Disaster Relief: Disaster Loans

Following a disaster declared by the president, FEMA partners with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to help disaster survivors. The SBA offers low-interest disaster loans to homeowners, renters, and businesses of all sizes. These are federal long-term disaster recovery loans designed to help you repair the physical damage caused by a disaster that is not fully covered by private insurance or other disaster funds. 

The SBA’s programs do not duplicate FEMA or other disaster recovery programs. An SBA loan application may trigger additional grant assistance through FEMA’s Other Needs Assistance (ONA) program, administered by the State of Texas. If you don’t apply to the SBA, you may lose out on additional help such as:

• reimbursement for lost personal property,
• vehicle repair or replacement, and
• moving and storage expenses. 

Eligible entities include:

• businesses of all sizes,
• landlords,
• individual homeowners and renters,
• private nonprofit organizations, and
• small agricultural cooperatives. 

Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL loans) are available from the SBA for businesses that have “substantial economic injury,” meaning the business cannot meet its obligations and pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses. EIDLs provide working capital to help small businesses survive until normal operations resume after a disaster. A business may qualify for both an EIDL and a physical disaster loan. 

Register by phone through FEMA, (800) 621-FEMA (3362), (800) 462-7585), or online through www.DisasterAssistance.gov.

If you are eligible for an SBA loan, the SBA will contact you by an automated callback to complete the SBA application. You can also apply at your local Disaster Recovery Center. 

• Eligible homeowners: up to $200,000 for home repair or replacement of primary residences.
• Eligible homeowners and renters: up to $40,000 to replace disaster-damaged or destroyed personal property.
• All businesses, regardless of size: up to $2 million to cover physical damages.
• Small businesses and most private nonprofits: up to $2 million for any combination of property damage or economic injury under SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.

SBA loans offer terms of up to 30 years. Interest rates are as low as:

• 1.688% for homeowners and renters,
• 4% for businesses, and
• 2.625% for private nonprofit organizations. 

Deadlines vary depending on the type of loan. Apply immediately. Do not wait to hear back on claims submitted to your insurance company. 

• FEMA helpline, (800) 621-3362 (emergency assistance)
• State Bar of Texas, (800) 504-7030 
• Visit the SBA disaster assistance website, or contact the SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955.