What FEMA Covers and What It Doesn’t: Housing, Other Needs, and Caps

FEMA’s Individuals and Households Program covers essential home repairs, temporary housing, and specific personal recovery costs after a presidentially declared disaster, but it does not cover second homes, business losses, luxury or cosmetic items, or anything your insurance already paid for. The program uses two separate caps of $43,600 per household per disaster: one for housing assistance and one for Other Needs Assistance, both set for disasters declared on or after October 1, 2024 and adjusted annually.¹ The money is meant to make your home safe and livable and to cover essential needs, not to restore your life to its pre-disaster state.

Housing Assistance: What Gets Repaired, Replaced, or Rented

Housing assistance targets a “safe, sanitary, and functional” standard. FEMA will pay to fix a leaking roof; it will not pay to remove the stain the leak left on the ceiling.²

Home Repairs

Covered repairs include structural components (roofs, foundations, walls, windows), utilities (electrical wiring, plumbing, wells, septic, HVAC), essential appliances (furnaces, water heaters, refrigerators, stoves), and private access roads when they are the only way to reach the home. FEMA can also help with pre-existing problems the disaster made worse, such as mold that spread after flooding.³

Accessibility Modifications

For applicants with a disability, FEMA can fund wheelchair ramps, grab bars, and paved pathways to restore access to a disaster-damaged home. These modifications do not count against the housing assistance cap.⁴

Rental Assistance and Lodging

If your home is uninhabitable or inaccessible, you qualify as a displaced applicant and can receive rental assistance for an alternate place to live.⁵ The initial award typically covers one to two months of rent at local fair market rates. Continued Temporary Housing Assistance is available in three-month increments for up to 18 months from the date of the disaster declaration, with each renewal requiring proof that you still need help and are working toward permanent housing.⁶ Rental assistance and short-term lodging reimbursement for hotels or motels sit outside the $43,600 housing cap.⁷

Home Replacement

If the home is destroyed, FEMA can provide a grant toward replacing the dwelling or purchasing a new permanent residence. Replacement is subject to the $43,600 housing maximum.⁵

Other Needs Assistance: The Non-Housing Side

Other Needs Assistance (ONA) draws from the separate $43,600 cap and covers costs that pile up outside the walls of the home.

Serious Needs Assistance

The fastest money FEMA sends. If an inspection or your documentation confirms damage to your home, FEMA issues a one-time $750 payment for immediate expenses like food, water, or baby formula. You do not apply separately; the award is automatic if you qualify, and the amount adjusts annually.⁸

Displacement Assistance

Upfront funding for short-term housing when you cannot live in your home and need money before regular rental assistance begins. It can cover staying with family, a short-term rental, or other immediate arrangements.

Medical, Dental, and Funeral Costs

Grants can cover disaster-caused medical and dental treatment, replacement prescriptions, and repair or replacement of medical equipment. Costs for an injured or lost service animal are eligible. Funeral and burial expenses qualify when a death resulted from the disaster.⁹

Childcare

If the disaster disrupted childcare, FEMA can help pay for a new provider, including registration fees and health inventory costs, and can cover personal assistance services for children with disabilities.⁹

Personal Property, Transportation, and Moving

Grants help repair or replace essential personal property such as clothing, appliances, computers, work tools, and educational materials. Transportation assistance covers repair or replacement of a primary vehicle. Moving and storage fees to protect belongings from further damage may be reimbursable.¹⁰ For disasters declared on or after March 22, 2024, personal property and transportation assistance no longer require applying for a Small Business Administration loan first.¹¹ Older disasters still follow the SBA-referral rule.¹²

What FEMA Does Not Cover

The program is a safety net for primary residences and essential personal needs. Anything beyond that baseline is out of scope.

Second homes and vacation properties. Only the home you live in most of the year qualifies.¹³
Business losses. Damaged inventory, home office equipment used for commercial purposes, and lost business income fall under SBA disaster loans, not FEMA grants.
Luxury items. Swimming pools, home theaters, expensive artwork, and similar non-essential property are excluded.
Cosmetic work. Carpet, tile, blinds, painting, landscaping, high-end cabinetry, and decorative finishes are not covered.²
Certain appliances and electronics. Dishwashers and home theater equipment are specifically excluded even when essentials like refrigerators and stoves are covered.
Losses already covered by insurance. FEMA cannot duplicate payments from an insurer or another government program. If insurance covers part of a loss, FEMA may cover the remaining gap, but never the same expense twice.

How the Caps Actually Work

The two $43,600 caps are separate, so a household with qualifying expenses in both categories could receive up to $87,200 total per disaster.¹⁷⁴

Award amounts often come in below what a contractor would charge, and there is a reason. FEMA inspectors measure damage against the “safe, sanitary, and functional” standard, not the cost of a full rebuild. A grant that seems small may reflect the standard, not an error, though genuine errors do happen and can be challenged through a written appeal within 60 days of the decision letter.¹⁴

Tax and Creditor Treatment of What You Receive

FEMA disaster grants are not taxable. The IRS excludes post-disaster grants received under the Stafford Act from gross income when the money goes to necessary expenses like housing, medical costs, personal property, or funeral expenses. You cannot then deduct casualty losses or medical expenses that FEMA already reimbursed.¹⁵

Federal regulations also protect the funds from creditors. All IHP assistance is exempt from garnishment, seizure, levy, and attachment while it sits in your account. The only exception is FEMA itself recovering money obtained fraudulently or spent on ineligible items.⁷ And the money has to be spent on the category it was awarded for: a housing repair grant used for furniture can trigger a demand for repayment, and FEMA may request receipts during a later review.

1
Federal Register. Notice of Maximum Amount of Assistance Under the Individuals and Households Program
2
FEMA. FAQ: What Home Repairs Are Covered by FEMA and Which Are Not?
3
FEMA. Quick Reference Guide: Help with Home Repair
4
FEMA. Updates to FEMA Programs for People with Disabilities
5
eCFR. 44 CFR 206.117 – Housing Assistance
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FEMA. FEMA Continued Temporary Housing Assistance Available
7
eCFR. 44 CFR 206.110 – Federal Assistance to Individuals and Households
8
FEMA. Serious Needs Assistance
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eCFR. 44 CFR 206.119 – Financial Assistance to Address Other Needs
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FEMA. Using Your FEMA Individual Assistance Funds
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 5174 – Federal Assistance to Individuals and Households
12
FEMA. FEMA Assistance and U.S. Small Business Administration Disaster Loans
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FEMA. Possible Sheltering and Housing Assistance for Disaster Survivors
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FEMA. How to Appeal FEMA’s Decision
15
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525, Taxable and Nontaxable Income