Housing rehabilitation program takes off

The city of Westlake Village began a housing rehabilitation effort in cooperation with Willdan, a consulting firm, about five weeks ago, and according to city officials, the program has already experienced great success. It offers housing assistance to homeowners and mobile homeowners living in unsafe or unhealthy conditions. Recipients must also meet certain criteria.

After the homeowner applies for housing rehabilitation assistance, a Willdan representative visits the applicant’s home within about a week to determine specific needs. The work must be necessary and cannot exceed a $5,000 limit per homeowner.

Once approved, several contractors will visit the home and estimate a fee. The homeowners then choose the contractor they think will do the best work for the best price. Estimates have fallen within about a $50 difference so far, according to assistant city manager Audrey Brown.

"When the program first took off," said Willdan planning and housing services manager Vyto Adomaitis, "we got probably 20 or 30 calls a day." Since then, the calling load has slowed down to a few calls per week, he said.

About 13 projects will begin within the next week, Adomaitis said. Five residents have already been put on a waiting list.

The improvements include roofing, plumbing, water-heater replacement and stairwell modifications for an elderly couple who can’t climb up the existing steps. Each project, Brown said, has required almost the entire $5,000 available.

"The program is in its infancy," Adomaitis said, "and we’re limited by what we can do by the amount of funding we have. And we’re going to be utilizing all of the funding," he said.

The total amount of funding for the program at this time is $85,000, according to Brown. A portion of that sum, she said, is for consulting fees.

Many applicants didn’t qualify for the program, Adomaitis said. A major factor is the homeowners’ income, he said.

"Overall, I think the program has been very well received," Adomaitis said. "We’ve received very positive feedback from all the people that we’ve been in contact with in the program … It’s a good opportunity to do something very positive in the community and certainly the people that we’re assisting are very appreciative and grateful for the service."

To learn more about the program, call (800) 896-9990.