For Small Rental Property Owners
Overview of the Small Rental Property Program
Prior to Hurricane Katrina and Rita, many low to moderate income working families in Louisiana lived in single-family homes, duplexes and small multi-family buildings that were owned and operated by small-scale rental property owners. A large number of these small rental properties were destroyed or severely damaged by the storms.
| What's New? |
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| New Program Developments Small Rental Property Program Wrap-Up Report Round 2 Wrap-Up Report |
Nearly 82,000 rental housing units received major or severe damage in Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Forty-seven percent of the housing units in the Katrina-affected area (and 55 percent in New Orleans) were rental units.
The Small Rental Property program seeks to rebuild one- to four-unit rental properties to address the housing needs of low to moderate income people in the most heavily damaged areas. The Rental program provides financial incentives in the form of forgivable loans to property owners to help restore their damaged units and offer them at affordable rents.
The objectives of the Rental program include:
- Providing financial incentives to small-scale property owners
- Ensuring affordable rents for low- to moderate-income working families
- Supporting redevelopment of small rental properties in devastated communities
Participating property owners are required to accept limits on the rents they charge and the incomes of the tenants they select. The amount of financing is provided in three tiers based on the income level of the tenants to be served. The highest amount of funding per unit is available to property owners who agree to offer the lowest rents. Awards are offered as no interest, no payment, forgivable loans, awarded once the units are repaired and income eligible tenants are identified. The loan is due only upon resale of the property or failure to comply with the rent restrictions and household incomes.
The Rental program will not have sufficient resources to provide every small-scale property owner with an award to repair their damaged units, but it will spur development of affordable, quality rental properties in the most heavily damaged areas.