If you live in one of the 25 designated parishes for FEMA assistance and you incurred expenses for short-term lodging because of Hurricane Ida, you may be eligible for reimbursement.
Question: Can FEMA reimburse me for my lodging expenses?
Answer: FEMA may be able to provide reimbursement for out-of-pocket lodging expenses that are not covered by insurance benefits such as additional living expenses or loss of use. The survivor’s pre-disaster primary residence must be unlivable, inaccessible or affected by an extended disaster-caused utility outage to be considered.
Question: I have insurance, can I still get reimbursed for my lodging expenses?
Answer: By law, FEMA cannot duplicate benefits of insurance. Insurance policies may include Additional Living Expenses or Loss of Use coverage, which is a benefit that provides supplemental money to cover increased costs, including temporary housing, when you are unable to live in your home due to a loss covered by insurance.
Lodging Expense Reimbursement (LER) from FEMA may only be considered if an applicant has not received lodging assistance from any other source (e.g., voluntary organization) for the same dates the applicant is requesting LER.
Question: What information do I need to provide to seek reimbursement?
Answer: To be considered for LER, eligible applicants must submit verifiable lodging receipts or itemized statements with the following information: The name of the applicant or co-applicant, information for the lodging provider (name, address and phone number), dates of occupancy and the amount of expenses incurred.
Question: Where can I upload my lodging receipts?
Answer: Applicants can upload their receipts online to their DisasterAssistance.gov account. All documents should include the registration number and DR-4611-LA. Download instructions on how to upload your documents. This information is available in multiple languages.
Survivors can also submit through standard mail at:
P.O. Box 10055
Attn: FEMA
Hyattsville, MD 20782-8055
Or Fax 1-800-827-8112 (Cover sheet required)
Question: When can I expect to receive reimbursement for my eligible lodging expenses?
Answer: LER requests are manually reviewed by processing staff. In larger scale disasters, such as Hurricane Ida, it can take one to two months after receipts are submitted to receive reimbursement.
Question: Can I get reimbursed for my food or transportation costs while I’m staying at a hotel?
Answer: No. Eligible expenses may include the cost of the room and taxes charged by a hotel or other lodging provider. This does not include costs for food, phone calls, transportation or other miscellaneous expenses.
Question: I am staying with friends or family; can I get reimbursed for any costs?
Answer: No. Lodging expenses incurred while residing at the home of family or friends will not be reimbursed.
Question: Is LER the same as rental assistance?
Answer: No. LER is reimbursement for out-of-pocket lodging expenses (lodging and tax) that are not covered by insurance benefits like additional living expenses or loss of use.
Rental assistance is money that can be used to pay for another place to live or stay while a survivor is unable to live in their primary home. Rental assistance is provided directly to the eligible homeowner or renter. The rental awards are based on Fair Market Rent rates that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development identifies for a particular housing area.
Question: Is LER the same as Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA)?
Answer: No. LER is reimbursement for out-of-pocket lodging expenses (lodging and tax) that are not covered by insurance benefits like additional living expenses or loss of use. Assistance is not provided directly to the hotel or up-front to the survivor but is reimbursed to the survivor after receipts are provided showing the out of pocket expense when it incurred
TSA allows eligible survivors to stay temporarily in participating hotels or motels when other housing options are not available after a presidentially declared disaster. TSA-eligible applicants do not receive the cost of their accommodations. The stay is paid for directly from FEMA to the participating lodging provider.
25 Louisiana parishes are designated for FEMA assistance for Hurricane Ida: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.
Apply online at DisasterAssistance.gov or call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY: 800-462-7585) 24 hours, 7 days a week. If you use a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, give FEMA the number for that service.
For the latest information visit fema.gov/disaster/4611. Follow the FEMA Region 6 Twitter account at twitter.com/FEMARegion6 or on Facebook at facebook.com/FEMARegion6/.