In his latest blog post, Mayor Friedberg explains what he calls the 50% Rule.
“It’s mandated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the City is required to enforce it as part of our National Flood Insurance Program community floodplain management rating. Essentially, the 50% Rule provides that if the cost of improvements or to repair damage exceeds 50% of the market value of the structure, it must be brought into compliance. Note also that the Rule is cumulative of past repair costs, so for homes that flooded in 2015 and/or 2016, new flooding from Hurricane Harvey might bring the total above the 50% mark. This was explained to affected homeowners back at the time their prior flood repairs were permitted.
However, he goes on to say “Please don’t make any decisions based solely on your contractor’s repair estimate or on the value of your structure according to the Harris County Appraisal District. The Building Official may consider an alternative scope of work to bring down the documented cost of repairs. And as they have in past flooding events, in consultation with FEMA, department staff may be able to utilize other valuation tools to establish a more realistic value per square foot than the HCAD appraised value.
