HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — The city of Huntsville recently announced that $4 million will go toward a new rental rehabilitation program.

Owners of low-income, multifamily rental housing units in Huntsville who want to rehabilitate their properties may qualify for the funds through the Emergency Rental Assistance Program.

The program will solely focus on assisting property owners who wish to fix up low-income, multifamily housing units.

Funding will only go toward properties where low-income families live, which includes families who are at or below 50% of the area’s median income.

Those properties must offer 48 units or more that serve an affordable market. An affordable market is where property owners follow rent restrictions based on the federal government’s Housing and Urban Development guidelines.

Huntsville Community Development Manager Scott Erwin says the city is working to address low-income rental properties that are in need of upgrades.

If a landlord, owner of a multifamily unit which is apartments basically that are serving the seniors, the disabled, the families need to get a loan from the city for renovation, modernization, that’s what this program is about,” Erwin told News 19.

“What we’re trying to do is reserve some of the existing stock. We have some existing stock that may be 50 or 60 years old that need some investment.”

Erwin was asked if the city had made any progress on creating ‘new’ low-income housing opportunities.

The community development manager said they had helped to create some new affordable apartments, but want to preserve older low-income housing opportunities so the city doesn’t lose any of the ones it currently has.

The deadline for eligible property owners to apply for the multifamily rental rehabilitation program is November 20th. The application can be found here.