Apartment Groups Express Outrage Over Funds Wasted on Unused Trailers

Reiterate that Rental Vouchers are a Proven, Practical, Cost-Effective Solution

WASHINGTON, DC – The bombshell news that FEMA purchased more than 26,000 mobile homes that sit wasted in Louisiana and Mississippi because FEMA’s own rules do not allow their use spurred the National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National Apartment Association (NAA) to issue the following statement.  Jim Arbury, NMHC/NAA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs, said:

“We are outraged, to be frank.  Since one week after Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and significant parts of the Gulf Coast, we have known that this would be a long-term emergency.  It was clear that many evacuees would be displaced for 12 months and longer.”

“Apartment owners did everything possible to open their doors to evacuees.  In some cases free housing was made available to the neediest and many property owners offered significant rent discounts, waived security deposits and application fees, and offered flexible lease terms.  But it appeared that, through its overly rigid policies, FEMA worked against our efforts, thus closing the doors to evacuees.”

“For example: 

• FEMA gave evacuees short-term cash payments, when a rental voucher would have made more sense.
  
• FEMA placed—and in some cases continues to house—thousands in hotels and motels, at a monthly cost three times what placing these families in apartments with a voucher would cost.  
  
• FEMA had no system or personnel in place to assist evacuees in finding longer-term apartment housing.  It still does not. 
  
•  FEMA made a series of negative announcements that discouraged some apartment owners from doing more for fear that the government’s promised rental payment might not be honored.”    

“Now we see that FEMA spent nearly $1 billion on trailers that are not being used because FEMA’s own regulations do not allow them in flood plains.  It’s heartbreaking.”

“We urge FEMA to use a pencil and paper.  No calculator needed.  The $1 billion wasted on those unoccupied trailers that sit in the Gulf Coast mud would shelter 200,000 evacuee families in an apartment for six months.  Guaranteed rental vouchers to evacuees would open up remaining vacant apartments in cities such as Atlanta, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio.  It would also prevent the unfortunate eviction of evacuees who cannot pay their rent under the flawed system of aid that currently exists.”      

“It is well past the time when a practical housing voucher for all evacuees should have been implemented. We urge FEMA: Please, prepare a longer-term rental housing voucher system that works for all remaining evacuees by the First of March.  It’s the right thing to do.”  

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

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NMHC and NAA operate a Joint Legislative Program and represent the nation’s leading firms participating in the multifamily rental housing industry. NMHC/NAA’s combined memberships are engaged in all aspects of the development and operation of apartment communities, including ownership, construction, finance and management. Together, the organizations operate a federal legislative program and provide a unified voice for the private apartment industry. Nearly one-third of Americans rent their housing, and almost 15 percent of all U.S. households live in an apartment home. 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.

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