Palm Beach County opened 4 million dollars in SHIP funding to repair owner-occupied homes, with applications accepted November 9 through November 27, 2026 and a mandatory orientation starting October 19. The money is real and the need in Lake Worth and Greenacres is real. What the announcement does not lead with is that this kind of assistance is recorded as a lien against your home and generally comes due when you sell, which means the right answer depends entirely on whether you plan to stay.
By Darek Homel, Broker-Owner, Landmark Signature Realty LLC | CIPS, CLHMS Guild, CNC, SRS, ABR, SFR Published October 12, 2026
This guide is for Palm Beach County homeowners, and particularly owners in Lake Worth and Greenacres, who are weighing repairs they cannot comfortably afford. It is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it is not an application. Program terms come from Palm Beach County and can change, so confirm every number with the county before you rely on it.
Contents
- What the county actually opened
- The part the announcement does not lead with
- Stay or sell: the real decision
- The unpermitted work trap
- What to do in the next three weeks
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the county actually opened
Palm Beach County's Department of Housing and Economic Development opened a funding cycle for its Owner-Occupied Housing Rehabilitation Program, backed by 4 million dollars in State Housing Initiatives Partnership money. The program pays for substantial rehabilitation on owner-occupied structures of one to four dwelling units.
Eligible work is narrower than most people assume. The county's housing investments page describes it as correcting code violations or conditions that are about to become code violations, eliminating conditions that threaten the life, health, or safety of the occupants, connecting a home to public utilities, and adapting a residence for accessibility. A kitchen you dislike does not qualify. A roof that is failing, a septic connection, or a bathroom a wheelchair cannot enter is the kind of thing that does.
Household income has to sit at or below 80 percent of area median income:
| Household size | Income limit at 80 percent AMI |
|---|---|
| 1 person | 71,950 dollars |
| 2 people | 82,250 dollars |
| 3 people | 92,550 dollars |
| 4 people | 102,800 dollars |
| 5 people | 111,050 dollars |
Those limits matter for where this lands geographically. They are a poor fit for most of Wellington or Palm Beach Gardens and a strong fit for working households in Lake Worth and Greenacres, which is why this post is addressed to those two markets.
One number deserves a flag. The October announcement reported by The Boca Raton Tribune puts assistance at up to 100,000 dollars per household, while Palm Beach County's standing program page still describes funding of up to 75,000 dollars. We could not reconcile the two from a primary source before publishing. Ask the county which figure governs this cycle at the orientation, and do not build a repair budget on the larger number until someone at the Department of Housing and Economic Development confirms it in writing.
The part the announcement does not lead with
Here is the fact that changes the decision, and it rarely makes the headline.
SHIP rehabilitation assistance in Florida is generally not a grant you keep with no strings. It is typically structured as a deferred, no-interest loan secured by a mortgage lien recorded against your property, forgiven over a set term as long as the home remains your homesteaded principal residence. The Florida Housing Coalition, which trains the local governments that run SHIP, publishes guidance on SHIP loan recapture describing this standard structure, and county programs across the state follow it.
Payment typically becomes due when one of these happens:
- You sell the property
- You transfer or convey the property
- The home stops being owner occupied, including conversion to a rental
- You lose the homestead exemption
- The forgiveness term expires
For very low and low income households, the deferral period under common SHIP structures runs long, often 30 years, after which the balance is forgiven. Palm Beach County publishes its own term and forgiveness schedule, and that specific number is the single most important thing to ask about at orientation. We are describing how these programs are generally built, not quoting a Palm Beach County term sheet, and the difference matters to your decision.
Read that list again as a homeowner rather than an applicant. If you take 80,000 dollars of roof and plumbing work and stay in the house, you are very likely to owe nothing. If you take the same 80,000 dollars and list the house in three years, that balance is a payoff line on your closing statement.
Stay or sell: the real decision
Most of the owners who call me about a house that needs work have already decided they are stuck. They are not. They have two legitimate paths, and the county program only improves one of them.
| Your situation | Is the SHIP program a fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Staying long term, income qualifies, repairs are safety or code items | Strong fit | The lien is forgiven if you stay, so the work is close to free |
| Planning to list within a few years | Poor fit | The balance comes due at closing out of your proceeds |
| Income above the 80 percent AMI limits | Not eligible | Look at private repair financing or selling as is |
| Repairs are cosmetic, not code or safety | Not eligible | The program funds habitability, not updating |
If you land in the second row, you have not lost anything. Selling a house that needs work is a pricing and disclosure exercise, not a disqualification, and South Florida has a deep buyer pool for exactly that product. What you should not do is take a county lien in June and list in September without understanding what hits your proceeds.
If you want the honest version of what your house is worth as is, before you spend a dollar, start with a home value check rather than a contractor quote. Repair decisions get much easier once you know whether the work returns more than it costs.
