As communities across the country face the devastating impacts of hurricanes, wildfires, floods, tornadoes, and other natural disasters, Community Associations Institute is working to ensure that homeowners in community associations have access to critical federal disaster assistance. We are pleased to announce the introduction of bipartisan legislation– H.R. 834 and S. 352 to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act that seeks to provide much needed support for common interest communities, condominiums, and housing cooperatives affected by major disasters.
Recent disasters—including the wildfires in California and the hurricanes in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Florida—have left countless community associations struggling to recover. Many homeowners face financial and logistical burdens that could be alleviated if federal disaster relief programs provided the same assistance to community associations as other types of housing.
This isn’t the first time legislation surrounding disaster assistance for community associations has been introduced. The bills are being reintroduced in the new Congress. CAI is working to gather support. The success of these bills depends on members of Congress adding their names as cosponsors. That’s where you come in.
HOW THIS LEGISLATION HELPS YOUR COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION
H.R. 834 and S. 352 make two critical changes to the existing law that will help millions of homeowners in community associations.
Debris Removal for Community Associations
Currently, homeowners associations with private roads are ineligible for FEMA-funded debris removal. This places an enormous financial burden on individual homeowners to clean up storm damage in their communities. The proposed legislation allows local municipalities to remove debris from private communities using FEMA funding, saving homeowners millions of dollars and helping communities recover faster.
FEMA Assistance for Essential Common Elements
Under existing legislation, condominiums and housing cooperatives are often excluded from FEMA’s Federal Assistance to Individuals and Households Program. This means that critical shared infrastructure like roofs, exterior walls, heating and cooling systems, elevators, stairwells, plumbing, and electrical systems are not covered after a disaster, leaving homeowners to shoulder the costs alone. The new legislation would ensure these essential common elements are eligible for federal disaster relief.
YOUR VOICE MATTERS
Elected officials need to hear from constituents about why this legislation is vital. Contact your members of Congress today and urge them to cosponsor H.R. 834 and S. 352.
Additionally, we encourage community association boards and managers to work with their local governments to pass an ordinance allowing municipal authorities to remove disaster-related debris from private community associations. A model ordinance exists, and an excellent example can be found in the Town of Hilton Head Island, S.C. By partnering with local governments, communities can ensure they have the support they need when disaster strikes.
