Flood-displaced residents in FEMA trailers to be charged rent

Flood-displaced residents staying in mobile homes provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after November will be charged rent, an agency official says.

“This is a standard practice if it's deemed necessary to extend a program,” said Crystal Payton, FEMA spokesperson in Des Moines.

Payton said FEMA tenants will be charged the fair-market rate set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In the Cedar Rapids market, that's $649 for a two-bedroom unit, $920 for three bedrooms.

Displaced residents who had been staying rent-free faced a Nov. 27 deadline to be out of FEMA-provided housing. First District Congressman Dave Loebasck announced Friday FEMA would extend the deadline to next June, but didn't mention tenants will be charged rent if they stat past the original deadline.

“People have been living without paying any rent now for 15, 16 months,” said Payton.

Payton said a similar agreement was in effect for residents of Greensburg, Kansas, after a tornado razed much of the town in May 2007. She said she didn't know if it applies to FEMA tenants on the Gulf Coast.

From a peak of 564 families in the summer of 2008, there were 124 families in FEMA housing last week.