Oakland, Calif. – Due to the disproportionate impacts of COVID-19 on Butte County survivors recovering from the Camp Fire, FEMA will delay rent collection for three more months for residents living in temporary housing units from July-September.
After the 2018 Camp Fire, FEMA provided temporary housing, utilities, and maintenance at no charge to 684 displaced Butte County families for 18 months after the date of the disaster declaration. Before the program ended on May 12, 2020, FEMA approved a 12-month extension through May 12, 2021.
The extension allowed survivors, who were unable to find another place to live, to remain in FEMA housing, but required them to pay Fair Market Rent, as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. On Apr. 9, 2020, FEMA announced the suspension of rent collection for Camp Fire survivors until July 1, 2020 to help ease the financial burden on survivors because of the coronavirus pandemic. After today’s announcement of another three-month extension, the first rental payment for residents in temporary housing will be on Oct. 1, 2020.
FEMA continues to work closely with state agencies, local officials, and volunteers to help the remaining 331 families find permanent housing solutions. Disaster case managers are working one-on-one with these families to help connect them to available resources and assist in executing their personalized disaster recovery plan.
For more information on the federal response, visit fema.gov/disaster/4407. State updates can be found at caloes.ca.gov/campfire, with local resources available at buttecountyrecovers.org.
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