HUD EXTENDS SIGNUP PERIOD FOR DISASTER HOUSING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
HUD-assisted families seeking rental assistance now have until March 11th to enroll

WASHINGTON - The Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced it is extending the signup date for the Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program (KDHAP), a transitional rental assistance program that is currently helping thousands of displaced families. The extension means families now have until to March 11, 2006, to register. The signup period was initially slated to end on December 31, 2005.

Families must first register with FEMA by calling 1-(800) 621-FEMA or applying online at www.fema.gov before March 11, 2006 to be considered eligible for the program. It is important that individuals and households promptly update their FEMA registration information with any change of address or new telephone numbers so they may receive assistance in a timely and direct manner.

"Over 13,000 families are currently using this program as a bridge to help put their lives back together," said HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "By extending the KDHAP registration window we can help stabilize the lives of many other families."

KDHAP provides rental assistance to previously HUD-assisted families who were living in certain presidentially declared disaster areas in Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama. The program is designed to offer uprooted families with up to 18 months of rent from the date of the declaration of the disaster.

Displaced families will decide where they would like to move. Upon arriving in their new community, the evacuated family will meet with the local public housing authority that would help them to find a suitable place to live.

Families will be given a rental subsidy based on 100 percent of Fair Market Rent in that community. Eligible families include displaced public housing residents; Section 8 voucher holders; other HUD-assisted households; and, pre-disaster homeless individuals who were directly affected by Hurricane Katrina.

NOTE: For a more detailed technical summary of the Katrina Disaster Housing Assistance Program, visit HUD's website.