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Help House Hurricane Victims
(Last Updated: 9/30/05, 12:00 p.m. PST)
This web page is intended as a central resource for affordable housing developers and advocates who are stepping up to help house Hurricane Katrina victims in the short-term and looking forward towards more permanent solutions.
NPH is closely following developments on regulatory relief that will aid affordable housing developers in offering vacant apartments to evacuees from the Gulf Region. This information is changing constantly, so check back often for the latest.
More information:
Register Your Vacant Units
NPH encourages owners and managers in assisted housing properties to register available units in their properties.
California Registry
San Diego (600 refugees), San Francisco (300 refugees) and San Jose (100 refugees) have been identified as the primary source points for evacuees to California. If you have vacant available units in these cities contact them directly:
- San Francisco Mayor's Office of Housing: Amy Tharpe, Amy.Tharpe@sfgov.org
- The City of San Jose, Department of Housing: Leslye Corsiglia, leslye.corsiglia@sanjoseca.gov
Federal Registry
You can register your property with the National Emergency Resource Registry at https://www.swern.gov/. Follow these instructions:
- Visit https://www.SWERN.gov and click on the "New NERR Members" tab beneath the NERR logo on the right side of the Web page.
- From there, you will enter your name, address, phone number and other contact information and click on the "continue" button.
- Next, indicate "housing," "finished structure" and "apartment" on the drop-down menus at the top of the page and click on "continue."
- Next, enter a brief, general description of the apartment unit, the dates it is available, the address and specific number of bedrooms and bathrooms in the unit. Also enter any other considerations such as whether it has an elevator, is for a handicapped resident or allows pets.
Evacuees Must be Registered to Receive Federal Aid
Hurricane Katrina Evacuees need to register with FEMA for the appropriate aid.
- Register by phone: 1-800-621-FEMA (3362)
- Register online: www.fema.gov.
The American Red Cross is also providing individual assistance on a case-by-case basis. Evacuees can call 1-800-435-7669 (1-800-Help-Now) or visit their web site at www.redcross.org.
In addition, HUD has established a single toll-free housing hotline, (888) 297-8685, to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The number operates from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. CDT, seven days a week. Previously, HUD had toll-free numbers for each of the different services provided by the Department, such as FHA insured-mortgages, Section 8 rental assistance, multi-family housing, lender information and public housing residents. Deaf, hearing-impaired or other persons requiring TDD/TTY services can call (800) 877-8339.
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Federal Regulatory Relief
Both the IRS and HUD have issued directives regarding the use of housing for Hurricane Katrina victims. A comprehensive listing of HUD's responses are available for download, click here (Powerpoint format). A summary of a few of those actions are listed below:
HUD Initiatives:
$3.5 Billion in Emergency Housing Vouchers Approved by Senate on September 14
The Sarbanes Amendment to provide $3.5 billion in emergency vouchers to assist survivors of the Katrina disaster passed the senate by Unanimous Consent. Senator Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) had filed the amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science FY06 appropriations bill. Since the House has already passed this appropriations bill without this amendment, Senator Sarbanes is working on a strategy to make sure the amendment is included in the final bill by the House-Senate Conference Committee. NPH will keep you posted on developments.
Foreclosed Properties to Become Available to Hurricane Victims
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will pull about 5,000 foreclosed homes in 11 states from the market and make them available to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The agency usually sells such homes to consumers or investors. According to a HUD spokesman, sale contracts that are already in place will be honored. Dilapidated homes requiring extensive repairs are not part of the program, but HUD plans to spend up to $10,000 on repairs for each home being made available. Real estate industry observers said some real estate agents who specialize in HUD homes will be unhappy. As part of its relief package, HUD is also offering about 5,600 public housing units within 500 miles of the disaster areas to Katrina victims.
Additional HUD Actions:
The agency is also identifying vacant multifamily housing suitable for temporary housing, instituting a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration-insured homes, allowing Community Development Block Grant and HOME grantees to redirect their awards to disaster recovery programs, and providing $29 million to clean up and rehabilitate damaged public housing projects. More info at: http://www.hud.gov/katrina/index.cfm
In addition, HUD has issued various clarifications at http://www.hud.gov/offices/pih/publications/katrinaguidefam.cfm.
IRS Initiatives:
The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) suspended income limits on IRS regulated properties throughout the United States for victims of the hurricane. See the official details at: www.treas.gov/press/releases/js2698.htm.
TCAC has updated information about the IRS waiver's applicability in California. http://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ctcac/
State Regulatory Relief
NPH has sent a letter to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (see full letter) asking for clarification on regulatory relief regarding the use of state-funded affordable housing for Hurricane Katrina victims. As soon as we get a response, we will notify NPH members and post any information to this web page.
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Advocacy Efforts
Many NPH members are agreeing to push for additional resources to cope with the disaster. NPH is in contact with state and national groups that are advocating for both supplemental vouchers for displaced households as well as production funds to build housing in the Gulf Region and elsewhere to address the crisis.
According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, there is a great deal of confusion about the needed response. As calmer heads prevail, NLIHC will be able to help us identify an advocacy platform with specific bill language that housing advocates can help move forward. As soon as NPH receives information on how to help, we will notify NPH members and post any information to this web page.
Hurricane Housing Links:
Following are links to web sites which post short-term temporary housing availability.
LINC Housing, www.linchousing.org
www.MoveOn.org
www.homesforkatrina.org
www.katrinahousing.org
www.craigslist.com
www.HurricaneHousing.net - potential renters can search for temporary and longer-term housing in the seven-state Gulf Region.
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