Free Weatherization and Home Repair Help in Berks County

Free weatherization in Berks County comes from the state's Weatherization Assistance Program, which the Berks Community Action Program (BCAP) runs here: call 610-375-9770 if your household income is at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which in 2026 is $31,920 for one person and $66,000 for four. Free repair money is harder to find. The county's Whole Home Repairs grants are on a waiting list. The other programs their sponsors' own pages listed on Nov. 9, 2026, are LIHEAP's emergency furnace repair, the free usage-reduction programs at Met-Ed, PPL and UGI, a City of Reading lead-hazard program whose page is undated, USDA repair loans and grants for rural homeowners with very low income, a Habitat for Humanity repair-loan program that Habitat's own site describes two ways, and 1 percent loans from the state housing agency.

Weatherization through BCAP

The Weatherization Assistance Program is a federal program, run in Pennsylvania by the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), that pays local agencies to cut a low-income household's energy use. DCED's provider list names BCAP as the agency for Berks County.

What the work covers

DCED's program page says an energy audit decides what gets done. The usual measures are air sealing guided by a blower-door test, insulation in the attic, walls, basement or crawlspace, and heating system "modification or replacement." The department's FAQ adds smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and replacement of inefficient refrigerators.

It is not a window or door replacement program; the FAQ says replacement "must meet stringent requirements." DCED puts the average spending per home at $8,547.

What it costs and who qualifies

Nothing. BCAP's brochure says there is "no charge for the program" and no lien is placed on a participant's home.

DCED's income page sets the limit at 200 percent of the federal poverty level, effective Jan. 13, 2026:

• 1 person: $31,920
• 2 people: $43,280
• 3 people: $54,640
• 4 people: $66,000
• 5 people: $77,360
• 6 people: $88,720
• Each added person: $11,360

A household qualifies automatically if any member receives Supplemental Security Income, TANF cash assistance or LIHEAP, or has been found eligible for certain means-tested HUD or USDA programs. Priority goes to older adults, people with disabilities, families with children and households with high energy use. A home can be weatherized once every 15 years.

BCAP's brochure prints lower figures, $29,160 for one person and $60,000 for four. Go by DCED's 2026 table and confirm when you call.

How to apply

1. Call BCAP Weatherization at 610-375-9770. The brochure says you "must call for an appointment." The form on BCAP's weatherization page is, in BCAP's words, "a request for more information and not an application."
2. Gather proof of your total household income for the past 12 months and proof that you own the home. Tenants need the landlord's name, address and telephone number, because BCAP "must have the landlord's permission to do the work."
3. Let BCAP's staff inspect the house. They check the roof for insulation, the water heater, windows and doors, and test the heating system.
4. BCAP's private contractors do the work the staff ordered, and staff return to inspect it.

The brochure says the process "should take 2 to 3 months" if all goes well, and warns that waiting lists, weather and contractor schedules cause delays.

Significant moisture, mold or asbestos can delay or block the work. DCED says some of those homes may get fixes such as mold remediation, roof repair and knob-and-tube wiring work through its WAP Readiness Program. You cannot apply to that program directly; eligibility is decided after the weatherization audit.

The official addresses disagree. DCED's list puts BCAP's weatherization office at 247 North Fifth Street, 2nd Floor, Reading. BCAP's own site gives 645 Penn Street, 3rd floor, main line 610-376-6571, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Call before you go.

No heat: LIHEAP emergency furnace repair

If the furnace is broken, the free emergency route is LIHEAP, the federal heating program the state runs each winter. The 2026-27 season runs Nov. 2, 2026, through April 23, 2027, and the state's LIHEAP page lists broken "heating equipment or leaking lines that must be fixed or replaced" among the emergencies that qualify for crisis help. The income limit is 150 percent of poverty, which the page puts at $23,940 for one person and $49,500 for four.

