Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program: Aug. 1 Survey Deadline Approaching for Hurricane Laura and Delta Survivors

Louisiana homeowners who sustained damage from Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, Hurricane Ida, or the May 2021 Severe Storms have a narrowing window to take the first step toward receiving federally funded recovery assistance. The Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program has set August 1, 2023 as the firm deadline for homeowners to complete the program's intake survey, which is the required gateway to being invited to apply for grant funds.

The program, administered by the State of Louisiana's Office of Community Development, uses U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to help eligible households repair, rebuild, or reimburse out-of-pocket costs tied to the 2020 and 2021 disasters.

Who The Program Is Designed To Help

The current iteration of Restore Louisiana is focused on households affected by:

• Hurricane Laura (August 2020)
• Hurricane Delta (October 2020)
• Hurricane Ida (August 2021)
• The May 2021 Severe Storms

To qualify, homeowners generally must have owned and occupied the damaged home as their primary residence at the time of the disaster, must maintain ownership through the program's final project inspection, and must live in one of the federally declared disaster parishes. Eligible property types include single-family homes, owner-occupied duplexes, mobile homes, and condominiums.

Earlier in 2023, state officials expanded eligibility by lowering the required FEMA-determined damage threshold to $3,000 (down from $5,000) and raising the maximum allowable insurance proceeds a household could have received to $50,000 (up from $25,000). Both changes were intended to bring more lower-damage and partially insured households into the pool of eligible applicants.

Why The Survey Matters

The survey is not the grant application itself. Instead, it is the screening tool the program uses to identify households that may qualify and to schedule them for the formal application process. Homeowners who do not submit a survey by August 1, 2023 may not be considered for assistance under this program cycle.

According to program updates published on the state's site in mid-2023, Restore Louisiana had already offered more than $266 million to over 3,310 eligible homeowners, with more than 22,300 surveys completed and 8,579 households invited to apply as of early June 2023. State officials have emphasized that the program still has capacity for additional eligible applicants and are urging affected homeowners who have not yet engaged with the program to act before the deadline.

How To Complete The Survey

Homeowners have three main ways to complete the survey:

• Online: Visit restore.la.gov on a smartphone, tablet, or computer and follow the survey link.
• By phone: Call the program's toll-free line at 866-735-2001, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• In person: Attend a mobile outreach event. A schedule is posted at restore.la.gov/events, and staff at those events can help homeowners complete the survey and answer program questions.

The program also maintains an office at 11100 Mead Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70816, and an email address at Info@restore-la.org for general questions.

What Happens After The Survey

After submitting a survey, households determined to be potentially eligible are invited to apply. The formal application collects documentation of ownership, occupancy, damage, insurance proceeds, and any previous disaster assistance (such as FEMA Individual Assistance or SBA disaster loan funds), which the program uses to calculate a "duplication of benefits" adjustment as required by federal CDBG-DR rules. Once an award is determined, homeowners can select from available program solution options (for example, program-managed reconstruction or homeowner-managed reimbursement) to move from approval to repairs and, ultimately, a final inspection.

Bottom Line For Louisiana Homeowners

If your home was damaged by Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Delta, Hurricane Ida, or the May 2021 Severe Storms and you have not yet engaged with Restore Louisiana, completing the survey by August 1, 2023 is the single most important step you can take right now to preserve your chance at assistance. The survey itself is free, takes only a few minutes, and does not commit you to anything; it simply puts your household on the program's radar while there is still time to be invited to apply.