Los Angeles residents whose homes were destroyed by wildfires in January have received hundreds of millions of dollars in additional aid after a little-noticed federal policy shift in 2023, government records show.
The Biden administration sharply increased the maximum amount of federally backed low-interest disaster loans for home repairs, enabling L.A. homeowners to borrow a staggering $310,000 on average, according to an analysis by POLITICO’s E&E News.
Between 2017 and 2024, the average disaster loan nationwide for home repairs was less than $50,000, the analysis shows.
The Small Business Administration, which plays a role in disaster recovery, increased its maximum loan for home repairs to $500,000 from $200,000 in July 2023. It was the first increase since 1994. The program has given homeowners and renters nearly $40 billion in low-interest loans since 2001.
