FEMA to Begin Charging Rent for Mobile Homes in Iowa

Flood-displaced Iowa residents staying in mobile homes provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be charged rent after November, a FEMA spokeswoman said.

Crystal Payton, a FEMA spokeswoman in Des Moines, says that such rental charges are standard practice if it’s deemed necessary to extend a program.

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 that FEMA would extend the deadline to next June, but didn’t mention the new rental charges.

Information from: The Gazette, www.gazetteonline.com/