MIAMI-DADE VS. FLORIDA BUILDING CODE
After Hurricane Andrew devastated South Florida in 1992, Miami-Dade, Broward, and unincorporated Palm Beach counties passed building codes that required new homes to be built with opening protection (impact-resistant windows and doors, or impact-resistant coverings, such as shutters, for windows and doors). These codes also included standards for how opening protection products would be tested and approved for use. Products approved by the Miami-Dade Building Code pass the strictest tests in the country for windborne debris, pressure and water.

Today, the Miami-Dade Notice of Acceptance (NOA) is the best way to be sure the products you buy pass the strictest tests in the country for windborne debris, pressure, and water. If you are eligible to receive grant funds under the My Safe Florida Home program, you are only required to use products approved by either the Florida Building Code or the Miami-Dade Building Code, whichever is applicable to your home's location.

To learn whether a product you are considering has received approval by the Florida Building Code or the Miami-Dade Building Code, visit the organizations' respective websites at:

Florida Building Commission: http://www.floridabuilding.org/c/default.aspx -- Click on “Product Approval” and choose among your menu options.

Miami-Dade Building Code: www.miamidade.gov/buildingcode/ -- Look for the Search Approved Products tab under Product Control on the site’s menu.