# Plain Language Summary: Fix Our Flooded Basements Act of 2025

When a major flood hits your community and the federal government declares it a disaster, homeowners can get help through a program called the Stafford Act. Right now, that program has some strict limits on what it will pay for when basements flood. This bill changes those rules to provide much more comprehensive help for basement damage.

Currently, federal disaster assistance for basement repairs only covers damage in areas that are "required for occupancy"—basically your living spaces. This bill removes that restriction, meaning you can get help fixing your entire basement, whether it's a finished living area, a storage space, or anything else. The bill also expands what kinds of damage gets covered. Right now, the government only pays for mold and moisture damage if it threatens the home's safety or functionality. Under this new bill, any mold, mildew, or moisture damage caused by the flood would be covered, period. This is a big deal because basement flooding almost always creates these problems, and they can be expensive to fix.

The bill also improves help for personal property—your belongings. It requires federal assistance to cover items damaged in basements at the same level that flood insurance policies do, and it removes limits on what can be replaced. Additionally, the bill makes it easier for flood victims to get affordable group flood insurance after a disaster by allowing people who previously had to maintain insurance to join the program, and by letting people outside high-risk flood areas participate. The bill also increases the maximum coverage available through this group policy and specifically includes basement damage in what's covered. Finally, the bill ensures that the dollar limits on federal assistance don't count money spent on flood prevention improvements or insurance premiums, so those costs don't eat into your total aid.

Fix Our Flooded Basements Act of 2025

Tlaib, Rashida

Fix Our Flooded Basements Act of 2025This bill expands the disaster assistance provided to individuals and households for repairs to and property in flood-damaged basements. It also expands eligibility and coverage for certain group flood insurance.Under current law, the Individual Assistance (IA) program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) limits home repair assistance for flood-damaged basements to damage affecting the safety, sanitation, or functionality of the home (e.g., structural damage, hazardous conditions). The bill allows home repair assistance for disaster-caused mold, mildew, and moisture damage in basements regardless of whether the damage affects safety, sanitation, or functionality. Additionally, flood-damaged basements are eligible for home repair assistance even when the basement is not required for occupying the dwelling.Also, currently, IA assistance for flood-damaged personal property in basements is limited to washers, dryers, and property essential for occupying the dwelling. The bill expands IA personal property assistance to more broadly cover property damaged by disaster-caused flooding in basements. The scope of such assistance must at least equal the coverage for such damage by a standard policy under the National Flood Insurance Program (e.g., covering air conditioning units and freezers in basements).&nbsp;Additionally, FEMA must expand the eligibility and coverage of the group flood insurance it provides to IA recipients, including increasing the maximum coverage and expanding coverage for basements.The bill also excludes from the maximum for IA housing assistance expenses for (1) hazard mitigation measures in flood-damaged basements, and (2) premiums for group flood insurance policies.