Condo Media - June 2013 - 10

N e w s
C A I

CAI Continues Fight for
FEMA Disaster Relief Equality

ince the beginning of the year,
CAI has continued to step up its
efforts to secure access to federal
disaster relief funds for community associations across the United
States. CAI members impacted by Hurricane Sandy continue facing high recovery costs as local governments are being
denied Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) reimbursement for debris removal and other disaster recovery
expenses in community associations.
CAI has engaged both federal legislators and regulators in an attempt to
secure additional resources and flexibility
for FEMA to fully respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. In 2013, CAI
has met with the offices of U.S. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Frank
Lautenberg (D-NJ), and Tim Scott
(R-SC) as well as U.S. Representatives
Steve Israel (D-NY) and Eric Swalwell
(D-CA). Additionally, in April, CAI sat
down with regulators from FEMA’s
public assistance team to further discuss
regulatory solutions to the inequity that
exists toward community associations.
For decades, community associations
have been denied equal access to federal disaster recovery assistance. With
the efforts of CAI and its members,
this can change. During CAI’s FEMA
disaster relief fairness campaign, talking
points have been developed to better
educate members, legislators, and the
public.

Primary Talking Points

1) FEMA officials have been inappropriately applying the Stafford Act (the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and
Emergency Assistance Act, which allows
for financial assistance to states, counties, and municipalities, as well as eligible
“private nonprofit facilities”), preventing
community associations from receiving
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Condo Media • June 2013

federal disaster assistance. FEMA has
determined that the particular nature of
housing cooperatives, condominiums,
and homeowner associations prevents
these communities from benefitting
from federal disaster relief efforts.
2) FEMA determined community associations collect assessments for the maintenance and repair of common areas and
therefore FEMA cannot duplicate these
association activities in disaster recovery. This finding disregards the fact that
community associations do not collect assessments for recovery from presidentially
declared disasters. When these disasters
strike, people living in community associations, like Americans in other forms of
housing, do not have adequate resources
to fully recover on their own.
3) FEMA has repeatedly refused to reimburse municipalities that provide disaster recovery services to community
associations on the basis that any federal assistance would be a “duplication
of benefit.” FEMA’s position ignores
the fact that assessments cover routine
maintenance of common property and
fund reserves for long-term repair or
replacement costs. Associations do not
have the resources to prefund recovery
costs for losses incurred in a presidentially declared natural disaster.
4) The rejection of FEMA funds for
community associations on the grounds
of duplication of benefit would be similar to a municipality being denied federal
disaster assistance because it taxes property owners and may use these proceeds
in disaster response and recovery. FEMA
would never deny assistance to a municipality on this basis, but it uses this logic
to deny disaster recovery assistance to
community associations. FEMA routine-

ly issues exceptions to its standards to
allow municipalities to clear debris from
non-residential private property, but will
deny reimbursement if debris removal
takes place in a community association.
5) Presently, individual homeowners
may apply for FEMA grants to restore
the interior of their units or their individual homes, while a community association may not request a FEMA grant
to repair an exterior roof, remove debris
from essential roadways in their community, or replace any vital operating
systems destroyed by a natural disaster.
6) Owners in community associations
pay the same taxes and are served by the
same municipal emergency services such
as fire and police that are provided for
residents living outside of associations.
Owners in community associations must
likewise receive the same federal benefits
as all other residents within a jurisdiction
in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
7) Although community associations
may carry insurance to cover damages,
these policies generally do not cover or
are exhausted by major natural disasters.
Similarly, non-association homeowners
generally carry insurance to repair their
property in case of damage. Yet FEMA
does not see this as causing a homeowner to be ineligible for FEMA funds.
8) For decades, community associations have been denied equal access
to federal disaster recovery assistance.
With your help and voice, this can
change. Federal legislators must encourage FEMA to adjust its interpretation of the Stafford Act that classifies
housing cooperatives, condominiums,
and homeowners associations as business associations. CM

Condo Media - June 2013

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