H.R. 426 — Housing Survivors of Major Disasters Act

This section requires the President, in determining eligibility for financial assistance for temporary housing and repair or replacement of damaged residences under paras. (2) and (3) of section 408(c) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(c))—which provide disaster housing aid to owner-occupants whose primary residences are uninhabitable—to consider an individual or household's claim of "constructive ownership" (i.e., owner-occupancy) if evidence demonstrates it is more likely than not. Forms of evidence include (1) a deed or title, mortgage documents, property tax receipts, homeowners insurance, home purchase contracts, receipts for major repairs within five years pre-disaster, court documents, or letters from mobile home park managers; (2) specified inheritance documents; (3) notices of federal benefits or student loan documentation; and (4) other proofs linking the claimant to the property. If evidence is insufficient, the President may require a declarative statement signed under penalty of perjury (without notarization). (Thus, the provision facilitates housing assistance for households lacking formal title documentation, such as those under land installment contracts.) The requirements apply to funds appropriated on or after enactment.

This section revises housing assistance eligibility and conditions under Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (i.e., FEMA's Individual Assistance program) as follows: (1) broadens eligibility under subsection (b)(1) to individuals and households displaced from or whose predisaster primary residences are damaged by a major disaster (from rendered uninhabitable), or for individuals with disabilities, rendered inaccessible or damaged (from inaccessible or uninhabitable); (2) authorizes repair assistance under subsection (c)(4) if the President determines it is a cost-effective alternative to other housing solutions, including temporary housing provided under this section (previously limited to specified cases); and (3) requires the FEMA Administrator to immediately conduct required assessments and reporting on certain grant provision (from not later than two years after enactment) and eliminates the two-year limitation on such assessments (previously, two years after enactment or another date, whichever sooner). This section applies these changes only to applications received and amounts appropriated on or after the date of enactment. (Thus, expands assistance to less severely damaged homes while prioritizing cost-effective repair over temporary housing.)

This section specifies that the budgetary effects of this Act for purposes of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 are determined by the latest “Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation” statement submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee prior to the vote on passage.