FEMA Agrees To Extend Housing Privileges For Sandy-Displaced NJ Residents
By David Madden
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS) -- The Obama administration has agreed to extend housing assistance to some of those still homeless in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.
But it's clear that help is beginning to wind down.
Fifty-seven homeowners still living temporarily at Fort Monmouth -- a former US Army base near Eatontown, NJ -- and other locations while waiting for their homes to be repaired have been told they can stay through August.
But starting May 1st, things will change.
"Homeowners remaining in FEMA-provided temporary housing will be charged rent consistent with the Department of Housing and Urban Development's fair market rent values and based on the number of bedrooms and the locations of the units," FEMA spokesman Alberto Pilot tells KYW Newsradio.
Those rents will range between $900 and $1,800 per month.
Meanwhile, more than 900 families who were renting prior to the hurricane will see their assistance expire, as scheduled, on April 30th. The agency decided there are enough units of rental housing available in the area to bring that part of the program to an end.