Rental-Assistance Deal Reached to Help Superstorm Sandy Refugees

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will institute a program to provide eligible Sandy victims with a longer-term housing option through the provision of a temporary voucher. The program will allow those who are currently staying in hotels to find a longer-term set up, and will end the cycle of two-week extensions that’s currently making displaced families feel like they’re constantly on the edge of eviction.

After Superstorm Sandy, many New Yorkers living in New York City, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley were forced to evacuate from their homes. As a result, FEMA activated its Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program, which provides short-term housing assistance to displaced individuals. The TSA program is authorized in brief increments, such as every two weeks. The DHAP-Sandy program provides Sandy victims with affordable longer-term housing options through the provision of a temporary voucher modeled after the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program.

The voucher is intended to assist those households who remain in hotels and motels with an affordable housing option while they search for a permanent housing solution as well as households who are in their homes now despite having incurred significant damage, and need alternative housing in order to undergo critical renovation of their homes. The voucher rental payments will go directly to landlords.

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