ARPA NRP Qualifying Areas

The pandemic is forcing families to make difficult choices as they respond to COVID-19. Between mortgage, health and maintenance expenses, maintenance is often lowest on the list of priorities. People confined to their homes have for the first time engaged in activities during COVID-19 such as school and work, which has increased wear and tear on aging housing stock. Expensive needed repairs make living situations for low-income homeowners more difficult. Homes requiring repair to stay up to code put a homeowner at risk of homelessness if their home were condemned or they live in unsafe or unhealthy conditions. This program supports neighborhoods in qualifying census tracts (QCTs) feeling the effects of deferred maintenance on properties, where many residents have may set aside dreams of ownership. The qualifying census tracts often have infrastructure-related issues that make home repair or new development costly. The term “qualified census tract” (QCT) means any census tract designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) and, for the most recent year for which census data are available on household income, either 50 percent or more of the households have an income which is less than 60 percent of the area median gross income (AMI) or which has a poverty rate of at least 25 percent. The American Rescue Plan Act or ARPA relief can give qualified Dallas residents and homeowners the help they need to invest in their properties, get and stay up to code, and enhance infrastructure to create more owner-occupied homes in eligible neighborhoods. A healthier home is also more likely to keep residents healthy as our City recovers from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Through this Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP) the City of Dallas’ Housing Department will work with qualified property owners whose homes were built before 1959 within the mapped boundaries of Joppa, Historic Tenth Street and Five Mile to offer up to $100,000 in grant assistance with a 5-year deed restriction. This feature shows the City's approved boundaries for the three selected neighborhoods.