FEMA’s Short-term Housing Support

FEMA works with applicants unable to live in their fire-damaged homes to learn what their temporary housing needs are. Rental Assistance helps them pay the security deposit, monthly rent, and utilities (gas, oil, trash, sewer, electricity and water) for a dwelling other than their damaged home.

The rental assistance amount will be based on fair market rates for the Los Angeles County area as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The initial rental assistance award, which FEMA pays to eligible applicants, may pay for up to two months rent, with incremental three-month extensions up to 18 months from the date of the FEMA disaster declaration (Jan. 8, 2025), if the applicant remains eligible.

Extensions of rental assistance tend to be unpredictable at the time a renter moves in. It depends on the progress made on repairs to the damaged home or on finding another permanent housing solution. Throughout the rental period, rental assistance recipients must continue to work toward a permanent housing plan to remain eligible for Rental Assistance. They must also comply with their occupant lease and prove their ongoing need for rental assistance.

State Support for Post-wildfire Housing 

Landlords planning to provide rental space to wildfire survivors may want to review Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order addressing the housing needs of individuals displaced by the fires.

The order expedites the creation of new temporary housing, directs state departments to help local governments develop temporary housing plans to provide shelter for wildfire survivors, and extends price-gouging prohibitions on hotel, motel, and rental housing in Los Angeles County through March 8, 2025. A copy of the executive order can be found here.

For more information on FEMA Rental Assistance and other FEMA recovery programs, visit DisasterAssistance.gov.