Congressman Carter Praises the Conclusion of the Road Home Program

NEW ORLEANS, L.A. – Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-La.) was joined by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, and New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell at the Andrew P. Sanchez Multi-Service Center to announce the conclusion of the RoadHome program.

“Hurricane Katrina made landfall almost 18 years ago, devastating families and whole communities,” said Rep. Carter. “After the storm, most New Orleanians struggled to cobble together enough money to rebuild their lives. The RoadHome Program was supposed to be a solution. It’s true - some folks spent the money they received outside of program guidelines. Most of the people who hadn’t followed the rules were lower income or senior citizens who did not have sufficient resources to either rehabilitate their homes or to elevate them.

“Then the lawsuits started. For many low-income homeowners, the suits meant possible financial ruin and fear that their homes would be taken away.

“Today, all that stops. I’ve worked hard to find a solution everyone can agree on with the goal of bringing relief to Louisiana families. There will be no further payments required from impacted homeowners. The State will take final actions to close the RoadHome Program and will repay the amount associated with non-compliance. They will also ensure properties acquired through RoadHome are made available for redevelopment, prioritizing affordable housing. This announcement gives peace of mind to those who did their best to follow the program rules.

“Today, the RoadHome ends.”

Background

In response to damage caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Congress awarded $13.4 billion in 2006 and 2007 of CDBG-DR funds to the State to address its housing recovery needs. 

The State established several programs to restore disaster-impacted housing and, including programs targeting homeowners, affordable rental housing, housing for people experiencing homelessness, and developer incentives. 

The goal of the RoadHome Program was to assist single-family homeowners. 

Over 130,000 Louisiana residents received more than $9 billion of these funds through the State’s RoadHome program, to incentive them to remain and rebuild and protect their homes and rental properties from future storm damage.

Homeowners who decided to reinvest in their damaged homes were eligible for the most generous levels of assistance.

RoadHome remains the largest federally funded disaster recovery housing program in history.

In 2010, the HUD IG issued audits of RoadHome which found significant issues with the program, and it cited homeowner noncompliance with the terms of their awards.

As a result, the State has embarked on a years-long effort to recapture funds from non-compliant homeowners and to recover funds paid to its contractor (ICF).  This means that liens and repayment plans were placed on individuals and families, who needed funds to support repairs and many Louisiana residents believe they did not receive sufficient funding to repair their homes.

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