Pinellas County hurricane recovery assistance for homeowners (outside St. Pete)

Is your home outside St. Petersburg city limits?

People First serves “all Pinellas residents except those who live in the City of St. Petersburg,” which has its own allocation, according to Pinellas County. That includes all 23 other cities and towns and every unincorporated community.

Many county-served homes have a St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo or Seminole mailing address. The county’s address lookup, on its People First programs page, answers the question for your exact address. Our jurisdiction guide explains why mail and city limits differ. Your city, not the county program, still issues building permits, except in towns where the county is the building official.

Is the program open right now?

As of October 19, 2026, Pinellas County lists the Homeowner Rehabilitation/Reconstruction Program, the Homeowner Reimbursement Program, the Local Landlord Program and the homeowner part of the Disaster Relief Reimbursement Program as open. No application deadline is posted. The Homebuyer Assistance Program and the renter part of Disaster Relief Reimbursement closed to new applicants on July 31, 2026.

The portal opened October 20, 2025. The county’s guidelines say it may adjust the intake period at its discretion, so check the programs page before relying on any date.

Who may qualify

Priority for rehabilitation goes first to lower-income households with a member who is 18 or younger or 62 or older and a member with a disability, then to households with either, then to other lower-income households. A 20% set-aside serves households between 81% and 120% of area median income on a first-come basis.

What the help covers

The county’s web page still lists $50,000 as the reimbursement cap for all homes; its amended Action Plan 2.0, dated September 24, 2026, sets $15,000 for manufactured homes. Ask the program which applies to you. Manufactured homes are usually replaced rather than repaired: the program repairs a unit only if it is under five years old and the repair costs less than $15,000.

Income limits

These are HUD fiscal year 2026 limits, effective June 1, 2026, as published by the City of St. Petersburg for the same area; the county’s page shows the same figures without a year label.

The Disaster Relief Reimbursement owner component is limited to the 80% column.

How to apply, step by step

1. Confirm with the county’s address lookup that your home is outside St. Petersburg city limits.
2. Apply online at peoplefirstapp.pinellas.gov, by phone at 727-606-3307, or in person at a help center.
3. Upload or bring the documents in the checklist below. A case manager reviews intake and eligibility.
4. The program completes an environmental review, a damage assessment and a duplication-of-benefits review.
5. If approved, you receive an award letter. You have 30 days to sign the homeowner grant agreement or appeal.
6. For rehabilitation, a pre-construction meeting is scheduled and the county’s contractor does the work. Construction can take up to 150 days; the county allows up to a year.
7. For reimbursement, payment goes to you after the agreement is signed.

Rehabilitation awards are a forgivable mortgage: you must own and live in the home for five years, keep homeowner’s insurance, and keep flood insurance if you are in a special flood hazard area. You pay your own temporary housing, moving and storage during construction, according to the county FAQ.

Already repaired, or already got insurance, FEMA or SBA money?

If the work is finished and permitted, the Reimbursement Program is the fit; see reimbursement for completed repairs. Repairs must have been done within two years of January 21, 2025, or before you apply, whichever comes first, according to the county’s action plan. Either program subtracts other money you received for the same repairs; see how disaster aid stacks. If the program finds a gap you must cover, you have 30 days to resolve or appeal it.

Help from a person

The county also holds pop-up events; check the Pinellas Recovers site for current dates.

If you are denied or disagree

Send a written appeal within 30 calendar days of the decision to peoplefirst@pinellas-recovers.com or by mail to 200 Mirror Lake Dr. N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701, according to the county’s program guidelines. You can appeal eligibility, a duplication-of-benefits gap, the award type, the scope of work or a recapture amount. The county’s appeals coordinator aims to decide within about 15 business days.

Pinellas County’s ordinary SHIP home repair loan program closed to new applications in May 2026. For other options, see Florida programs and the Tampa Bay directory, or dial 211.

Background: the money

HUD allocated $813,783,000 in recovery funds to Pinellas County in January 2025 for Idalia, Helene and Milton. In its April–June 2026 report, the county said HUD had temporarily moved $173,681,000 of that into a separate account while an allocation error was resolved. The City of St. Petersburg said on October 9, 2026 that the error had placed its Milton funding in the county’s award. An allocation is the county’s total grant, not what any household receives. More on federal disaster aid is in our FEMA assistance guide and the recovery assistance hub.