Renters in Guam whose dwelling sustained damage or loss from Typhoon Mawar can apply for federal disaster assistance. While renters are not eligible for FEMA financial assistance for home repair, they may still qualify for certain FEMA individual assistance programs.
FEMA disaster assistance may help renters pay for temporary housing. Initial rental assistance is for a one-month or two-month period and can be reviewed for further assistance.
Renters may also qualify for assistance under FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance program for uninsured essential personal property losses and other disaster-related expenses. These may include:
- Replacement or repair of necessary personal property, such as furniture, appliances, clothing, textbooks, or school supplies.
- Replacement or repair of tools and other job-related equipment required by the self-employed.
- Primary vehicles.
- Uninsured or out-of-pocket medical, dental, childcare, moving and storage expenses.
- People with disabilities may be eligible for financial assistance to replace disability equipment (i.e., wheelchairs, hearing aids, etc.) if the items were damaged or lost due to the disaster.
Applicants who apply for disaster assistance from FEMA may be referred to the U.S. Small Business Administration for information on how to apply for a disaster loan. It is important to submit the loan application as soon as possible. If your application is approved, you do not have to accept the loan but failure to return the application may disqualify you from other possible FEMA assistance.
To obtain more information about SBA disaster loans, call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659- 2955. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services, or email DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov.
If you haven’t applied for federal disaster assistance yet, please do so at disasterassistance.gov, by using the FEMA mobile app, by calling 800-621-3362 (The Helpline is available 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week at no cost for Guam residents) or by stopping by a Disaster Recovery Center.
For information on Guam’s disaster recovery, visit our website.