Sponsors (11)
The bill expands FEMA coverage to condos, co-ops, and manufactured-home communities—helping many residents access debris removal, shared-repair funds, and temporary housing to speed recovery—but raises federal costs and adds administrative and documentation requirements that may delay aid or leave low-income residents unable to benefit fully.
Homeowners and residents (owners and renters) of condominiums, cooperatives, and manufactured-home communities gain explicit Stafford Act eligibility for FEMA disaster assistance (including shared-element repairs, debris removal, and temporary housing), improving access to recovery funds after disasters.
Associations and unit owners can access federal funds to repair common/shared elements, reducing out-of-pocket assessments for individual unit owners and lowering the financial burden of rebuilding.
Federal-funded debris removal and repairs to hazardous shared systems (roofs, HVAC, elevators, utilities) will speed habitability, protect public health and safety, and support faster local economic recovery.
Expanding covered property types and services will increase FEMA program costs and likely raise federal disaster spending, with implications for taxpayers and budget allocations.
Directing aid through associations or communal entities may create disputes over allocation between associations and individual unit owners and can lead to uneven distribution of benefits for renters and other residents.
Requirements that individual households document and pay their pro rata share place administrative and financial burdens on households—especially low-income residents and seniors—potentially delaying or blocking repairs and leaving buildings unsafe.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Expands Stafford Act coverage so FEMA can treat debris removal and pay to repair essential common elements in condos, co-ops, and manufactured-home communities when pro rata shares and a state/local threat determination are documented.
Introduced January 31, 2025 by David Rouzer · Last progress January 31, 2025
Makes shared-ownership housing — including condominiums, housing cooperatives, manufactured housing communities, and other common-interest communities — explicitly covered under the Stafford Act for certain disaster recovery actions. It directs the President to issue rules treating debris removal from these communities as "in the public interest" when state or local officials certify threats to life, health, safety, or economic recovery, and it authorizes FEMA to help pay to repair essential common elements (roofs, exterior walls, HVAC, elevators, stairs, utility access, plumbing, electrical) when individual households document their pro rata share of the cost. The changes apply only to major disasters or emergencies declared on or after the law is enacted.