Pelican State News

BATON ROUGE, La. – Gov. John Bel Edwards announced on May 17 that the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program is expanding the criteria for homeowners to qualify for assistance, lowering the FEMA-determined damage threshold from $5,000 to $3,000 and raising the allowable maximum of insurance received from $25,000 to $50,000. This update will allow the program to potentially serve more homeowners across the state affected by 2020-2021 disaster events.

“I’m thrilled that this expansion will open up the program to thousands of additional Louisiana homeowners in need of critical recovery assistance,” said Gov. Edwards. “We know how important this grant funding is to homeowners who have been severely impacted by 2020-21 disasters, and I’m urging homeowners to complete the survey and participate in the program.”

The Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program is a federally funded, state-administered recovery program providing grant assistance to homeowners across the state impacted by Hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida and the May 2021 Severe Storms for home repair or reconstruction. The program offers various types of assistance, including licensed contractors to manage repairs and reconstruction, homeowner-managed construction, reimbursement for repairs already completed and manufactured home unit repair and/or replacement.

The brief program survey can be completed online at restore.la.gov using a smartphone, tablet or computer, or by calling the program call center at 866.735.2001, between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. The program also offers in-person assistance with completing the program survey and application at mobile locations throughout disaster-impacted areas. For a full schedule of events and locations, see restore.la.gov/events.

The program is currently phasing homeowners for assistance who meet the following criteria:

• Sustained FEMA IA damages of $3,000 or greater for repairs or personal property
• Did not receive or does not expect to receive structural insurance payments greater than $50,000
• Owned and occupied the damaged home as their primary residence at the time of disaster and still owns the damaged home

The program is funded by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development and administered by the Louisiana Office of Community Development. Louisiana’s total allocation is $3.1 billion for all eligible 2020-2021 disaster events. Since its launch in February 2022, the program has offered more than $208 million in grant awards to over 2,590 homeowners affected by 2020-21 disaster events.

As this is a federally funded program, the state must abide by federal timelines for funds to be allocated and spent. The program will announce deadlines as they approach, per federal guidelines. For more information about the Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program, visit restore.la.gov.

Original source can be found here.