Dearborn particulars
Dearborn's Home Rehabilitation Program offers income-qualified owner-occupants a zero-interest deferred mortgage of up to 20 years, and the city lists "Roof replacement, aluminum/vinyl siding, gutters & downspouts" among eligible repairs. Applicants must have owned and lived in a one-family Dearborn home for at least one year. Whether you qualify, and what the program covers on your roof, is for the city to say. For permits, the city says building and trade permits are applied for online through BS&A, with a Homeowner Affidavit for construction permits, but its pages do not name re-roofing.
The office is at the Dearborn Administrative Center, 16901 Michigan Ave, reachable on 311 or 313-943-2150; the phone number is the city's general line. Our permit guide walks through how to ask. In Dearborn, 84.0 percent of the housing predates 1980 and the median home value is $205,900. Wayne County's snow load is 20 psf. Hail of 1 inch or larger was reported 4 times and wind of 50 knots or more 29 times in Jul 2024 to Jun 2026, and reports naming Dearborn add up to 1 hail and 1 wind, a minimum. Next door are Melvindale and Allen Park.
Storm damage in Dearborn: what to know
Reports that name Dearborn itself are 1 for hail and 1 for wind, a floor. Across the county, the hail came on 3 days (largest 1.25 in), the wind on 13 days (largest 66 kt), and there were 2 tornado reports. One storm can generate many reports, and recent months are preliminary.
DIFS says to notify your insurer as soon as possible. It names unsolicited door-to-door offers and requests to sign insurance checks over to a contractor as warning signs, so keep the check in your name. If the insurer's response does not satisfy you, DIFS says to try resolving it with the insurer, then file a complaint online or call 877-999-6442, Monday to Friday.
Permits for storm damage in Dearborn
Roofing and roof repair are not on the building-permit exemption list in Michigan's R105.2, and enforcement is local.
Many cities run their own building department, so start by asking the City of Dearborn building department who issues roofing permits.
When storm damage to a roof is an emergency
- Water is coming through a ceiling or light fixture.
- Decking is gone and the attic is open to weather.
- A tree is on the roof or the ceiling is sagging; keep out of the room.
- Power lines are down near the house; stay away and call your utility.
- A few lifted shingles with no stain inside, once photographed and reported to your insurer.
- Dented vents or gutters that still drain.
What to do from the ground and from inside after a storm
Try this first: call your insurer before anyone who knocked on your door, and ask the claim number back.
- Photograph each slope and any shingle pieces from the ground, and keep the pieces.
- Check top-floor ceilings and, through the attic hatch, the underside of the roof boards for damp.
- Note when the storm hit, call your insurer and record the claim number.
- Ask any roofing company for its license number.
What storm damage costs
The estimate below is the Michigan-wide one, adjusted for Michigan wages and not for Dearborn in particular. The same table is on the storm damage page. How we estimate costs. Prices as of Oct 19, 2026.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $915 to $7,400 per repair with water damage | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the Michigan roofer median wage ratio (1.07). No Michigan roofing company price is shown, because none of the companies we looked at published a price we could count. |
| Roofer wage, Michigan median | $28.62 an hour (middle half of roofers: $23.02 to $37.56) | What Michigan roofers are paid (BLS May 2025, read through O*NET OnLine), not what you are charged. |
| Residential re-roofing permit, Grand Rapids | $66 | FY2027 fee schedule. Whether a repair needs it is the city's call. |
| Roof or re-roof permit, Sterling Heights | $78, plus a $56 application fee | 2026-27 application; the sum is ours. |
| Roof permit, East Lansing | $60 application, plus $140 | Residential, with rough and final inspections. |
How we estimate costs: the Estimated range row is a model, not a quote. It takes one published national range for this job (a cost guide from a third-party site that we have not verified and do not cite) and multiplies it by Michigan's roofer median wage ratio to the US (1.07, BLS May 2025 data read through O*NET OnLine). The wage and permit rows in the table are what roofing workers are paid and what a city's own schedule charges, and neither is a price. We have not collected quotes, and we found no Michigan roofing company that publishes a price we could count. Full method.
Questions about storm damage
How long do I have to file a roof storm damage claim in Michigan?
Tell your insurer as soon as possible; the suit deadline is 1 year after the loss or the policy period if longer, tolled from your notice until a formal denial.
Will my insurance replace the whole roof after hail or wind damage in Michigan?
Not necessarily: DIFS says a policy covers only the damaged portion and the insurer need not replace the entire roof, and your policy wording sets the scope.
Should I sign my insurance check over to a roofing company?
No: DIFS lists requests to sign insurance checks over to a contractor among its warning signs, so keep the check.