The State Plan calls this the LIHEAP Emergency Services Program. It covers repair of a heating system or fuel lines, replacement of a system that cannot be repaired, pipe thawing and the loan of an auxiliary heater.

1. Call the Berks County Assistance Office's LIHEAP line, 610-736-4228 or 866-215-3911. The office is at 625 Cherry St., Reading, listed as open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2. If you have not applied for LIHEAP this season, file the regular application; the state requires it before a crisis grant.
3. The assistance office decides whether you qualify and, within 24 hours of that decision, sends a referral to the weatherization agency, which in Berks is BCAP.
4. The agency must address the emergency within 48 hours, or 18 hours in a life-threatening situation. The plan says that does not mean the repair is finished by then; the agency must give you a timeline and see that you have a safe place to stay or an auxiliary heater.

The plan's Appendix C excludes a home bought or rented without a heating system, an unoccupied or condemned home, and a heating system shared with households that are not LIHEAP-eligible, as in a multi-unit building. A furnace that has not run in the past two heating seasons is decided case by case. For renters, the assistance office is told to press the landlord to make the repair first, and the agency "may require prior permission from the landlord" to enter. DHS's page says help with heating crises "is available 24 hours a day" and that in "most counties, you should contact your county assistance office"; its statewide LIHEAP hotline, 1-866-857-7095, answers Monday through Friday.

Our LIHEAP guide covers the cash grants, the application and the crisis rules in full, and our assistance office guide covers 625 Cherry St.

Free programs from your electric or gas company

Utilities run their own version of weatherization, called a Low Income Usage Reduction Program, or LIURP, in which, the Public Utility Commission says, the company "may install energy saving features in your home to help reduce bills." Met-Ed calls its program WARM, UGI uses the LIURP name, and PPL runs a similar program called WRAP. All three are free, open to renters, and set at 200 percent of poverty, the same income table as the state weatherization program. Check your bill to see which company serves you.

Met-Ed: WARM

FirstEnergy's WARM page requires average use of at least 500 kilowatt-hours a month and at least 6,000 a year. The handout lists insulation, caulking and weatherstripping, and replacement of inefficient refrigerators, electric water heaters and air conditioners among the possible work.

Apply online at pabillassist.com or call the Dollar Energy Fund at 888-282-6816. You will need your most recent household tax return and 30 days of pay stubs for every working member. Renters must send FirstEnergy a signed landlord agreement form, linked on the WARM page. After approval, a contractor calls to schedule the evaluation; FirstEnergy says the wait "can vary depending on the current number of applicants."

One number on the WARM page does not match. It says to add $11,000 for each added person, while FirstEnergy's fact sheet, revised May 19, 2026, says $11,360, which is the step between every row of both tables.

PPL Electric: WRAP

PPL's WRAP page offers a free energy assessment, done in the home or by phone, to customers 18 or older. Qualifying customers "may also receive additional energy-saving items" with the assessment, such as LED bulbs and smart power strips. Homes with electric heat "may be eligible for upgrades like insulation, air sealing, a heat pump, water heater and smart thermostats." Apply online through PPL's site or call 1-888-232-6302, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Renters should have the landlord's contact information ready.

UGI: LIURP

UGI's program is for customers with an active residential gas heating or electric account, 12 consecutive billing periods and higher-than-average use in the past 12 months. After a home energy evaluation, the work may include a furnace cleaning, tune-up and safety inspection, caulking and weatherstripping, and carbon monoxide and smoke alarms. Fill out the interest form on UGI's page, call 1-800-844-9276 or email LIURPteam@ugi.com. Renters need the landlord's written permission.

Whole Home Repairs: a waiting list only

DCED's program page says the Whole-Home Repairs Program pays up to $50,000 per owner-occupied home to fix habitability and safety problems, improve energy or water efficiency, or make a home accessible, for homeowners at or below 80 percent of area median income. The Redevelopment Authority's page and its March 2024 report give no dollar figure for that limit. HUD's FY 2026 80-percent-of-median limit, which the Berks County Housing Authority posts for the Reading, PA MSA, is $57,200 for one person and $81,700 for four.

