Appeals can be sent by fax to: FEMA – Appeals Officer, 800-827-8112. Alternatively, they can be mailed to:
FEMA – Appeals Officer National Processing Service Center P.O. Box 10055 Hyattsville, MD 20782-8055
Benefits are denied for a number of reasons, with the most common being: the
shared household rule; duplication of benefits; ineligibility based on program requirements; and insufficient documentation of losses. Each of these bases for denial are discussed below.
The Shared Household Rule The shared household rule provides that only one application per household is
permitted. The applicant need not be the “head of the household” – the first in time to apply is the only person considered for a grant. Household includes all persons living in the same residence at the time of the disaster, including people away on vacation or at school. It applies regardless of relationship, including live-in caregivers, live-in household help, and roommates.
Denials based on the shared household rule can be appealed under certain
circumstances. Pursuant to 44 C.F.R. 206.117(b)(i)(A), the Regional Administrator or his designee can use their discretion to determine that more than one application per pre- disaster address should be permitted. Bases for appeal are where the applicant absconded with the funds, where a live-in employee is no longer so employed following the disaster, where individuals living at the same address evacuated to different locations, where household members separated due to domestic violence, divorce, or legal separation.
Duplication of Benefits Duplication of benefits denials can be appealed on the basis that the non-FEMA
benefits were never received or were insufficient, that other benefits received served a non-disaster related purpose, or were used to cover expenses not eligible for FEMA assistance, or by showing that the alternative benefit source is not available to the client.
Clients with insurance are likely to find that FEMA has automatically denied
assistance for home repair based on duplication of benefits. However, the homeowner may find that their insurance carrier has provided them with insufficient funding to make repairs. If the homeowner has estimates for the repair work, such documentation should be submitted along with the notice of final loss paid to appeal for FEMA funding to cover the balance.
Localities or non-profits may provide disaster victims with funding for miscellaneous expenses that FEMA may consider to be funding for home repair or rental 14
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