Fact Sheet
PONCE, Puerto Rico – Residents whose homes were made uninhabitable by the Dec. 28 to Feb. 4 earthquakes may be eligible for temporary rental assistance from FEMA.
Rental assistance does not have to be repaid and may be used to lease a house, apartment or manufactured home or any other temporary housing that meet the need.
To be considered for temporary rental assistance, homeowners and renters must have been displaced from a primary residence that was damaged in the earthquakes. Eligibility is based on a FEMA assessment of the primary residence. It is not limited to type of structures.
The damaged home also must be in one of the following 33 municipalities approved for FEMA’s Individual Assistance program: Adjuntas, Aguada, Añasco, Arecibo, Barceloneta, Cabo Rojo, Ciales, Coamo, Corozal, Guánica, Guayanilla, Hormigueros, Jayuya, Juana Díaz, Lajas, Lares, Las Marías, Maricao, Mayagüez, Moca, Morovis, Naranjito, Orocovis, Peñuelas, Ponce, Sabana Grande, Salinas, San Germán, San Sebastián, Santa Isabel, Utuado, Villalba and Yauco.
People whose primary residences were uninsured or those who have insufficient coverage to meet their temporary housing needs may be considered for rental assistance. You must be willing to relocate while repairs are being made to your home.
The initial rental assistance award is based on the fair market rent established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the municipality where the disaster-damaged residence is located. The award is also based on the number of occupied bedrooms the household requires.
Rental assistance is intended to cover the monthly rent and cost of essential utilities (gas, electric, water, trash and sewer). It does not include telephone, cable, TV or internet service. The award can also be used to pay a security deposit not more than the cost of one month’s rent.
The first step to seeking rental assistance is applying for FEMA assistance. There are several ways to apply:
- Online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
- By phone at 800-621-3362 (FEMA) or (TTY) 800-462-7585. Press 2 for a Spanish-speaking operator. Lines are open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
- Visit www.DisasterAssistance.gov.
- Download FEMA’s mobile app. Select Disaster Resources and click on DisasterAssistance.gov. If you have an Apple device: Text APPLE to 43362 (4FEMA). For those with an Android device: Text ANDROID to 43362 (4FEMA). For more information go to: www.fema.gov/mobile-app.
For more information on Puerto Rico’s disaster recovery, visit www.fema.gov/disaster/4473, https://www.fema.gov/disaster/4339 and Facebook: www.facebook.com/femapuertorico.
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FEMA’s mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters.
Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362) or 711 for Video Relay Service. Multilingual operators are available. (Press 2 for Spanish.) TTY call 800-462-7585.
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