(a) You are eligible to apply for a home disaster loan if you:

(1) Own and occupy your primary residence and have suffered a physical loss to your primary residence, personal property, or both; or

(2) Do not own your primary residence, but have suffered a physical loss to your personal property. Family members sharing a residence are eligible if they are not dependents of the owners of the residence.

(b) Losses may be claimed only by the owners of the property at the time of the disaster, and all such losses will be verified by SBA. SBA will consider beneficial ownership as well as legal title (for real or personal property) in determining who suffered the loss.

You are not eligible for a home disaster loan if:

(a) You have been convicted, during the past year, of a felony during and in connection with a riot or civil disorder or other declared disaster;

(b) You acquired voluntarily more than a 50 percent ownership interest in the damaged property after the disaster, and no contract of sale existed at the time of the disaster;

(c) Your damaged property can be repaired or replaced with the proceeds of insurance, gifts or other compensation, including condemnation awards (with one exception), these amounts must either be deducted from the amount of the claimed losses or, if received after SBA has approved and disbursed a loan, must be paid to SBA as principal payments on your loan. You must notify SBA of any such recoveries collected after receiving an SBA disaster loan. The one exception applies to amounts received under the Individuals and Household Program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency solely to meet an emergency need pending processing of an SBA loan. In such an event, you must repay the financial assistance with SBA loan proceeds if it was used for purposes also eligible for an SBA loan;

(d) SBA determines that you assumed the risk (for example, by not maintaining flood insurance as required by an earlier SBA disaster loan when the current loss is also due to flood);

(e) Your damaged property is a secondary home (although if you rented the property out before the disaster and the property would not constitute a “residence” under the provisions of Section 280A of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 280A), you may be eligible for a physical disaster business loan);

(f) Your damaged property is the type of vehicle normally used for recreational purposes, such as motorhomes, aircraft, and boats;

(g) Your damaged property consists of cash or securities;

(h) The replacement value of your damaged personal property is extraordinarily high and not easily verified, such as the value of antiques, artworks, or hobby collections;

(i) You or other principal owners of the damaged property are currently incarcerated, serving a sentence of imprisonment imposed upon adjudication of guilty;

(j) Your only interest in the damaged property is in the form of a security interest, mortgage, or deed of trust;

(k) The damaged building, including contents, was newly constructed or substantially improved on or after February 9, 1989, and (without a significant business justification) is located seaward of mean high tide or entirely in or over water; or

(l) You voluntarily decide to relocate outside the business area in which the disaster has occurred, and there are no special or unusual circumstances leading to your decision (business area means the municipality which provides general governmental services to your damaged home or, if not located in a municipality, the county or equivalent political entity in which your damaged home is located).

SBA may approve a loan if you intend to relocate outside the business area in which the disaster has occurred if your relocation is caused by such special or unusual circumstances as:

(a) Demonstrable risk that the business area will suffer future disasters;

(b) A change in employment status (such as loss of job, transfer, lack of adequate job opportunities within the business area or scheduled retirement within 18 months after the disaster occurs);

(c) Medical reasons; or

(d) Special family considerations which necessitate a move outside of the business area.

If you must relocate inside or outside the business area because local authorities will not allow you to repair your damaged property, SBA considers this to be a total loss and a mandatory relocation. In this case, your loan would be an amount that SBA considers sufficient to replace your residence at your new location, plus funds to cover losses of personal property and eligible refinancing.

If you can obtain credit elsewhere, your interest rate is set by a statutory formula, but will not exceed eight (8) percent per annum. If you cannot obtain credit elsewhere, your interest rate is one-half the statutory rate, but will not exceed four (4) percent per annum. Generally, credit elsewhere means that SBA believes you could obtain financing from non-Federal sources on reasonable terms subsequent to the declaration of a disaster. SBA may include the use of credit score to make this determination. If you cannot obtain credit elsewhere, you also may be able to borrow from SBA to refinance existing recorded liens against your damaged real property.

(a) There are limits on how much money you can borrow for particular purposes. The limits in effect for disasters occurring on or after June 16, 2023 are as follows.

(1) $100,000 for repair or replacement of household and personal effects;

(2) $500,000 for repair or replacement of a primary residence (including upgrading in order to meet minimum standards of safety and decency or current building code requirements);

(3) $500,000 for eligible refinancing purposes;

(4) 20 percent of the verified loss (not including refinancing or malfeasance), before deduction of compensation from other sources, up to a maximum of $500,000 for post-disaster mitigation (see § 123.107); and

(5) $500,000 for eligible malfeasance, pursuant to § 123.18.

(b) You may not use loan proceeds to repay any debts on personal property, secured or unsecured, unless you incurred those debts as a direct result of the disaster.

(c) SBA determines the loan maturity and repayment terms based on your needs and your ability to pay. Generally, you will pay monthly installments of principal and interest, beginning twelve months from the date of the initial disbursement. SBA will consider other payment terms if you have seasonal or fluctuating income. The maximum maturity for a home disaster loan is 30 years. There is no penalty for prepayment of disaster loans.

(d) The SBA Administrator may increase the home loan lending limits within paragraph (a) of this section under an individual disaster declaration based on appropriate economic indicators for the region(s) in which the disaster occurred. SBA will publish any increased lending limit for an individual disaster declaration in the Federal Register.

(a) If your home (primary residence) is totally destroyed or substantially damaged, and you do not have credit elsewhere, SBA may allow you to borrow money to refinance recorded liens or encumbrances on your home. Your home is totally destroyed or substantially damaged if it has suffered uninsured or otherwise uncompensated damage which, at the time of the disaster, is either:

(1) 40 percent or more of the home's market value or replacement cost at the time of the disaster, including land value, whichever is less; or

(2) 50 percent or more of its market value or replacement cost at the time of the disaster, not including land value, whichever is less.

(b) Your home disaster loan for refinancing existing liens or encumbrances cannot exceed an amount equal to the lesser of $500,000, or the physical damage to your primary residence. Any refinancing amount will be reduced to the extent such lien or encumbrance is satisfied by insurance or otherwise.

For mitigation measures implemented after a disaster has occurred, you can request that the approved home disaster loan amount be increased by the lesser of the cost of the mitigation measure, or up to 20 percent of the verified loss (before deducting compensation from other sources), to a maximum of $500,000.

After a Presidential disaster declaration is made, you may be eligible for disaster assistance, including grant assistance, from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Federal Assistance to Individuals and Households Program (IHP). After you register with FEMA for disaster assistance, FEMA will consider you for IHP assistance, which includes housing assistance grants to repair or replace your damaged primary residence and temporary housing assistance (including rental assistance) to assist you temporarily with a place to live, and assistance with personal property, medical, dental and funeral expenses. FEMA may also refer you to SBA to apply for loan assistance to help repair or rebuild your home and/or to replace personal property destroyed during the disaster. If SBA is unable to approve your loan application, or if you have damage in excess of the SBA loan amount, SBA may refer you, on a timely basis, to FEMA for IHP grant consideration to assist with your unmet personal property and transportation needs. If you are approved for the SBA disaster loan and you have received grant assistance that duplicates the damage covered by the SBA loan, such grant assistance must be deducted from your loan eligibility as described in section 123.101(c) of the regulations. All grant decisions are made by FEMA. Additionally, if additional disaster assistance is available from state, local or other agencies, SBA may refer you to the appropriate agency for consideration.