Federal disaster aid now covers condos, co-ops, and manufactured home parks

What it does

This bill amends the federal disaster relief law to explicitly include condominiums, housing cooperatives, residential common interest communities (like HOAs), and manufactured home parks as eligible for federal debris-removal assistance after major disasters. Currently, the Stafford Act covers debris removal for individuals and some structures, but these shared-ownership housing types fall into a gray area. The bill directs the President to issue rules treating debris removal from these properties as serving the public interest when state or local officials certify the debris poses a threat to life, health, safety, or economic recovery.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole function is to amend the Stafford Act's definitions and debris-removal rules to explicitly include shared-ownership housing types in federal disaster assistance. It is a technical clarification expanding eligibility, not a new program or carve-out.

What the text implies

• Manufactured home parks are explicitly included, extending federal disaster aid to a housing type often occupied by lower-income residents who may lack other recovery resources.
• The bill defers to state and local determinations of what constitutes a 'threat,' potentially creating variation in how aggressively debris removal is pursued across jurisdictions.
• By requiring the President to issue rules (rather than self-executing the eligibility), implementation depends on regulatory action—delays or narrow rulemaking could limit the bill's practical effect.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Residents of condominiums, housing cooperatives, and HOA-governed properties gain explicit federal disaster assistance eligibility for debris removal—a concrete protection after major disasters that previously left these homeowners in legal limbo. The bill clarifies and expands access to public disaster relief without imposing costs on other citizens or restricting existing protections.

Named in the bill

Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, President (executive authority to issue rules), State and local governments (certifying authorities), Residential common interest communities, Condominiums, Housing cooperatives, Manufactured home parks

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Dec 1, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Dec 1, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $90,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 7 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

W. Steube, the sponsor, reported $624,000 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Community Associations Institute — $60,000 on 2 filings
• Community Associations Institute — $30,000 on 1 filing
• Cornerstone Government Affairs Obo Community Associations Institute — $0 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.