Get Help
RTN is currently accepting Eligibility Screening Forms for households within the boundaries of our Greater Bordeaux and Dickerson Pike target communities.
If your household meets all of the eligibility criteria, our team will add you and your information to our waiting list, and you will be contacted as RTN has availability to begin assessing your home.
Request a physical Eligibility Screening Form be mailed to your home
Home Requirements
The home must be within RTN’s Greater Bordeaux or Dickerson Pike Corridor target community boundaries.
The home must be a free-standing, single-family home; we are not able to serve rental properties, condos, or mobile homes.
Homeowner & Household Requirements
The applicant or a permanent household resident must meet at least one of the following qualifications:
Be 60 years of age or older
Be a veteran of the United States Armed Forces (as evidenced by a DD Form 214)
Receive Federal disability benefits
Applicant households must have an annual income of no greater than 80% of HUD’s area median income for Davidson County. HUD calculates Area Median Income annually, meaning eligible household incomes may change from year to year. Please note that all household members, including roommates and extended family members, must provide accurate income information for RTN to process an application.
The applicant must live in the home.
The applicant must own the home. If the applicant co-owns the home with another person, they must disclose that information in their application.
The homeowner must be willing to comply with program requirements including signing a forgivable five-year lien for the value of repairs completed at the home.
The applicant must be current on mortgage, home equity loan payments or other debts that are secured by the property and provide proof through documentation or a title search of any resolved debts (if applicable).
The applicant must be current on property taxes for the home.
The applicant must have a current homeowners insurance policy for the property.
SHHIP Eligibility Criteria
Current HUD Low (80%) Income Limits
Persons in Household
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Household Annual Income
$64,300
$73,500
$82,700
$91,850
$99,200
$106,550
$113,900
$121,250
Home Repair question & Answer
-
Rebuilding Together Nashville works with professional contractors to complete the vast majority of home repair work. RTN also organizes volunteer groups to assist professional contractors with mostly unskilled tasks like carpet and debris removal at the beginning of a project or clean-up at the end of a project if needed. Volunteers are always supervised by an experienced and trained volunteer or staff member.
-
Thanks to the generous support of our funders, homeowners do not pay anything to our agency for the repairs they receive. However, homeowners who receive services will be asked to sign a five-year, forgivable lien for the full value of home improvement services. If the homeowner or their heirs sell the home within five years of project completion, Rebuilding Together will be paid back in full from the proceeds from the home sale. We will reinvest that money in another project. This allows us to continue meeting our goal of preserving affordable housing in Nashville in the long term. You can read more about our lien process here.
-
Because of funding and labor constraints, Rebuilding Together Nashville is unable to complete repairs at homes with significant hoarding or clutter issues, significant pest control issues, serious water damage or mold contamination, intensive landscaping or tree removal needs, major foundation issues, extensive lead-based paint contamination or other hazardous materials, or evidence of drug use, criminal activity or mistreatment of animals. We reserve the right to decline any application that is beyond the agency’s scope of funding or expertise, that may expose staff or volunteers to dangerous conditions, or that Rebuilding Together deems unsuitable for any reason.
-
When you submit an Eligibility Screening Form to Rebuilding Together, you must declare the income of every person who lives in your home, even extended family members and roommates. Whether a specific source of income will count toward your household income will depend on your specific living arrangement. In general, all income will be counted. Income includes wages from jobs, self-employment, Social Security payments, pension payments and any other regularly recurring source of funds in your household.
-
Individuals interested in applying for our home repair services should submit an Eligibility Screening Form. Once RTN has received your Eligibility Screening Form, RTN will follow up to let you know if you appear eligible and if you’ve been added to our application waitlist
-
Rebuilding Together Nashville will mail you a response letting you know your Eligibility Screening Form was received and the status of your eligibility. If you are eligible for RTN’s home repair services, a staff member will add you to our home repair service waitlist to receive an application, and discuss with you how long the expected wait time will be at that time.
-
The length of each home repair project varies depending on the needs of each home - but most RTN projects will be complete within 1- 4 months after a homeowner approves the final workscope proposed by RTN. At the beginning of each home repair project, our team completes a home assessment using a checklist of 25 Safe and Healthy Home Priorities. After the initial home assessment, RTN will prepare a work scope to review with the homeowner, prioritizing repairs needed to ensure homeowners remain safe and healthy in their homes. RTN will then discuss the proposed work scope with the homeowner to receive approval of all proposed services before repair work begins.
-
When you fill out an application to Rebuilding Together, you must write in the name of any co-owner. Rebuilding Together Nashville will require some information from other property owners, whether or not they currently live in the home with you. You should inform any co-owners when you apply for services that we will need their cooperation to get your application approved.
Homeowner Resources
The need for home improvement services in Tennessee is great, and funding is limited. Below are links to other resources in the state and region that may offer services in your area.
Request Additional Resources
We maintain resource lists for Nashville as well as many of our surrounding counties. Fill out our General Interest Form to have our staff contact you about other resources that may be available to you.
Other service providers
Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA)
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – Rural Development
Your local Habitat for Humanity office
Your local Tennessee Association of Human Resource Agencies (TAHRA)
Your local Veterans Affairs (VA) office
United Cerebral Palsy Wheelchair Ramp Program
Westminster Home Connection (Only Davidson, Robertson, Sumner, Wilson, Rutherford, Williamson, and Cheatham counties)
There may be additional resources in your community that we are not aware of. We recommend that you contact your local United Way or your local government officials who may be able to tell you about resources that we are not aware of. You may also want to talk with your insurance agent, local social workers, health care providers, churches or religious institutions. And you may be able to leverage your home’s value to complete some home repairs; your trusted banker or real estate agent should be able to give you better information. We often advise homeowners that free community assistance is limited, so we suggest homeowners consider hiring a contractor for small home improvement projects.