When natural disaster strikes, homeowners turn to their home insurance companies to help them with temporary housing and the repair or replacement of their permanent homes. But renters often don’t have those options. That’s why some Ohio lawmakers want to establish a permanent replacement housing program.
State Rep. Rick Perales (R-Beavercreek) saw damage firsthand after a tornado hit his Dayton area district in May. He says he also saw renters with damaged properties unable to find a suitable replacement home nearby.
“People who are a renter who don’t have their own property or their own insurance for their own home who will put them in a hotel, they move because they have to have a place to stay. And if we are not careful, if we don’t get aid there quick enough, some of those never return back home.”
Perales is backing a plan to use $20 million of state money for a fund to help displaced renters get either temporary and permanent housing. But there are few details. The proposal is still only in draft form.
