(Bloomberg) – The Federal Emergency Management Agency is proposing to allow owners of homes destroyed by storms and bought out by the government to rebuild on the same flood-prone land.
Related: Tackling the U.S. flood insurance challenge
Currently, FEMA offers to buy homes that have been repeatedly damaged by flooding but then tears down the structure and turns the land into open space. The policy is intended to limit future disaster costs, by removing buildings in locations that make them particularly vulnerable to floods.
Retain ownership of land
Under a change proposed in February, the agency would let homeowners sell their homes to the government but retain ownership of the property underneath it. Once FEMA tears down the home, the owners would be allowed to rebuild the house, so long as the new structure “meets community flood management building codes.”
“Why would you want to change the rules?” Larry Larson, senior policy adviser for the Association of State Floodplain Managers, said in an interview. “That doesn't make sense.”
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