Housing Help

N.C. Emergency Management is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to find short-term and long-term temporary housing for people displaced by Hurricane Matthew.

A number of state and federal programs can help eligible people find a safe, secure and clean place to stay while their damaged homes are repaired or rebuilt. Assistance may include grants for temporary housing, rental assistance and home repairs.

Who is Able to Get Help: All homeowners, renters or business owners who sustained property damage as a result of Hurricane Matthew are encouraged to register with FEMA. Survivors may register in the following ways:

  • Online at DisasterAssistance.gov.
     
  • Call the FEMA Helpline at 800-621-3362. Applicants who use 711 or Video Relay Service may also call 800-621-3362. Persons who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech disability and use a TTY may call 800-462-7585. The toll-free numbers are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. Help is available in most languages, and information on the registration process is available in ASL at http://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/videos/111546.
  • Through the FEMA mobile app.
     
  • If you have limited or no access to a working telephone or internet, visit a Disaster Recovery Center, or DRC. Find the nearest DRC by going online to FEMA’s Hurricane Matthew N.C. website or through the FEMA mobile app. DRCs are open Monday-Saturday from 10a.m.-7 p.m. and closed on Sunday.
  • Survivors requiring a reasonable accommodation (American Sign Language interpreting, Braille, large print, etc.) also may wish to visit a DRC. When visiting a DRC, these survivors may also call the appropriate Helpline number for support.

You will be asked to provide:

  • Your Social Security number
  • Address of the damaged home or apartment
  • Description of the damage
  • Information about insurance coverage
  • A current contact telephone number
  • An address where you can get mail
  • Bank account and routing numbers if you want direct deposit of any financial assistance.

Registering with FEMA is required for federal aid, even if you have registered with another disaster-relief organization such as the American Red Cross, or local community or church organization.

Types of Aid:

Repair: Money for homeowners to repair damage from the disaster that is not covered by insurance. The goal is to repair the home to a habitable condition. The homeowner may apply for a Small Business Administration disaster loan to cover additional repair costs.

Repair and replacement items include:

  • Structural parts of a home (foundation, outside walls, roof);
  • Windows, doors, floors, walls, ceilings, cabinetry;
  • Septic or sewage systems
  • Well or other water system;
  • Heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system;
  • Utilities (electrical, plumbing, and gas systems);
  • Entrance and exit ways from the home, including privately owned access roads, and;
  • Blocking, leveling, and anchoring of a mobile home and reconnecting or resetting its sewer, water, electrical and fuel lines and tanks.

Temporary Housing: Money to rent a different place to live or a temporary housing unit (when rental properties are not available).

Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA): Disaster survivors may be eligible to stay in hotel/motel lodging for a limited period of time and have FEMA cover the cost of the room and taxes. To qualify survivors must have an unlivable or inaccessible primary residence in a designated county.

NCHousingSearch.org helps people locate available apartments, rental homes, condos and other housing that fits their individual and family needs. This service can be accessed online 24 hours a day and through a toll-free, bilingual call center, Monday - Friday, 9:00 am - 8:00 pm EST. In addition, NCHousingSearch.org connects people to other housing resources through website links and provides helpful tools for renters such as an affordability calculator, rental checklist, and information on renter rights and responsibilities. The service is a partnership between the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, the Community Investment Corporation of North Carolina, CAHEC, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and the Carolinas Council for Affordable Housing.

Crisis Cleanup is a national resource organization that helps coordinate the work of volunteer organizations with survivors whose homes have been affected by flood, tornadoes, earthquakes, wind, fire or other disaster. Survivors call Crisis Cleanup at 1-800-451-1954 and describe their damage to a live operator. The residences go into a common database and are serviced by whichever agency is most available.

Dial 211 to speak with a trained call specialist about Hurricane Matthew assistance in your area; the service is free, confidential and available in any language.