GALVESTON — More than 500 Galveston residents received housing assistance vouchers during the first week of a federal program designed to move hurricane victims into apartments and rental houses while their homes are repaired.
But some are having trouble finding places to live.
Available housing is limited. Some people are finding that the places they want to rent have yet to be repaired after Hurricane Ike slammed into Galveston on Sept. 13, flooding 75 percent of the island and rendering four of the island’s public housing complexes unlivable.
Rent has skyrocketed, and it’s not clear how many landlords are accepting federal Disaster Housing Assistance Program vouchers that pay the rent for displaced hurricane victims deemed eligible for assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Landlords accepting the vouchers will receive a maximum of $932 per month in federal reimbursements for two-bedroom houses. That’s $343, or 27 percent, less than the $1,275 average monthly rental price for two-bedrooms listed on a FEMA database.
The Galveston Housing Authority provides a list of rental properties that accept the federal disaster housing vouchers, but some of those listed homes were still undergoing renovations Friday. Flood-damaged floors and carpets had not been replaced at two houses on the list. Broken glass littered the floor at one upstairs apartment. Sheetrock was not replaced at one flood-damaged rental house. A downed tree and power line blocked the back door of another place, and appliances were rusted at yet another rental house.
The Galveston Housing Authority has ceased in-depth inspections of houses in an effort to get displaced people out of shelters and hotels quickly, said Harish Krishnarao, the agency’s executive director.
Instead, four housing authority inspectors are conducting “drive-by” inspections, where they look to see if the home is safe to live in. Krishnarao said inspectors are looking for safety and health hazards, such as gas leaks and holes in the walls and floors.
Cutting red tape
George Woods, a landlord accepting disaster housing vouchers, said he applauds the housing authority for scaling back inspections, allowing landlords to bypass some of the red tape and move in residents quicker.
“Being in a house is better than being on the street,” he said.
But Olivia Newton, who was forced out of her federally subsidized apartment in Cedar Terrace, said she was disgusted by the conditions of some of the rental houses.
“I don’t even see how they have people living in some of those areas,” she said.
She put her name on a waiting list for a three-bedroom East End apartment, but until she can find something decent, she’ll stay with her parents and their four grandchildren in their Galveston home, she said.
Krishnarao said if residents are disappointed with the conditions of the island houses, they should look to the mainland.
But Newton, who doesn’t have a car, said she’s had a hard time finding places on the mainland.
That sentiment was echoed by Frankie Jules, who was forced from her federally subsidized apartment at Oleander Homes.
Jules, who is living with her daughter in League City, said she’s spent every day looking for an apartment but so far has found nothing.
“It’s all full,” she said.
Housing help
Under the Disaster Housing Assistance Program, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development gives landlords money for renting to people whose homes might not be ready for a year or more. Displaced hurricane victims who incurred “uninsured disaster-related losses” get vouchers that landlords can agree to accept.
The program, created after Hurricane Katrina displaced thousands of people along the Gulf Coast, is supposed to last 18 months, but tenants are responsible for at least a part of their rent beginning in May. People who can’t afford to help pay the rent can apply for hardship waivers.
FEMA determines who is eligible for the program, which began Nov. 1. By Friday, the Galveston Housing Authority had a list of 800 people who needed housing in the county and was taking more names hourly, Krishnarao said.
Up until this week, many residents were still living in hotels, with family and friends on in shelters.
Now, families with disaster housing assistance vouchers in hand are looking for more permanent places to live while their homes and the island’s housing projects are rebuilt.
It’s not clear when that will happen.
Federal inspectors conducting unit-by-unit inspections of all the condemned properties should be finished within three weeks, Krishnarao said. Tenants are being allowed to collect their belongings at specific times.
An initial federal inspection showed the housing projects sustained $16 million in damage. The housing authority’s insurance will cover the damage but will not pay for any flood-proofing, such as elevating the complexes, Krishnarao said.
