About the Home Improvement Rebate

The Longfellow Community Council (LCC) has made available $91,712 in Neighborhood Revitalization Program funds to be used for home improvement rebates. LCC represents the Greater Longfellow neighborhoods of Longfellow, Cooper, Howe and Hiawatha. Homeowners of these neighborhoods are eligible to apply to this support program. Selected homeowners will be rebated 80% of their home improvement costs up to $5,000. The minimum request for rebate assistance will be $2,500. This program will be available until December 31, 2024 or until funds are exhausted. Upon exhaustion of these funds, the Board of LCC may consider re-funding or continuing the program.

The purpose of this program is to encourage residents to improve their home and the community and to support our neighbors who need the most assistance in this effort.

Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are owner-occupants of townhouses, condominiums, single family homes and owner occupied units of mixed use and multi-family housing buildings found in the four neighborhoods of Greater Longfellow listed above.

Rental and commercial property owners are not eligible to apply for these funds. LCC staff will verify proof of owner occupancy with city and county records.

The following income limits are set for applicants:

• For the first 6 months, the program would be available to those with a household income of 50% or less of AMI
  (Area Median Income)
• After the first 6 months, the program would expand to those with household income of 80% or less of AMI

Limitations & Requirements

Applicants may apply for one 80% (up to $5,000) home improvement rebate. Multiple improvements can be covered in the submission of one application. Home improvement rebates are issued on a first-come/first served basis, based on LCC’s receipt of the applicant’s signed Participation Agreement.

Work cannot be performed before approval is granted by LCC. Approval will be confirmed by LCC staff within four weeks of receipt of the application. After the application is approved, the applicant must sign and return the program’s Participation Agreement. LCC will alert the applicant once it receives the Participation Agreement and work can begin. Rebates are not retroactive and work performed before LCC’s approval is not eligible for rebate.

A number of documents are required during the application process and following the projects’ completion. Those documents are mentioned in Part 5 and listed in the application and the final report. Rebate checks will not be issued until all documents are accounted for by LCC.

Once an application is approved, the applicant has six months to complete the project. If the project is not completed in that time, the rebate approval is forfeited. If the homeowner requests an extension in advance of the deadline, they may be granted one, six-month extension.

Applicants are required, in good faith, to live in the home for five years after the rebate is issued.

Eligible & Ineligible Improvements

Eligible improvements – rebates can be applied toward the permitting, design, materials, and licensed labor costs associated with the following improvements:

• Additions or remodeling that add livable square footage
• Heating, cooling, and ventilation equipment like water heaters, furnaces, boilers, ground source or air source heat pumps
• Interior and exterior painting
• Updating and code compliance of plumbing and electrical systems and fixtures
• Foundation and structural improvements
• Repairing, replacing, or installing new:
  • Water and sewer lines
  • Stucco
  • Siding
  • Doors
  • Windows
  • Garages
  • Roofing
  • Solar Panel Systems
  • Sidewalks
  • Driveways/parking pad
  • Porches
  • Tile
  • Sheetrock/plaster
  • Radon reduction systems
• Landscaping/hardscaping projects that include one or more of the following:
  • The installation of permanent trees, shrubs, or perennials
  • The repair or replacement of retaining walls (installation of a new wall is eligible only if it’s to prevent soil erosion)
  • Removal of diseased or damaged trees (trees must be replaced unless there is no suitable site as determined by an arborist)

Applicants are encouraged to use environmentally friendly products and practices in their home improvement projects like low VOC paint, low flow plumbing fixtures, and energy efficient HVAC systems.

Ineligible improvements

The following items are not eligible for a home improvement rebate:

• Items which could be considered recreational or luxury projects (swimming pools, hot tubs, jacuzzis, saunas, playground equipment, etc)
• Furniture and appliances
• Non Permanent landscaping like container gardens or planting annuals
• Purely cosmetic landscaping projects like the installation of patios, retaining walls, etc.
• Labor performed by homeowners or by unlicensed contractors is not eligible for the rebate

Process & Required Documentation

Step One:  Contact Longfellow Community Council to discuss your project if you have any questions if needed.

Step Two:  Submit the application including proof of ownership, a copy of a licensed contractor bid for all work to be completed, copies of the selected contractors’ Minneapolis licenses, before photos, and architectural rendering (if applicable).

Step Three:  Receive application approval and submit the signed Participant Agreement.

Step Four:  Complete the project within six months of approval. If the project is not completed during this timeframe, the rebate may be forfeited. If requested before the deadline a homeowner may be granted one, six-month extension.

Step Five:  Upon completion of the work, submit a final report. The following documents are required to be included with your final report: after photos, proof of payment to contractors, receipts for materials if applicable, and a copy of the permits with final inspection signatures. These need to be submitted in one email to Longfellow Community Council.

Step Six:  A 80% rebate (up to $5,000) will be issued to the applicant within 30 days of LCC’s receipt of the post-application and supporting documents.