By Stevie Duffin Updated on 12/5/2012

For families hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy, extra help is on the way if they meet federal qualifications for rental assistance. New actions taken by the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] are designed to increase payments from public housing agencies by up to 120 percent above “Fair Market Rent” levels in areas affected by the superstorm. The extra financial assistance for families who were displaced by the storm is designed to offset the higher rents and constricted rental market in the New York City area and is just one of several programs created by the HUD in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Under the newly established program, extra help in the form of increased rent subsidies will allow displaced families to afford better housing. Families who qualify for assistance are required to pay what typically amounts to 30 percent of their adjusted gross income. The measure includes provisions to prevent families receiving HUD assistance from being displaced from their neighborhoods if storm damage causes rents to increase.

According to Shaun Donovan, a newly appointed HUD Secretary who oversees long-term recovery for areas affected by disasters, the HUD is conscious of the effects of Hurricane Sandy and the decreasing availability of rental housing, especially for families with less income. To address this, the HUD will provide local housing authorities with additional flexibility when determining rental assistance to these families to find fitting homes.

Increasing rental assistance to families displaced by Sandy is not the only step the HUD is taking to make a difference. Other adjustments include protecting senior housing providers who rent vacant units to renters under age 55 from losing their exemptions under the Fair Housing Act, as well as loosening federal regulations in impacted areas so “participating jurisdictions” can put vacant rental units to use and storm damaged single-family housing is quickly repaired.