[StBernard] State Announces Deadline for Homeowners to Return Road Home Elevation Interest Forms

[Westley Annis]

State Announces Deadline for Homeowners to Return Road Home Elevation Interest Forms



BATON ROUGE, La. (May 20, 2008) - Road Home applicants must return their forms indicating interest in both the Road Home Elevation Incentive and the HMGP Elevation Award by June 16, 2008, or they will not receive funds to raise their homes. 

The Road Home mailed all applicants, more than 109,000, who are potentially eligible for these awards information about the two programs. Homeowners must sign and return the Road Home Elevation Election Form and HMGP Award Form to indicate their interest in receiving these elevation funds. Homeowners only need to return the form for the program or programs in which they are interested in participating.

"In order to be able to serve homeowners quickly and to continue making decisions about the future of the program, we need homeowners to let us know if they are interested in receiving this funding," said LRA Executive Director Paul Rainwater. "Elevation is the cornerstone to rebuilding our homes safer and stronger than before."

By signing these forms, homeowners are only indicating interest in learning more about these elevation funds. Returning the forms does not guarantee the receipt of an award, nor does it obligate a homeowner to accept an award. In recent weeks, The Road Home has started to pay homeowners elevation awards.

Signing and returning the elevation forms contained in the original letter does not impact any pending appeals that the homeowner may have, nor does it impact their right to appeal. Homeowners must be finished with Road Home appeals when they accept their elevation funds because program rules cap all Road Home compensation at $150,000.

Homeowners who think they are eligible to receive elevation assistance and have not received a letter or who need more information about the Road Home Elevation Incentive or the HMGP Elevation Program should call the Elevation Technical Assistance Hotline at 877-234-1513.

The Road Home Elevation Incentive provides up to $30,000 for site built homes and $20,000 for mobile homes to elevate to meet the current Advisory Base Flood Elevation or Base Flood Elevation levels. Total compensation through The Road Home is still capped at $150,000 per applicant.

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program provides up to $30,000 in elevation funding through the state that is designed to help Road Home applicants cover the gap between their Road Home elevation awards and the actual cost of elevation.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated South Louisiana, claiming 1,464 lives, destroying more than 200,000 homes and 18,000 businesses. The Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) is the planning and coordinating body that was created in the aftermath of these storms to lead one of the most extensive rebuilding efforts in the world. The LRA is a 33-member body which is coordinating across jurisdictions, supporting community recovery and resurgence, ensuring integrity and effectiveness, and planning for the recovery and rebuilding of Louisiana.

###