Code Compliance and Notice to Property Owners The SD process generates data to guide municipalities in issuing a Substantial Damage determination. Once a structure is determined to be substantially damaged, the local jurisdiction will issue letters of Substantial Damage Determination that require affected structure owners to repair or rebuild the structure so that it meets current floodplain regulations and building codes. Appeal Opportunities The SD process allows for consideration of factors that can affect the Substantial Damage determination. Historic buildings, commercial buildings, and other circumstances can require additional consideration. For example, if a structure owner cannot allow entry into the structure during the initial onsite inspection, they may wish to request a reinspection to allow the estimators to enter the structure in order to provide a more accurate estimate of interior damage. Communities may offer onsite reinspections to structure owners to allow owners to provide additional information or access, ensuring transparency and accuracy throughout the process. Owners can also appeal the pre-disaster market value of the structure used in the SD analysis. Permit Issuance and Inspection Once a structure has been identified as Substantially Damaged or not, it may progress through the community’s permitting process. Structures that do not meet the definition of SD have no additional requirements from the SD process that preclude them from moving forward with a typical repair permit. Note – there could be other factors that restrict issuance not related to SD. For structures that are identified as SD, typically, property owners must follow the individual community’s permitting process requirements to document how they will bring the structure into compliance with current floodplain and building code regulations if it currently does not meet those requirements. Following issuance of all permits, NFIP participating communities are required to perform inspections on SD structures during construction to validate that repairs were made in accordance with plans and permits. If work deviated from the approved plans and permits in variance from local regulations, the community must issue violations to the property owner. It is incumbent that good faith efforts be undertaken to resolve all violations, as the community’s standing in the NFIP and CRS (if applicable) can be jeopardized by lack of enforcement. In some cases of non-compliance, communities can be put on probation, losing their insurance discount for citizens, and in extreme cases, they can be removed from the NFIP entirely, removing the ability for the jurisdiction’s citizens to obtain federally backed flood insurance. If the cost to repair is 50% or more of the market value, the structure is considered “Substantially Damaged” and must be brought into compliance with current local floodplain management standards. Section 1206 | Building Code and Floodplain Management Administration and Enforcement The Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) amended Sections 402 and 406 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) and authorized FEMA to “provide assistance to state and local governments for building code and floodplain administration and enforcement, including inspections for substantial damage compliance” and “base and overtime wages for extra hires to facilitate the implementation and enforcement of adopted building codes for a period of not more than 180 days after the major disaster is declared.” Substantial Damage in Action Structures in a SFHA that have suffered disaster damages that exceed 50% of the building’s pre-damage market value are determined to have substantial damage. For instance, if the pre-damage market value of a structure is $200,000, and repair costs are estimated at $120,000, it is deemed substantially damaged. Once a structure is determined to be Substantially Damaged, the structure must be brought into compliance with current local floodplain management and building code standards, which may include elevating the structure, using flood-resistant materials, proper flood venting, or other mitigation activities to bring the structure into compliance with current code. Local jurisdictions, not FEMA, are responsible for determining Substantial Damage based on their specific floodplain ordinances, notifying property owners of those decisions accordingly, and enforcing compliance with local floodplain regulations during the rebuilding process.
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