The Berks County Redevelopment Authority runs it here, and what it offers now is a place on a waiting list. A program update on its page, dated Jan. 29, 2025, says that effective Dec. 2, 2024, the authority "began maintaining a waiting list, due to the Commonwealth not providing funding for the 2025-26 budget for the Berks County Whole Home Repairs Program." To be added to the list, email jgary@berksredevelop.org. The authority's office is at 400 E. Wyomissing Ave., Ground Floor, Suite 2, Mohnton, 610-478-6325, Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A place on the waiting list does not guarantee money; the page announces no new funding. The authority's Report of Progress of March 26, 2024, the latest it posts, says Berks received $3,684,308, took applications from March 13 to July 11, 2023, and had approved 47 of the 228 it received. That report gives the term of the state funding agreement as "December 12, 2022 through December 31, 2026."

Habitat for Humanity of Berks County: repair loans

Habitat's Home Repair Program offers qualifying homeowners 0 percent interest loans of up to $20,000 "for critical repairs," and says 20 percent of approved projects "will be funded as grants for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities." It covers roofing, plumbing, electrical problems and windows, not cosmetic renovation, and Habitat hires the contractors.

Habitat's own site disagrees with itself. The FAQ on its Own a Home page says critical repair of currently owned homes "is not in the scope of our current work" and sends readers to 211. The repair page posts no income limit and no application form and directs homeowners to contact the office: 610-373-3439, or the GoggleWorks, 201 Washington St., Suites 329-330, Reading, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ask whether the program is taking applications and what the income limit is.

City of Reading: lead hazards, and a roofing proposal

Reading's Lead Hazard Control Program offers a free lead risk assessment and says it "will remove/contain all lead hazards (may include painting or replacement of doors and windows) at no cost for eligible families." The page's eligibility list reads: a city address, a property built before 1978, a child under 6 who lives in the home or visits at least 60 hours a year, someone pregnant living in the home, and income within HUD limits. Landlords, tenants and homeowners can all apply.

1. Download the consultation form.
2. Gather what the form lists: a copy of a valid state ID for each adult, Social Security cards for everyone, children's birth certificates, the lease if you rent, a "Doctor's Certification and Labs," and income verification. The income list is a recent checking or savings statement, last year's tax return, pay stubs for everyone over 18, current Social Security, SSI or welfare benefit statements, unemployment and child support statements, and any other income.
3. Email the form to leadprogram@readingpa.gov or mail it to Community Development, 815 Washington St., Reading, PA 19601, Attn: Lead Program. Questions: 610-655-6460.

The lead program's web page is undated, so call to confirm it is taking new homes.

Roofing grants are a proposal for program year 2027, not money a homeowner can apply for today. The city's draft PY2027 action plan, a file dated Sept. 24, 2026, still carrying a blank where the number of public hearings belongs, proposes $206,000 in federal block grant money for a Lead Hazard Reduction and Roofing Improvements Program. It describes grants "of up to $20,000 per home" for eight low- and moderate-income households who own and live in the home, stay at least a year after the work, are current on property taxes and have no outstanding liens. A resolution on City Council's Nov. 9 agenda would authorize the mayor to submit the plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as our preview reported. The plan gives no way to apply.

For other repairs, the city's FAQ sends homeowners to Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks, 610-372-8433. That is a loan, not free help: NHS's page lists a second mortgage of $2,500 to $30,000 at 8.99 to 10.99 percent for households at "105% or lower" of area median income, with a $99 nonrefundable application fee and a "$1,100.00 average closing cost."

Rural homeowners: USDA Section 504

USDA Rural Development's Section 504 program lends up to $40,000 at a fixed 1 percent for 20 years to repair, improve or modernize a home, and gives grants of up to $10,000 to homeowners 62 or older to remove health and safety hazards. The two can be combined for up to $50,000. The grant has a lifetime limit of $10,000 and must be repaid if the home is sold in less than three years.