The unpermitted work trap
Palm Beach County has stated that properties with unpermitted work may be ineligible for this assistance. That single line disqualifies more applicants than income does, and most of them have no idea the problem exists.
I spent seven years in Chicago and eight in South Florida in real estate, and before that I was a licensed general contractor, builder, and remodeler. So I will tell you what unpermitted work usually looks like in a Lake Worth or Greenacres house built before 2000. It is an enclosed carport or patio that became a bedroom. It is a garage conversion done by a previous owner. It is a water heater, a panel change, or a window replacement that someone did over a weekend.
None of that is unusual and none of it makes you a bad owner. It does two things to you, though, and they both cost money. It can disqualify you from the county program, and it surfaces again during a sale when an appraiser measures the heated square footage or a buyer's inspector opens the panel.
The practical move is the same on both paths. Pull your record from the Palm Beach County Property Appraiser along with your permit history, and find out what the county thinks is there versus what is actually there. If the heated square footage on your property card does not match the house you are standing in, you have found the problem before it found you.
What to do in the next three weeks
The orientation requirement is the real deadline, not the application window. You cannot apply without attending one, and the first session is on October 19.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| October 19 to November 18, 2026 | Virtual mandatory orientation sessions, attendance required to apply |
| Monday, November 9, 2026 at 12:00 PM | Application portal opens |
| Friday, November 27, 2026 at 11:59 PM | Application portal closes |
| After the window | The county selects 50 applications through random selection |
Note what random selection means for your strategy. Submitting at 12:01 PM on November 9 gives you no advantage over submitting on November 26. What matters is that your application is complete, your income documentation is clean, and your permit history does not contain a surprise.
Program details, orientation signup, and the application portal live with the Palm Beach County Department of Housing and Economic Development. Their verification team can be reached at [email protected].
Figure out which path you are on before the orientation
The county program is a good deal for the owner who is staying and a complication for the owner who is leaving. Knowing which one you are takes two five-minute next steps:
- Run a home value check to see what the house is worth in its current condition
- Review your options with no obligation on the sell page, including what listing as is actually looks like
If you want a straight answer on whether to fix it or list it, schedule a 30-minute call. If the answer is that you should stay in the house and take the county money, I will tell you that, and you will not hear from me again unless you ask.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Palm Beach County SHIP owner-occupied rehabilitation program?
It is a Palm Beach County program that funds repairs on owner-occupied homes of one to four dwelling units. The county announced 4 million dollars in State Housing Initiatives Partnership funding for this cycle. It covers code violations, conditions that threaten health or safety, utility connections, and accessibility work for households at or below 80 percent of area median income.
Do I have to pay the SHIP repair money back?
Usually not in cash, and usually not if you stay. SHIP rehabilitation assistance in Florida is typically structured as a deferred no-interest loan secured by a lien on your home, forgiven over a set term if the house remains your homesteaded principal residence. It generally becomes due if you sell, transfer, rent the home, or lose the homestead exemption. Confirm Palm Beach County's exact term at the mandatory orientation.
Should I apply if I am planning to sell my house?
Probably not. If the assistance is recorded as a deferred lien and you sell inside the forgiveness period, the balance typically comes due at closing out of your proceeds. For an owner who plans to stay, that lien is close to free money. For an owner who plans to list within a few years, it is a repair loan with a payoff attached.
When can I apply for Palm Beach County home repair assistance?
The application portal opens Monday, November 9, 2026 at 12:00 PM and closes Friday, November 27, 2026 at 11:59 PM. Attendance at one virtual mandatory orientation between October 19 and November 18, 2026 is required first. The county selects 50 applications through random selection, so applying early inside the window does not improve your odds.
What are the income limits for the Palm Beach County rehabilitation program?
Limits are set at 80 percent of area median income and scale with household size. The county listed 71,950 dollars for a one person household, 82,250 dollars for two, 92,550 dollars for three, 102,800 dollars for four, and 111,050 dollars for five. Larger households have higher limits, which the county publishes with the application materials.
Can unpermitted work disqualify my home?
Yes. Palm Beach County has stated that properties with unpermitted work may be ineligible for assistance. An enclosed patio, a converted garage, or a replaced water heater done without a permit can stop the application. The same unpermitted work also tends to surface during a sale, so it is worth resolving on either path.
Related Reading
- Florida Amendment 3: what the November 3 property tax vote means
- How to Appeal Your Broward Property Tax Assessment in 2026
- South Florida Homeowner Costs in 2026: What It Really Takes to Own Here
Darek Homel is the Broker-Owner of Landmark Signature Realty LLC (License BK3416208, Brokerage CQ1070811) in Wellington, Florida, serving Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties. He has 15 years in real estate, 8 in South Florida and 7 in Chicago, and previously worked as a licensed general contractor, builder, and remodeler. Sources: Palm Beach County Department of Housing and Economic Development program materials and the October 2026 funding announcement reported by The Boca Raton Tribune; Florida Housing Coalition guidance on SHIP loan recapture structure.