HUD Assists Florida Victims of Hurricane Ian

HUD recently announced a package of 29 regulatory and administrative waivers aimed at helping Florida communities accelerate their recovery from Hurricane Ian. According to Corelogic data, the hurricane has left an estimated $22 billion and $32 billion in wind losses for residential and commercial properties respectively in Florida alone, while insured storm surge losses in Florida are expected to be an additional $6 billion to $15 billion.

One level deeper: HUD’s announcement represents one of the largest collections of regulatory and administrative waivers ever issued by the Department at one time, and builds on other support HUD is providing in the wake of the storm. Effective immediately, HUD is:

• Providing a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA);
• Making mortgage insurance available to disaster victims;
• Making insurance available for both mortgage and home rehabilitation;
• Sharing information on housing providers and HUD programs. Information will be shared with FEMA and the state on housing providers that may have available units in the impacted counties, including Public Housing Agencies and Multifamily owners.
• Providing flexibility to Community Planning and Development Grantees. Recipients of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program, Housing Opportunities for Persons With HIV/AIDS (HOPWA) Program, Continuum of Care (CoC) Program, Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG) Program, HOME Program, and Housing Trust Fund (HTF) Program funds can apply for needed administrative flexibility in response to natural disasters.
• Providing flexibility to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs). Housing agencies can apply for needed waivers and flexibilities for disaster relief and recovery.
• Providing flexibility to Tribes. Tribes and their Tribally Designated Housing Entities can apply for needed administrative flexibility through regulatory waivers.
• Ensuring HUD-approved housing counseling agencies are ready to assist. HUD-approved housing counseling agencies have counselors available to assist those impacted by natural disasters to determine assistance needs and available resources.
• Assisting with housing discrimination. Housing discrimination sometimes occurs when people attempt to find and access housing following a disaster. HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity is assisting people who believe they have experienced housing discrimination.