Program Rules

To participate in any California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP) retrofit grant program, homeowners, contractors, and design professionals are required to agree to and follow the Program Rules of the retrofit program for which they are registered, and CRMP's Terms of Use. A summary of the Program Rules for each program, and links to the complete Rules documents, are included below for:

• Earthquake Brace + Bolt (EBB) retrofit grant
  • EBB's Supplemental Grant funding
• Earthquake Soft-Story (ESS) retrofit grant

EBB Program Rules Highlights

In order to participate in the Earthquake Brace + Bolt program, homeowners, contractors, and design professionals are required to agree to and follow the EBB Program Rules and Terms of Use.

A summary of the Program Rules is included below.

Homeowners

For homeowners the rules include but are not limited to the following:

• The house must be located within one of EBB's designated program ZIP Codes.
• The house must meet all the qualifications for the EBB program. It is the homeowner's responsibility to accurately answer all qualifying question on the registration form.
• House must be built before 1980.
• The house must be the participant's primary residence, and they must be the legal owner of record.
• Only one EBB registration per household is allowed.
• You have not already completed a "brace and bolt" earthquake retrofit.
• The building permit must be received and dated after your acceptance into EBB.
• The building permit must state the retrofit is in accordance with CEBC Chapter A3 or an accepted Standard Plan Set.
• In addition to the brace and bolt retrofit, the work must include strapping and bracing the water heater.
• The homeowner must meet all program deadlines and submit the required documentation.
• If a homeowner chooses to hire a contractor to do the EBB retrofit, the contractor must be listed on the EBB Contractor Directory.
• If a homeowner receives a contractor bid for the retrofit that is more than $10,000, the homeowner must get at least one additional bid from a contractor on the EBB Contractor Directory. If the higher bid is chosen, the homeowner must state the reason.
• If a homeowner chooses to do the project as an owner/builder, labor will not be reimbursed.
• If the homeowner qualifies for the EBB grant and the Supplemental Grant, AND the total amount of the grants (EBB plus the Supplemental Grant) is $5,000 or more, AND the house is in a FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area, the homeowner will need to submit a signed, notarized, and recorded Special Flood Hazard Area Conditions form, and a copy of their flood insurance policy, to CRMP before a grant payment is made.
  • Special Flood Hazard Area Conditions Form (fillable PDF)

Funding and Photos

Funding for EBB retrofit grants comes from two different sources: the California Residential Mitigation Program (CRMP) or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Once you've been accepted into EBB, you will have access to a Homeowner Dashboard, where you will see if the program you are in is funded by CRMP or FEMA. For each funding source, there are different requirements regarding photos of the exterior of your house. You will be able to upload these images to EBB through your Homeowner Dashboard. Specific instructions for what must be included in the images will be provided on your Homeowner Dashboard.

• CRMP-funded program: Before the retrofit begins, provide three photos of the exterior of the house—a photo of the front of the house and one of each side. All pre-retrofit photos and documents will be reviewed by EBB. You will have nine months from the day you were accepted into the program to complete the retrofit.
• FEMA-funded program: Provide EBB five photos of the exterior of the house, with a date stamp, taken before the retrofit begins. These photos, along with your registration, will be forwarded to FEMA for review. After receiving approval from FEMA (approximately four-to-ten weeks after submission), EBB will inform you that your retrofit may begin. You will have six months from that day to complete the retrofit. An additional five photos of the exterior of the house must be taken with a date stamp and submitted after the retrofit work is completed.
• Available Grants: up to $3,000 is funded through a FEMA grant. For eligible Supplemental Grant recipients, the remaining balance of the cost of the retrofit up to the cap amount for that retrofit is funded by CRMP.

Additional photos of the crawl space under your house, the access to the crawl space and a properly strapped water heater are required in both the CRMP and FEMA programs. Look for specific instructions on your Homeowner Dashboard or the Program Rules for what must be included in the images.

By participating in this Program, homeowners must acknowledge and agree to release CRMP, CEA, and Cal OES, of and from any and all manner of suits, liabilities, losses, damages, and claims, related to or arising out of or in any way related to homeowners participation in the Program, including but not limited to, homeowners receipt of a grant from the Program.

EBB Supplemental Grant Program:

A Supplemental Grant (SG) to help income-eligible households pay up to 100 percent of the cost to seismically retrofit their homes may be available. An “income-eligible household” has an annual income at or below $87,360.

• Ineligibility for or withdrawal from the SG does not preclude a Participating Homeowner from receiving an EBB grant for up to $3,000 on an eligible code-compliant seismic retrofit.
• Participating Homeowners that are eligible to receive a SG may submit for reimbursement for the cost of one (1) contractor bid/estimate up to $250 and the full cost of the permit at the time those costs are incurred.
• If you are a Supplementary Grant (SG) recipient, and your total grant (EBB plus SG) is $5,000 or more, submit:
  • a signed, notarized, and recorded Special Flood Hazard Area Conditions form (PDF), and
  • a copy of your flood insurance policy.

Homeowners should also be aware of rules their contractor must follow—and, if needed, design professional.

Contractors

For contractors the rules include but are not limited to the following. Contractors must:

• Contractors must perform all EBB retrofit work in accordance with CEBC Chapter A3 or Standard Plan Set A or Los Angeles City Standard Plan Number One or an engineered plan.
• All retrofit work is done completely in the crawl space around the perimeter of the foundation.
• Contractors must ensure that each building permit for an EBB retrofit includes the required references to CEBC Chapter A3 or FEMA P-1100 or Standard Plan Set A or Los Angeles Standard Plan Number One for a Type 1 Qualifying House or the required references to engineered plans for a Type 2 Qualifying House.
• Contractors must be listed in the EBB Contractor Directory to be eligible to do EBB retrofit work. To be listed in the EBB Contractor Directory, contractors must be licensed by the State of California and have successfully completed the FEMA training.
• Contractors may be removed from the Directory in the event EBB determines that the Participating Contractor has failed to meet the program requirements.
• Contractors must ensure all submissions (e.g., plans, design, letters) completed for an EBB retrofit are in accordance with Chapter A3 of CEBC or FEMA P-1100.
• Contractors must not be barred by the State of California or the federal government from bidding on, accepting, or performing any State of Californian or federal-government- funded public works contracts, either as a contractor or subcontractor.
• Contractors must demonstrate a commitment to work within the local jurisdiction’s building construction process.

EBB has no obligation to maintain, keep current, or monitor licensing, financial condition, contracts, or competence of any Contractor or Design Professional listed on any directory or any other Contractor or Design Professional hired by a Participating Homeowner.

For Design Professionals (Engineers and Architects)

For Design Professionals (engineers and architects) these include but are not limited to the following:

• Design Professionals must ensure all submissions (e.g., plans, design, letters) completed for an EBB retrofit are in accordance with Chapter A3 of CEBC.
• Design Professionals must not be barred by the State of California or the federal government from bidding on, accepting, or performing any State of California or federal-government-funded public works contracts, either as a contractor or subcontractor.
• Design Professionals must demonstrate a commitment to work within the local jurisdiction’s building construction process.
• Design Professionals may be removed from the Directory in the event EBB determines that the Design Professional has failed to meet the program requirements.

EBB has no obligation to maintain, keep current, or monitor licensing, financial condition, contracts, or competence of any Contractor or Design Professional listed on any directory or any other Contractor or Design Professional hired by a Participating Homeowner.

• FEMA-Funded EBB Program Rules (PDF)
• CRMP-Funded EBB Program Rules (PDF)
• Supplemental Grant Rules (PDF)