What specific criteria must an ARS Cares community nominee meet regarding homeownership status?
Short answer
ARS Cares nominees must be the deeded title owners and full-time occupants of the single-family home where the heating, cooling, or water heating equipment will be installed. This owner-occupancy condition ensures the recipient holds legal authority to approve required municipal mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits. Rental properties, multi-family buildings, commercial parcels, and absentee landlord holdings are strictly disqualified from receiving donated equipment.
ARS Cares nominees must own and occupy the single-family residential home where the complimentary HVAC unit or water heater is installed, ensuring full legal authority for equipment replacement and necessary mechanical permitting.
Aging residential HVAC and plumbing infrastructure creates critical safety hazards for vulnerable homeowners facing major equipment failure. Replacing a complete residential split system or standard 50-gallon water heating setup averages $4,500 to $12,000 nationally in 2024, placing essential climate control and sanitary hot water out of reach for struggling households. The ARS Cares initiative donates heating, cooling, and water heating systems to community members who lack the financial resources to address broken home mechanical infrastructure.
If you only do one thing: Verify that the nominee holds recorded title and primary residency on the single-family parcel before submitting the ARS Cares nomination form.
- Primary homeownership status: Nominees must be the deeded owner of the single-family residential property where the equipment replacement and system tie-in will take place.
- Owner-occupancy verification: The candidate must actively reside in the home as their primary physical residence, excluding rental properties, commercial units, multi-family apartment complexes, and absentee landlord holdings.
- Permitting authority: Equipment installation requires municipal mechanical, electrical, and plumbing permits, which demand deeded title-holder authorization or direct owner consent under local building safety codes.
- Infrastructure compatibility: The existing dwelling must support standard residential utility connections, including 208/230-volt single-phase electrical service for HVAC condensing units or standard 3/4-inch gas supply lines for gas water heaters.
- Community need evaluation: Selections evaluate documented household hardship, community contributions, and active mechanical system failure where existing units cannot provide safe heat, cooling, or hot water during seasonal temperature extremes.
- Watch out for: Submitting nominations for tenant-occupied properties or rental units, as landlord-owned parcels are disqualified from receiving donated equipment under ARS Cares program terms.
- Watch out for: Homes with condemned structural framing or code-deficient electrical panels (such as outdated 60-amp main service panels) that prevent safe equipment connections without prior electrical remediation.
- Watch out for: Submissions located outside active ARS/Rescue Rooter operating territories across the United States, where local branch dispatch and installation teams cannot provide direct field service.
Contact ARS/Rescue Rooter at 866-399-2885 or submit an application through the ARS Cares community outreach portal with the nominee's property address and heating, cooling, or water heater failure details.