California homeowners are now eligible to apply for grants of up to $13,000 to strengthen their houses against earthquakes. This initiative, launched on October 15, aims to encourage retrofitting of soft-story homes—those with a garage beneath living space—particularly in areas like San Francisco’s Sunset and Bayview districts, where such structures are common.
Janiele Maffei, the Chief Mitigation Officer at the California Earthquake Authority, explained that the Earthquake Soft-Story Retrofit Grant Program is funded with $5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is designed to support retrofitting of over 300 homes. As a structural engineer, Maffei is urging eligible homeowners to apply for this financial assistance.
To qualify for the grant, homeowners must live in a wood-framed structure built before 2000, have living space above a garage, and reside in one of the 209 designated zip codes. Applications are currently open and will remain so until the funding runs out.
The soft-story retrofit program is one of two earthquake strengthening incentives offered under the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP), which is jointly managed by the California Geological Survey and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Although the initiative was launched in 2023, it has not garnered enough applications to fully utilize the FEMA funds. So far, only a handful of homes have undergone complete retrofitting through the program.
Authorities will review applications quarterly, and successful applicants will be randomly selected to receive funding. If approved, homeowners could receive up to $13,000 for improvements, which may include installing new foundations, bolts, and steel columns in garages. Maffei noted that the typical cost for a soft-story retrofit ranges from $14,000 to $27,000.
In 2014, the CRMP initiated a similar program called the Brace + Bold program, which provided funding for earthquake retrofits of homes built before 1940 that had raised foundations or basements. Maffei mentioned that in its first year, only eight homes were retrofitted under this program, but it has since gained significant traction, funding over 27,000 projects.
Despite this success, Maffei highlighted that only a small fraction of the over one million qualifying homes across California have taken advantage of this program. She believes that the number of soft-story homes in need of retrofitting is much greater.
The funding for the soft-story retrofit program is a one-time grant from FEMA, but Maffei’s office plans to continue seeking federal disaster relief funding. While the idea of retrofitting can seem daunting, the benefits of making homes safer during earthquakes are undeniable.
