BATON ROUGE, La. — Louisianans are moving forward from the August 2016 floods. Their recovery includes rebuilding, repairing, finding new rentals or making plans to leave their manufactured housing units (MHUs).
Manufactured housing units, provided as a temporary housing solution by FEMA at the request of the state, are not intended to be a permanent housing option for flood survivors.
MHUs are provided by FEMA as a last-resort temporary housing solution. If no other housing options are available, survivors who qualify may be eligible to stay in an MHU for up to 18 months from the date of the disaster declaration, Aug. 14, 2016. The current end date for this program, which applies to all MHU occupants, is February 14, 2018. FEMA anticipates most MHU occupants will find long-term housing solutions by that date.
The FEMA license agreement for occupying an MHU states that the licensee must search for permanent housing options as part of a long-term recovery plan. The applicant may be asked to surrender the MHU if long-term housing becomes available. The MHU itself is not a viable long-term housing option as survivors will not be able to purchase their MHUs from FEMA.
