FEMA Rental Assistance Available for Homeowners and Renters in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Homeowners and renters in Davison, Lincoln, Turner, and Union counties may be eligible for FEMA Rental Assistance if they cannot live in their homes because of damage due to recent severe storms, straight-line winds, and flooding in South Dakota from June 16 to July 8, 2024.

What Is Rental Assistance?

FEMA Rental Assistance is a temporary grant for survivors to pay for somewhere to live while they repair or rebuild their home. You can use this money to rent a place to live, such as a house, apartment, hotel room, RV or other options while your home is repaired, or while you look for a new place to live.

If you need additional assistance to pay for somewhere to live while you repair or rebuild your home, ask for Rental Assistance by calling the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362 or visiting a Disaster Recovery Center.

What Does Rental Assistance Cover?

• Rental Assistance covers temporary housing while you are unable to live in your permanent residence.
• Rental Assistance can be used for rent, security deposits and the cost of essential utilities (gas, water and electric).
• Rental Assistance can be used for short-term hotel stays while you look for a place to rent.
• Rental Assistance cannot pay for cable or internet.

How Long Does Rental Assistance Support Me?

If you are deemed eligible for FEMA Rental Assistance, the initial grant is for two months on a case-by-case basis.

If you received initial FEMA Rental Assistance, you will be sent an application for Continued Temporary Housing Assistance (CTHA), which may be granted for three-month periods. You will need to submit additional documentation to be eligible for Continued Temporary Housing Assistance (CTHA). You can apply using the application that you received with your initial rental assistance, or by calling the FEMA Helpline.

What If I have Insurance?

File a claim as soon as possible. Your insurance may have benefits for temporary housing. Your insurance company will give you a claim settlement, proof of exhaustion or denial document that includes Additional Living Expenses. It is important that you provide this documentation from the insurance company to FEMA to determine your eligibility for FEMA Rental Assistance.

You can submit Insurance documents in the following ways:

• Bringing documentation to a Disaster Recovery Center to be scanned and faxed to your account
• Upload documents to your account on DisasterAssistance.gov
• Mail documentation with a cover letter listing the documents enclosed. Send them to the FEMA National Processing Service Center, P.O. Box 10055, Hyattsville MD 20782-7055.
• Fax documentation with a cover letter listing the documents and noting “Attention: FEMA.” Fax them to 800-827-8112.

How to Apply with FEMA

• Visit a Disaster Recovery Center in person. To search for Disaster Recovery Centers, visit www.fema.gov/drc or text DRC and your Zip Code to 43362 for a list of centers closest to you.
• Go online to DisasterAssistance.gov for English, or DisasterAssistance.gov/es for Spanish.
• Use the FEMA mobile app in English or Spanish.
• Call the disaster assistance helpline at 800-621-3362 anytime from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week until further notice. Multilingual operators are available. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service.

For an accessible video on three ways to apply for FEMA assistance, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU7wzRjByhI

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency, or economic status. If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 833-285-7448.