Temporary Rental Assistance Available to Storm Survivors

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – RealEstateRama – Residents of Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties whose homes were made unsafe or uninhabitable by the March 25 to April 3 storms and flooding may be eligible for temporary rental assistance from FEMA.

Rental assistance is not money that must be returned to FEMA. Those funds may be used to lease a house, apartment or manufactured home.

To be considered for temporary rental assistance, homeowners and renters must have been displaced from their primary residence that was damaged in the storms. Eligibility is based on a FEMA assessment of the primary residence.

The damaged home also must be in one of the three counties approved for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program: Davidson, Williamson and Wilson counties.

Rental assistance may be considered for people whose primary residences are uninsured or whose coverage is not enough to meet their temporary housing needs. You may also be considered for rental assistance if you are willing to relocate while the home is being repaired.

The initial rental assistance award is based on the fair market rent established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the county in which the disaster-affected home is located. The award is also based on the number of occupied bedrooms the household requires.

Rental assistance is intended to cover the monthly rent and cost of essential utilities (gas, electric, water, trash and sewer). It does not include telephone, cable, TV or internet service. The award can also be used to pay a security deposit not more than the cost of one month’s rent.

The first step to seeking rental assistance is applying for FEMA assistance. There are several ways to apply:

• Visit DisasterAssistance.gov.
• Download FEMA’s mobile app. For information, go to: fema.gov/mobile-app.
• Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585). Multilingual operators are available, and lines are open daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central Time. Those who use a relay service such as a videophone, InnoCaption or CapTel should provide FEMA with their specific phone number assigned to that service.

For more information on Tennessee’s disaster recovery, visit www.tn.gov/tema.html and www.fema.gov/disaster/4601. You may also follow FEMA on www.facebook.com/fema and Twitter @FEMARegion4.