Texas renters who experienced losses due to Hurricane Harvey could be eligible for disaster-recovery assistance from FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Grants:

Renters may be eligible for grants from FEMA to help with such disaster-related expenses as:

  • Renting a home when the renter’s previous one is uninhabitable due to the disaster.
  • Disaster-related medical and dental expenses.
  • Replacement or repair of necessary personal property lost or damaged in the disaster, such as appliances and furniture, textbooks and computers used by students, and work equipment or tools used by the self-employed.
  • Repair or replacement of vehicles damaged by the disaster.
  • Disaster-related funeral and burial expenses.

These are not loans and don’t have to be repaid. They are not taxable income and won’t affect eligibility for Social Security, Medicaid, welfare assistance, SNAP benefits and several other programs. Renters may apply at DisasterAssistance.gov.

Loans:

Renters may qualify for a low-interest SBA loan of up to $40,000 to repair or replace personal property.

For more information, call SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 or visit sba.gov/disaster. TTY users may call 800-877-8339. Applicants may also apply online using the Electronic Loan Application via SBA’s secure website at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.