Home-Elevation Grants Increased to $100,000 in Louisiana

Louisiana officials say they will let applicants for a federal home-elevation grant program collect as much as $100,000 for raising their houses above base flood levels, rather than the $30,000 cap the state originally imposed.

Paul Rainwater, executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, says too few Louisiana homeowners were choosing to participate because the grants weren’t covering their expenses.

The state was offering as much as $30,000 to Road Home applicants willing to raise their homes, and the National Flood Insurance Program offered another $30,000 for that purpose.

Now, with the expansion of a third program, homeowners could conceivably get as much as $160,000 to cover the expenses, which often run in the range of $70,000 and vary depending on the size of the house.