Apply to help make your house safer from earthquakes

Owners of older, wood-framed homes in Berkeley can apply online to qualify for grants to strengthen their homes’ resiliency to major earthquakes.

Owners of these homes – wood-framed, pre-1980 homes with a raised foundation or crawl space under the home – would receive up to $3,000 for this work. Households making less than $89,040 per year can receive $7,000 more.

Rental property owners of homes with four units or less can also qualify. These owners, who do not need to live in one of the units to qualify, can apply to retrofit up to five qualifying rental properties.

These grants would be used to “bolt” the foundation to the frame of house, and when there are walls called "cripple walls" in the crawl space under the house, they are braced with plywood.

Apply by October 1 to enter the lottery. If you are not immediately accepted into the program, you will be placed on a waitlist. Many Berkeleyans have received grants after first being placed on the lottery.

Rebate program popular in Berkeley

The grant funds two kinds of retrofit work:

• “Bracing” your home’s cripple walls – a short wall between the house’s foundation and first-floor joists – to prevent the house from collapsing
• “Bolting” your home to its foundations to prevent the house from sliding

Bracing and bolting have a big impact in older cities like Berkeley, where many older homes may not have the same seismic safeguards required for newer buildings.

Since 2016, more than 600 Berkeley property owners have received Earthquake Brace + Bolt grants to retrofit their homes. Protecting your home means protecting your community as we prepare for the next big earthquake.

More resources for seismic upgrades

After applying for the Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant, Berkeley homeowners can take advantage of more resources to seismically improve their homes: 

• Retrofit Grants Program: Eligible owners of multi-family homes, non-residential buildings, mixed use buildings, and hotels/motels can apply for reimbursement grants for their retrofit work from the City of Berkeley.
• Transfer Tax Reductions: New property owners can file for a partial refund on their real estate transfer tax after completing seismic upgrades on their own.
• Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing loans: Eligible property owners can receive long-term, fixed cost financing for seismic upgrades through one of several PACE providers.

If you own an unreinforced masonry or soft, weak, or open front building with 5 or more units, you are required to retrofit your building. Learn more about the City's seismic safety requirements and resources.

A retrofitted home can protect not only your family but also your neighbors. Apply by October 1 for the Earthquake Brace + Bolt grant.

Links

• Earthquake Brace + Bolt (California Residential Mitigation Program)
  • EBB Registration
  • EBB Information
• Funding for Seismic Retrofits (City of Berkeley)
  • Retrofit Grants Program
  • Transfer Tax Reductions
  • Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing loans
• Seismic Safety Information and Programs (City of Berkeley)
• Earthquake Preparedness (City of Berkeley)