HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Property owners participating in a housing assistance program run through the Federal Emergency Management Agency can expect “fair market” rental income.
FEMA is looking to partner with local landlords to help residents who have been displaced by Typhoon Mawar, and provided training to interested stakeholders Tuesday morning.
“We are looking to lease for no less than 18 months,” FEMA contracting officer Allison Brazzel said during a presentation on the available programs. “We may need to extend this for months at a time. And you need to be able to allow us to do that.”
Rental rates are set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Fair market rent for a one-bedroom unit on Guam is $1,199 a month, according to the website. A two-bedroom unit is set at $1,578, while a three-bedroom is $2,243.
Brazzel said each property manager will be entering into a deal with the federal agency, which will then have exclusive use of the property and the discretion to decide who occupies the property. Daniel Johnson, deputy director of the FEMA individual assistance branch, added the federal government will try to match an appropriate number of tenants to each individual dwelling, and unauthorized occupants are not allowed.
FEMA will pay rent to property managers who are willing to let displaced residents take up space on their property. That can include apartments, single-family homes, condominiums, townhouses or any other “readily fabricated dwelling.”
Village mayors have estimated that hundreds, if not thousands of residents, were left homeless by Typhoon Mawar, the Post reported last month. For the long-term unhoused, FEMA does provide rental assistance.
There’s no word yet just how many units will be needed, Johnson said.
“We’re still determining our need. And we’re also looking to the market to see what’s available. And so, we don’t have an exact answer right now what our need is. Specifically, we’re still working with survivors on a case-by-case basis to understand their needs,” he said.
Requirements
Utilities have to be covered by the building owner, but, according to Johnson, exorbitantly high utility bills on the island can be taken into consideration during negotiations with FEMA.
One interested resident at the panel noted that, depending on the size of the household, utility bills on island could easily exceed $1,000 a month.
Any rentals will have to be compliant with federal and local housing codes, Brazzel said, and owners or managers who are behind on mortgage payments or in foreclosure will be disqualified. Rental owners also will have to be willing to act on behalf of the government – they will be responsible for all evictions and legal fees incurred.
Prospective landlords will have to:
Handle all eviction proceedings.
Ensure regular, documented maintenance of leased units.
Provide furnishings.
Provide monthly status reports of all properties leased on behalf of FEMA, including information about damage, move-outs, vacant units and evictions within 72 hours.
A property owner with a multifamily home that’s been damaged during Mawar can also lend it out to a family in need in exchange for repairs to the household.
“You may have property that is available, but some improvements need to be made, some repairs need to be made. It can’t be so substantial that it will take more than four months,” Brazzel said.
The property must have been used previously as a multifamily home, and contain two or more housing units with independent living, sleeping, cooking and sanitation facilities.
Eugene and Theresa Acfalle, from Dededo, toss metal onto the pile at the Ypao Point disaster dump site Sunday July 9, 2023, in Tamuning.
