Housing assistance programs — Palm Bay, Florida

Palm Bay's housing aid is run by the Housing and Community Improvement Division of the Growth Management Department, on the 2nd floor of the City Hall Annex at 120 Malabar Road SE, phone (321) 726-5633.

The division administers money the City of Palm Bay receives from four main programs: the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnerships funds through the Brevard County HOME Consortium, HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and the State of Florida's State Housing Initiatives Partnership (SHIP), plus other state and federal grants (Palm Bay Housing Programs). Its staff work with residents, non-profit agencies and other city departments on programs that benefit low and moderate-income people and improve Palm Bay neighborhoods.

The Palm Bay office keeps two windows: 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. by appointment only, then 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday (Palm Bay Housing Programs). Questions go to HCDinfo@palmbayfl.gov. Countywide programs sit with Brevard County Housing and Human Services at 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way in Viera, (321) 633-2007, which lists purchase assistance, a Replace, Rehab and Repair program and weatherization (Brevard County Housing and Human Services).

The Palm Bay SHIP plan offers zero-interest deferred loans of up to $75,000 for owner-occupied rehabilitation, up to $349,000 to demolish and rebuild an unsafe home, and an emergency repair strategy for leaking roofs and similar hazards.

The City of Palm Bay's Homeowner Rehabilitation Program covers necessary repairs and improvements for eligible owners. The city page, checked October 12, 2026, says the rehab waitlist opens October 1 for a limited time through a Housing Rehabilitation Prequalification Form, and that submitting the form does not guarantee eligibility (Palm Bay Housing Programs). Applicants who meet the first screen are told by email that they have been placed on the Palm Bay housing assistance waitlist.

Terms come from the Palm Bay SHIP Local Housing Assistance Plan covering 2023-2024 through 2025-2026, the version linked on the city page as of October 12, 2026. Owner-occupied rehabilitation is a deferred loan secured by a recorded mortgage and note, with a 10-year term and one-tenth forgiven each year (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 8). The loan falls due if the home is sold or transferred, becomes a rental, loses its homestead exemption, or stops being the owner's primary residence.

Demolition and reconstruction applies to Palm Bay single-family homes in a flood zone whose rehabilitation would exceed 50% of assessed value, or homes outside a flood zone that the Building Official finds unsafe for habitation (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 8). That loan runs 30 years, with no forgiveness for the first 10 years and 5% forgiven annually after. The emergency repair strategy pays for leaking roofs, damaged windows open to the weather, electrical fire hazards and plumbing problems that threaten the occupants (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 9).

Yes: Palm Bay's SHIP purchase assistance lends first-time buyers up to $75,000 toward down payment, closing costs and repairs, and the city's PY 2026 CDBG budget sets aside up to $180,000 for down payment assistance.

The SHIP purchase strategy is a 0% deferred loan over 15 years, forgiven one-fifteenth a year, and the award includes needed repairs (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 7). The buyer must get a first mortgage from a lender and complete a HUD-certified first-time homebuyer course. The Palm Bay plan runs its down payment strategies through a third-party sub-recipient rather than city staff (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 5).

A first-time buyer under the Palm Bay plan is someone who has had no ownership in a principal residence during the 3-year period ending on the purchase date, with exceptions for a displaced homemaker or single parent who owned only with a former spouse (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 5). The home's sales price or value may not exceed 90% of the average area purchase price (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 4).

The CDBG money comes from the Palm Bay request for proposals for Program Year 2026, which runs October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027 (Palm Bay PY 2026 CDBG RFP, page 1). It lists the down payment line next to the public services share, and says funding levels depend on actual allocations (Palm Bay PY 2026 CDBG RFP, page 7).

Palm Bay CDBG help is limited to households at or below 80% of area median income, which under the 2025 HUD limits in the city's CDBG notice meant $55,950 for one person.

The Palm Bay PY 2026 CDBG request for proposals prints the 2025 HUD income limits, effective April 1, 2025, and states that a household above 80% of area median income is not eligible for assistance (Palm Bay PY 2026 CDBG RFP, page 17). The limits change each year. SHIP income and rent limits are updated annually by HUD and posted by Florida Housing Finance Corporation at floridahousing.org, and the Palm Bay plan serves very low, low and moderate-income households (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 4).

Palm Bay SHIP funding follows a set priority order for all strategies: very low income first, then special needs households until the 20% threshold is met, then low and then moderate income (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 4). Within each strategy, applicants are selected on a first-qualified, first-served basis (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 8). The city works with Aging Matters and Helping Seniors of Brevard for referrals to its special needs rehabilitation program (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 6).

Palm Bay expects about $814,260 in CDBG for Program Year 2026, of which $122,139, or 15 percent, can go to public services.

Those figures appear in the city's request for proposals, with an asterisk noting that funding levels will depend on actual allocations (Palm Bay PY 2026 CDBG RFP, page 7). The same Palm Bay notice tells applicant agencies that leveraging is now required because of the reduction in funding at the federal level, so projects must show other public or private money (Palm Bay PY 2026 CDBG RFP, page 13).

The Palm Bay SCAT Bus Voucher Program uses CDBG to give income-eligible residents free 30-day Space Coast Area Transit passes, one application per household member, with a household limit of 80% of area median income (Palm Bay SCAT Bus Voucher Program). The program was closed when checked on October 12, 2026, and the city anticipates reopening it in November 2026. Children under 5 ride SCAT free, and a lost pass cannot be replaced for 30 days.

Federal pandemic money added to Palm Bay housing spending. The city has obligated all $18,009,865 of its American Rescue Plan Act recovery funds, including septic-to-sewer connections for low and moderate-income households and over $4 million for affordable housing, transitional housing and public services tied to homelessness (Palm Bay ARPA page).

Palm Bay renters who face housing discrimination have 180 days to file, and the city's housing division makes the first inquiry before referring a case to the Florida Commission on Human Relations or HUD.

The Palm Bay Fair Housing Ordinance, the Florida Fair Housing Act and the federal act bar refusing to rent, sell or lend because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability or familial status (Palm Bay Housing Programs). The city lists its fair housing line as (321) 726-5633 ext 3542, the Florida Commission on Human Relations at (800) 342-8170 and the HUD discrimination hotline at (800) 669-9777.

Rent help in the Palm Bay SHIP plan is tied to disasters. The SHIP disaster strategy applies after a disaster or emergency declared by the President or the Governor (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 10), with rental assistance grants of up to $15,000 (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 11), and rent, mortgage and utility assistance is paid directly to the landlord, lender or utility provider (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 12). The city also lists partner organizations, including the Housing Authority of Brevard County, Community Housing Initiative, Habitat for Humanity of Brevard County and Florida Housing Finance Corporation (Palm Bay housing resources and partners).

Builders of affordable housing in Palm Bay get two incentives. Resolution 2023-31, passed by the Palm Bay City Council on September 20, 2023, cuts the building permit fee by 100 percent when every unit meets the state affordable housing definition and serves people under 80% of area median income (Palm Bay affordable housing fee reduction certification). Ordinance 2018-61 gives affordable projects expedited permitting and site plan review (Palm Bay SHIP LHAP, page 13). Last verified: October 12, 2026, on the City of Palm Bay Housing Programs pages.