You must own and live in the house, be unable to get affordable credit elsewhere, and live at an address USDA counts as rural; check yours on the eligibility map. The federal rule, 7 CFR 3550.103, sets one income test for both the loan and the grant: "At the time of loan or grant approval, the household's adjusted income must not exceed the applicable very low-income limit." USDA's FY 2026 table puts that limit for the Reading, PA MSA at $51,050 for a household of one to four and $67,400 for five to eight. The overview on USDA's program page describes the loans as for "low and very-low-income homeowners," which conflicts with the rule; the same page names 7 CFR Part 3550 as what governs the program.

Two tests in the rule are not in the page's overview. The applicant "must be a U.S. citizen or a non-citizen who qualifies as a legal alien." And elderly families "must use any net family assets in excess of $20,000 to reduce their section 504 request," a threshold that is $15,000 for non-elderly families; the home and a minimum adequate site do not count as assets.

Applications are taken year-round. Berks is served by the Northampton Area Office, 3910 Adler Place, Bethlehem, PA 18017, 484-635-3791; the statewide housing line is 717-237-2186. USDA says approval times "depend on funding availability in your area."

Older adults: home modifications

The Berks County Area Agency on Aging, which serves residents over 60, lists home modifications "to make your home more accessible to your needs" among its in-home services. An assessor visits the home, and "care needs are determined and financial resources are reviewed." Call 610-478-6500; the office is at 400 E. Wyomissing Ave., Mohnton, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our Area Agency on Aging guide explains the assessment and what services cost.

State loans when the free programs do not fit

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency's HEELP loan lends $1,000 to $10,000 at a fixed 1 percent for 10 years for air sealing, insulation and ductwork, energy-efficient windows and doors, heating or cooling system repair or replacement, and roof replacement. PHFA puts the payment at $88 a month on $10,000. The income limits, effective July 1, 2026, are $59,400 for one person and $84,800 for four, and PHFA says it may make exceptions. Mail the application package and the documents on its checklist to PHFA, P.O. Box 8029, Harrisburg, PA 17105, within 12 weeks of receiving it. Do not let work start before the loan closes. Questions: 855-827-3466.

For a failing septic system or a first-time sewer hookup, the PENNVEST Homeowner Septic Program lends up to $25,000 at 1.75 percent interest (up to 2.8 percent APR) for up to 20 years, or 15 for manufactured homes, with no income limit, through participating lenders. Borrowers pay origination and closing charges. PHFA says those loans usually take 30 to 45 days to close. Buyers who want to roll repairs into a mortgage will find PHFA's purchase-and-improvement loans in our first-time homebuyer guide.

Pennsylvania's federally funded home energy rebates, branded Penn Energy Savers, are not open: the Department of Environmental Protection's page says that as of September 2026 it "is awaiting final DOE approval to launch," and the program's FAQ says "the application is not open yet."

Where to start

1. No heat now: call the LIHEAP line at 610-736-4228.
2. Drafts and high bills: call BCAP Weatherization at 610-375-9770 and apply to your utility's program the same week.
3. A roof, wiring or plumbing problem: email the Redevelopment Authority to get on the Whole Home Repairs waiting list, then call Habitat. City families with a child under 6 should send the lead program form. Rural homeowners should call USDA.
4. Over the free programs' income limits: look at PHFA's 1 percent HEELP loan, which has higher limits of its own.

For a past-due bill, see our rental and utility assistance guide.

FAQ

Can renters get free weatherization in Berks County?

Yes. BCAP weatherizes rented homes with the landlord's permission and asks tenants for the landlord's name, address and phone number. Met-Ed's WARM and UGI's LIURP take renters with the landlord's approval, and PPL's WRAP is open to renters too.

Who fixes a broken furnace for free in Berks County?

