H.R. 3777: Disaster Assistance Fairness Act

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.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.