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Jan 1 Alert: New Homes in Floodplain Must be Elevated for Financing

Jan 1 Alert: New Homes in Floodplain Must be Elevated for Financing

Beginning January 1, 2025 new homes in the Special Flood Hazard Area must be at least two feet above the Base Flood Elevation to qualify for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) Mortgage Insurance.

If your community does not require the Lowest Floor of new homes to be at least two feet above the Base Flood Elevation - 
Please directly notify any new applicants or anyone with construction underway. 

Many, but not all, communities in Vermont have adopted the VT model standards, and require the Lowest Floor Elevations of new buildings to be at least two feet above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE).

This new rule does not affect financing for existing, Substantially Damaged, or Substantially Improved structures. 

On April 23rd, HUD published a Final Rule in the Federal Register to interpret the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS).   HUD’s Minimum Property Standards for one- to four-unit family housing under the FHA mortgage insurance program, and low-rent public housing programs, requires that the lowest floor in newly constructed structures be built at least two feet above the 100-year base flood elevation.

In Vermont, the HUD Minimum Property Standard the FFRMS is determined by the Free-board Value Approach (FVA) as two feet above the Base Flood Elevation.

For more information:

 

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