Handling Home Expenses After a Fire 

If you’ve been impacted by the fires in Los Angeles, once you’re safe, your first question was more than likely about where you’re going to live, which home expenses you still have to pay, and whether you’re going to get government aid. The president approved a major disaster declaration for California on Jan. 8, 2025. 

In addition to contacting your Mercer Advisors wealth management team for guidance during this difficult time, we’ve pulled together the information below to help answer some of your questions. 

Temporary housing 

If you don’t have friends or family who can provide you temporary housing, it may be difficult to find options in the local area due to the high volume of displaced families. The American Red Cross, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) are also useful resources. You might be able to get temporary housing at no cost through Airbnb.org which is a nonprofit that collaborates with Airbnb hosts. Additionally, there are some hotels that are offering discounted rates to those who’ve lost homes. For instance, the Hyatt Centric and Hyatt Regency hotels in Long Beach have a 15% discount through the end of the month. The Hotel Association of Los Angeles has useful information on its website. You might also find restaurants offering discounts on food and drink.  

Mortgage payments 

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have resource pages on their websites for impacted homeowners and renters. You can use the Fannie Mae site’s loan lookup tool at fanniemae.com to see if you qualify for mortgage relief which might delay your mortgage payments for up to a year (which you’ll still have to repay) or reduce payment amounts. If you have a loan backed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or Department of Veterans Affairs, they have similar programs for which you might qualify. For a home loan without federal backing, contact your mortgage provider to see if they offer forbearance. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America announced that they are easing mortgage repayments for their affected customers. Fannie Mae and HUD sites include information on connecting with a housing counselor.  

Property taxes 

You could qualify for temporary property tax relief through the Misfortune and Calamity Program offered by the Los Angeles County Assessor’s Office. You can apply for tax relief on their website at assessor.lacounty.gov, as well as a reassessment of your property. Tax relief applies only if the damage to your property exceeds $10,000 and you file your claim within 12 months. The reduced tax rate will remain in effect until your property is restored or rebuilt. 

Rental home 

If your rental home was completely destroyed by the fire, California law considers your rental agreement void, which means you are not under any obligation to pay rent anymore and your landlord has to return your security deposit within 21 days. If your rental is partly destroyed and uninhabitable, you can choose to terminate your lease in writing to your landlord or move back in once the landlord makes necessary repairs. As long as you’re not living in the unit, rent will not be required. The landlord of a home damaged by fire is responsible for working with their insurance company to pay for repairs to the home and make it livable again as soon as possible. 

Home insurance 

California law prevents insurance companies from canceling or not renewing home insurance policies for one year. The California Department of Insurance has a tool on its website at insurance.ca.gov for you to look up whether your home is in a zip code area that qualifies for the moratorium. File your claim as soon as possible. 

Renters insurance 

If you have renters insurance, file your claim as quickly as you can if your policy covers wildfire damage. Depending on your policy, you may have “Coverage D” which can help with temporary housing costs. Typically, renters insurance covers household items that need to be replaced and physical injuries. Be sure to take pictures or videos of the damage and keep all receipts for all related expenses. If you don’t have renters insurance, the Red Cross or FEMA programs can offer immediate help if you qualify.  

Government aid 

You can apply for a one-time $770 payment from the FEMA as part of its serious needs assistance program to help you pay for things such as water, baby formula, prescriptions, and more. Call 1-800-621-3362 to apply, visit the disasterassistance.gov website, or download the app at fema.gov. 

Price gouging 

California law prohibits sellers from raising their prices by more than 10% on goods and services during and after an emergency, which applies to rent for existing tenants and new leases. If their goods and services are newly offered after an emergency, they are not allowed to charge more than 50% more than what it cost them to provide the product or service. Depending on the goods or services, the law could apply for 30 or 180 days after the official emergency declaration. For rentals affected by the fires, the end date is Feb. 6, 2025, unless the emergency declaration is extended. To report price-gouging, contact the Office of the California Attorney General at (800) 952-5225 or submit a complaint on their website. The Office also provides a list of crowdsourced price gougers on its site. 

Utilities payments 

Generally, utilities payments for homes destroyed by fire have been paused. To be certain, you should call and cancel all utilities if your home was destroyed. If you were living in a rental and your utilities were included in your lease, you are not responsible for paying utilities per the law voiding your lease as noted above.  

Southern California Edison has pledged its support to wildfire victims by discontinuing billing for homes that have been destroyed, are uninhabitable, or are in mandatory evacuation zones. The company’s website offers information about relief, payment arrangements, and outages. Southern California Gas and Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) are also automatically forgiving customers’ most recent bill for destroyed homes. LADWP also posts information on its website about “Do Not Drink Water” areas and red flag warnings about possible outages. 

¹ “Fire evacuees can find rooms at these hotels in L.A. and beyond.” LA Times, 13 Jan. 2025.