Find grants, rebates, forgivable loans, and free programs for San Diego, CA, filtered to your situation.
As of June 2026, 56 home improvement grant, rebate, and forgivable loan programs are open to homeowners in San Diego, CA, with individual awards up to $250,000. 13 programs target seniors, 5 serve veterans, and 25 require no income limit.
Data last verified 2026-04-03. How we verify our data.
| Funding type | Programs | Repaid? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grants | 32 | Never repaid | Income-qualified homeowners |
| Forgivable loans | 11 | Forgiven after a residency period | Larger repairs with no money down |
| Rebates | 3 | Refunded to you after purchase | Energy-efficiency upgrades |
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The San Diego Housing Commission administers a Housing Rehabilitation Program that provides grants and deferred loans to...
The SDHC ADU Finance Program offers construction-to-permanent loans up to $250,000 at a 1% fixed rate during constructio...
The SDHC Low-Income First-Time Homebuyer Program provides a deferred loan of up to 19% of the purchase price (maximum ~$...
SDHC's Middle-Income First-Time Homebuyer Program offers a $40,000 deferred down-payment loan at 4% simple interest for ...
San Diego County administers CDBG-funded housing repair loans and grants for low-income homeowners in unincorporated are...
San Diego County's Low-Income First-Time Homebuyer Program (administered by SDHC) provides deferred loans covering up to...
San Diego County's Moderate-Income First-Time Homebuyer Program (administered by SDHC) provides deferred loans of up to ...
SDG&E's Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) Program provides no-cost energy-efficient home improvements to income-qualified ...
The California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program provides a 30-35% discount on monthly SDG&E electricity and nat...
The Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program provides an 18% discount on electricity bills for SDG&E residential c...
San Diego homeowners can participate in Net Energy Metering (NEM) or the Solar Billing Plan (SBP) through SDG&E, receivi...
The Solar Advantage program (Disadvantaged Communities Green Tariff) provides a 20% discount on electricity bills for up...
The Smart Home Flex program rewards SDG&E/SDCP customers for adjusting smart thermostats, water heaters, and other conne...
The City of San Diego offers WaterSmart rebates for homeowners to reduce outdoor water consumption, including turf repla...
The City of San Diego uses Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to support home repair and rehabilitation prog...
The VA Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) Grant provides up to $126,526 to help veterans with severe service-connected disa...
The VA Special Home Adaptation (SHA) Grant provides up to $25,350 to help veterans with qualifying service-connected dis...
The Temporary Residence Adaptation (TRA) grant helps SAH or SHA-eligible veterans modify a family member's home where th...
The HISA grant provides funding for medically necessary home structural modifications for veterans who require improveme...
USDA Section 504 provides up to $40,000 in low-interest loans (1% fixed, 20-year term) to very-low-income homeowners in ...
USDA Section 504 provides grants of up to $10,000 to very-low-income homeowners aged 62 or older in eligible rural areas...
The FHA 203(k) Rehabilitation Mortgage allows homebuyers or existing homeowners to finance both the purchase (or refinan...
HUD's FHA Title I Property Improvement Loan program allows homeowners and long-term renters to borrow for home improveme...
The federal Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), administered in California through the Department of Community Serv...
LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) helps low-income households pay their energy bills, including SDG&E b...
HUD awards Lead Hazard Reduction grants to local governments and nonprofits (including San Diego area agencies) to ident...
The Section 25C tax credit allows homeowners to claim 30% of the cost of qualifying energy-efficient home improvements, ...
The Section 25D Residential Clean Energy Credit provides a 30% federal tax credit for installations completed by Decembe...
California grants property tax exemptions to veterans who have a service-connected disability rating of 100% (or are com...
California's Homeowners' Exemption reduces the assessed value of an owner-occupied primary residence by $7,000, saving a...
California's Property Tax Postponement Program allows homeowners aged 62 or older, blind, or disabled with a household i...
The CalHFA ADU Grant Program provides up to $40,000 to cover predevelopment costs for building an accessory dwelling uni...
The CalHFA MyHome Assistance Program provides a deferred-payment junior loan for down payment or closing cost assistance...
CalHFA's Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan provides up to 20% of the home purchase price (maximum $150,000) for fir...
San Diego County uses HUD HOME Investment Partnerships Program funds to provide deferred loans and grants for substantia...
FEMA's HMGP provides post-disaster funding to reduce future disaster losses. San Diego homeowners in wildfire- or flood-...
FEMA's BRIC program provided pre-disaster mitigation funding to communities and was a pathway for some homeowner mitigat...
California's Home Upgrade program (formerly Energy Upgrade California), administered locally by SDG&E, provides rebates ...
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, through the SoCal WaterSmart program, offers $2 per square foot ...
The City of Chula Vista, administered by SDHC, provides first-time homebuyers with a deferred loan of up to 22% of the p...
The City of El Cajon, administered by SDHC, provides first-time homebuyers a deferred loan of up to 30% of the purchase ...
California's Mortgage Relief Program (federally funded Homeowner Assistance Fund) provided grants of up to $80,000 to he...
ICC coverage is automatically included in every NFIP flood insurance policy and pays up to $30,000 to help bring a flood...
California's IBank Jump Start Loan Program and related programs partner with nonprofits and community lenders to provide...
IRS VITA provides free tax preparation services to households earning $67,000 or less, persons with disabilities, and li...
San Diego County's Moderate-Income First-Time Homebuyer Program, administered by SDHC, provides deferred loans of up to ...
ICC coverage is built into every National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy and pays up to $30,000 to help bring a s...
HUD funds state, county, and city governments to identify and fix lead-based paint hazards and other health hazards (mol...
EPA's WIIN Act grants and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) fund lead service line replacement programs in...
The American Red Cross installs free smoke alarms and creates home fire escape plans through their nationwide Home Fire ...
EPA provides State and Tribal Indoor Radon Grants (SIRG) to every state to fund radon risk reduction programs. While the...
NeighborWorks America supports a network of nearly 250 local nonprofit housing organizations across every state, DC, and...
Owners of historic homes may access funding through their State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), which distributes H...
The Section 184 Indian Home Loan Guarantee Program provides HUD-guaranteed mortgage financing for American Indian and Al...
Free or low-cost HUD-approved housing counseling and homebuyer education. Services include pre-purchase counseling, home...
The Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) program provides rental assistance to eligible low-income families, seniors, and ...
The SBA San Diego District Office serves small businesses in San Diego and Imperial counties with SBA 7(a) loans, 504 lo...
The City of San Diego's Economic Development Department supports small businesses through technical assistance, facade i...
The San Diego Workforce Partnership administers WIOA funds for San Diego County through American Job Centers. Individual...
California administers multiple child care subsidy programs including Alternative Payment (AP) programs, CalWORKs Stage ...
Many of these programs can be combined. For example, you can use a city repair grant for the work, a utility rebate for the energy savings, and a federal tax credit on top, all for the same project.
Pick a project to see how much funding could stack on it from multiple programs in this city.
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56 programs are currently listed for San Diego, including SDHC Housing Rehabilitation Program, Home Repair Grant, SDHC ADU Finance Program, SDHC First-Time Homebuyer Program, Low Income.
Grants do not have to be repaid. Forgivable loans are forgiven over a residency period, and rebates refund your money after the purchase. In San Diego, 32 programs do not require repayment, 11 are forgivable loans, and 3 are rebates.
Every program listing carries the official application link and phone number for the administering agency. Homeowners apply directly with that agency; there is no middleman and no fee.