HUD Announces Disaster Assistance Plans for Texas

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) has announced its plans to provide support to Texas homeowners and low-income renters who were forced to evacuate their homes due to the storms related to Hurricane Harvey.

 

HUD will assist the Texas state government and the local governments in the impacting areas by in reallocating existing federal resources toward disaster relief, with the department’s Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs being streamlined to expedite the repair and replacement of damaged housing. HUD is also granting a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and forbearance on foreclosures of Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured home mortgages, and it will make its Section 203(h) program for FHA insurance to disaster victims who have lost their homes and will need to either rebuild or buy new property.

 

Also being made available is the Section 203(k) loan program to help homeowners with property damage finance the purchase or refinance of a house along with its repair through a single mortgage; the program also enables a homeowner to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home. HUD will also offer state and local governments federally guaranteed loans for housing rehabilitation, economic development and repair of public infrastructure.

 

“As FEMA begins to assess the damage and respond to the immediate needs of residents, HUD will be there to offer assistance and support the longer-term housing recovery efforts,” said HUD Secretary Dr. Ben Carson.

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