$3,000 rebates available to all – plus additional funding for low-income households
Berkeley, California (Wednesday, October 27, 2021) - Low-income households can get refunded for the full cost of a seismic upgrade to their home - while others can qualify for up to $3,000 for making their foundations more resilient to earthquakes.
These refunds are available to Berkeley homeowners who sign up for the state's Earthquake Brace + Bolt rebate program by December 9 and are selected from a lottery. Households with annual incomes below $72,080 can qualify for up to 100 percent of the seismic retrofit cost.
Apply for Earthquake Brace + Bolt
- Online
- Phone: (877) 232-4300
- Eligibility: owner-occupied single-family residences and small multifamily buildings (1-4 units) in Berkeley and other eligible zip codes.
This program is essential in a community like Berkeley, where older homes may not have the seismic protections required of newer construction. Straightforward repairs like bracing and bolting have a big impact.
Berkeleyans have strengthened homes, gotten rebates
Since March 2016, over 460 Berkeley homeowners have received Earthquake Brace + Bolt rebates, bringing nearly $1.4 million in state funding to Berkeley residents while increasing the resilience of our community.
Incentives from the California Earthquake Brace + Bolt Program help pay for seismic upgrades to houses most vulnerable to severe damage -- pre-1980, wood-framed homes with raised foundations that may have unbraced "cripple walls," the short wood-framed wall surrounding the crawl space under the first floor. Bolting houses to their foundations and bracing the cripple walls helps prevent homes from sliding and collapsing during an earthquake.
In addition to the state's Earthquake Brace + Bolt rebates, homeowners in Berkeley have other resources to pay for seismic improvements:
- Transfer Tax rebate for seismic improvements made within a year of purchase.
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing can be used by commercial, multifamily, and residential property owners to borrow money for seismic improvements, with no upfront costs, and pay back over time on their property bills.
See the City of Berkeley's Seismic Safety Information and Programs for additional resources.
Improve the safety of your home and apply by December 9, 2021, for a chance at a $3,000 rebate - or more.
Links:
- Earthquake Brace + Bolt (State of California)
- Transfer Tax Rebate for Seismic Upgrades (City of Berkeley)
- PACE Financing for Retrofits, Energy Upgrades (City of Berkeley)
- Seismic Safety Information and Programs (City of Berkeley)
This message was updated on December 1, 2021 to note that the deadline for applying for the program was extended to December 9.
