2026-09-27 · Federal · Legislation · Pending — not yet law

What happened. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on September 15, 2026 ordered reported, by voice vote, a bill that would give disaster survivors 90 days instead of 60 to appeal a FEMA assistance decision. H.R. 8409, the Post-Disaster Protection Act, still needs House and Senate passage.¹

What the bill does

The operative text is a single amendment to section 423(a) of the Stafford Act (42 U.S.C. 5189a(a)), “striking 60 days and inserting 90 days.”² Section 423 governs appeals of decisions on eligibility for, and the amount of, federal disaster assistance. The bill was introduced April 21, 2026 by Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) and has 17 cosponsors from both parties.¹

Where associations meet the appeal clock

Community associations and their members encounter FEMA's appeal deadline in two ways: unit owners appealing individual-assistance decisions after a storm, and disputes over eligibility for work in association-owned areas such as debris removal on private roads. The Community Associations Institute supports the bill and has written to the committee in favour of it.³ A longer window matters most in the months after a major event, when associations are simultaneously managing insurance claims, contractor scheduling and special assessments.

What to watch next

• The committee report and a House floor vote.
• Whether the change is folded into a larger FEMA reform bill, such as the FEMA Act of 2025 (H.R. 4669), which the same committee reported in September 2025 and which has not reached the floor.⁴

Related: House bill would create SBA disaster loans for HOA common areas.

1. H.R. 8409 (119th Cong.), bill status, GovInfo ↩
2. H.R. 8409 (119th Cong.), introduced text ↩
3. Community Associations Institute, FEMA update (June 10, 2026) ↩
4. H.R. 4669 (119th Cong.), FEMA Act of 2025, bill status, GovInfo ↩