LIHEAP's Emergency Services Program, through April 23, 2027, for households at or below 150 percent of poverty. Call the Berks County Assistance Office's LIHEAP line, 610-736-4228. The office refers the job to BCAP, which must respond within 48 hours, or 18 if the situation is life-threatening.

Is the Berks County Whole Home Repairs program open?

No. The Redevelopment Authority's page says it has kept a waiting list since Dec. 2, 2024, citing a lack of state funding. Email jgary@berksredevelop.org to be added.

Are there home repair grants for seniors in Berks County?

USDA's Section 504 grant pays up to $10,000 to rural homeowners 62 or older with very low income. Habitat's repair page says 20 percent of approved projects are funded as grants for seniors and people with disabilities. The Area Agency on Aging, 610-478-6500, lists home modifications among its services after an in-home assessment.

Sources

• Pa. Department of Community and Economic Development: Weatherization Assistance Program, income eligibility, FAQ and local provider list; Whole-Home Repairs Program and its agency list.
• Berks Community Action Program: Weatherization, brochure and Contact Us.
• Pa. Department of Human Services: Apply for LIHEAP, the LIHEAP resource page, the FFY 2027 State Plan and the County Assistance Offices directory.
• Utilities: PUC Utility Assistance Programs; FirstEnergy WARM Program, WARM handout, Pennsylvania Assistance Programs (rev. 05-19-26) and Met-Ed assistance programs; PPL WRAP; UGI LIURP.
• County of Berks: Redevelopment Authority and its Whole Home Repair Program progress report (March 26, 2024); Area Agency on Aging homepage and Care at Home. Berks County Housing Authority: HUD FY 2026 income limits, Reading, PA MSA.
• Habitat for Humanity of Berks County: Home Repair Program, Own a Home (FAQ) and Contact.
• City of Reading: Lead Hazard Control Program, its consultation form, the draft PY2027 Annual Action Plan (Sept. 24, 2026), the Community Development FAQ and our Nov. 9 council preview. NHS of Greater Berks: Home Equity and Contact.
• USDA Rural Development: Single Family Housing Repair Loans and Grants in Pennsylvania, 7 CFR 3550.103 (eCFR), FY 2026 direct program income limits, the property eligibility map and Pennsylvania contacts.
• Pa. Housing Finance Agency: HEELP, the HEELP application package, the PENNVEST Homeowner Septic Program and Loan Programs for Home Improvements and Repairs.
• Home energy rebates: Pa. DEP Inflation Reduction Act page and Penn Energy Savers Customer FAQs.

BCAP Weatherization: 610-375-9770; DCED lists 247 North Fifth Street, 2nd Floor, Reading, PA 19601; BCAP's main office is 645 Penn St., 3rd floor, Reading, PA 19601, 610-376-6571, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., closed 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Berks County Assistance Office: 625 Cherry St., Reading, PA 19602-1188; LIHEAP 610-736-4228 or 866-215-3911; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Met-Ed WARM: Dollar Energy Fund, 888-282-6816. PPL WRAP: 1-888-232-6302, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. UGI LIURP: 1-800-844-9276. Berks County Redevelopment Authority: 400 E. Wyomissing Ave., Ground Floor, Suite 2, Mohnton, PA 19540; 610-478-6325; Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Habitat for Humanity of Berks County: 201 Washington St., Suites 329-330, Reading, PA 19601; 610-373-3439; Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. City of Reading Community Development, Lead Program: 815 Washington St., Reading, PA 19601; 610-655-6460; leadprogram@readingpa.gov. NHS of Greater Berks: 210 North Fifth St., Second Floor, Suite 201, Reading, PA 19601; 610-372-8433; Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. USDA Rural Development, Northampton Area Office: 3910 Adler Place, Bethlehem, PA 18017; 484-635-3791. Berks County Area Agency on Aging: 400 E. Wyomissing Ave., Mohnton, PA 19540; 610-478-6500; Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. PHFA: 855-827-3466. Corrections: corrections@berksbeat.com.