This bill makes common interest communities, such as housing cooperatives (co-ops) and condominiums, eligible for the same assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as other homeowners.
Specifically, the bill
adds definitions of residential common interest community, condominium, and housing cooperative to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act;
requires FEMA to issue rules for the removal of debris or wreckage from real estate owned by a residential common interest community resulting from a major disaster and deems such removal to be in the public interest when a state or local government determines in writing that such debris or wreckage constitutes a threat to life, public health or safety, or the economic recovery of such community; and
provides for the repair of essential common elements of a condominium or co-op damaged by a disaster under FEMA's Federal Assistance to Individuals and Households Program.
