Disasters can create devastating housing and financial insecurity for working families. Owners of inherited family homes have a greater need and reduced access to vital disaster assistance funds. Inherited homes are more likely to be older and in physically inadequate conditions, increasing the likelihood that they will suffer damage in a disaster. Nearly one-third of homeowners who have inherited their homes, however, have no homeowners insurance. Black homeowners, who are twice as likely to have inherited their homes, are particularly vulnerable to post-disaster home damage. These heirs, who often own the home informally and collectively with other unknown or absentee heirs, are more likely to live in regions of the country most vulnerable to severe weather events, such as coastal lowlands and Southeastern states. Despite these overlapping vulnerabilities, heirs with informal or fractured home titles are often excluded from disaster assistance and home repair programs. Unable to restore or rehabilitate their homes, these homeowners face displacement from their communities, undermining their financial security, and contributing to abandoned homes and neighborhood blight.
States can establish policies to ensure that heirs and other at-risk homeowners can access much-needed public disaster recovery and resilience programs. This issue brief discusses state solutions to common consumer problems heirs property owners face after disasters.
See all resources related to: Disasters & Pandemics, Homeownership & Foreclosure