NMHC Welcomes FEMA’s Extended Deadline for Moving Hurricane Evacuees from Hotels to Apartments

WASHINGTON, DC -- The apartment industry welcomed today’s announcement by FEMA that it will extend its deadline for transitioning hurricane evacuees from hotels to apartments from December 1 to December 15.  The following statement was issued by Jim Arbury, NMHC Senior Vice President of Government Affairs.

“The apartment industry welcomes FEMA’s flexible approach to this unprecedented disaster recovery effort.  The Agency’s willingness to extend the deadline for ending its hotel reimbursements will make for a much more orderly transition into more suitable housing, including apartments.  With each passing day, it is clear that FEMA is moving from a "crisis management" approach to a broader effort to find long-term solutions to the very real housing problems many of these evacuees face.

“Providing the evacuees homes in apartments will save taxpayers millions of dollars and enable the Administration to take full advantage of the existing supply of rental housing that is available.  The extended timeline will allow FEMA to provide the appropriate counseling that evacuees will need to navigate the various government assistance programs currently available to them. 

“In the immediate aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, apartment owners opened their doors to evacuees. In some cases apartment owners offered free housing to those that were the neediest and in many cases owners offered rent discounts, waived security deposits and application fees, and offered flexible lease terms.

“We stand ready and will continue to work with FEMA, HUD, the Department of Homeland Security and all the other agencies involved in this process to help the evacuees to put their lives back together,” said Arbury.

Additional information on the apartment industry’s response to Hurricane Katrina is available at www.nmhc.org.

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Based in Washington, DC, NMHC is a national association representing the interests of the larger and most prominent apartment firms in the U.S.  NMHC's members are the principal officers of firms engaged in all aspects of the apartment industry, including owners, developers, managers and financiers.  Nearly one-third of Americans rent their housing, and almost one in five Americans lives in an apartment.  For more information, contact NMHC at 202/974-2300, e-mail the Council at info@nmhc.org, or visit NMHC's web site at www.nmhc.org.