2026-09-27 · Federal · Legislation

What happened. The National Flood Insurance Program's authority to write and renew policies, and to borrow from the Treasury, now runs through December 11, 2026. The extension rides in the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027 (H.R. 6500), signed September 2, 2026 as Public Law 119-103. The program had been set to expire September 30.¹²

What the law says

Section 139 of the act provides that sections 1309(a) and 1319 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 “shall be applied by substituting the date specified in section 106(3) of this Act for ‘September 30, 2026’.” Section 106(3) is December 11, 2026 — the same date the stopgap government funding ends.² Section 1309(a) is the program's Treasury borrowing authority; section 1319 is its authority to issue new and renewal policies.

The Senate passed the measure with amendments 90–6 on August 8, the House agreed 370–48 on September 1, and it was signed the next day, so there was no lapse.¹ The previous extension, in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, had carried the program to September 30.³

Why it matters to condominium associations

Condominium associations in flood zones commonly insure their buildings through the program's Residential Condominium Building Association Policy, and unit owners buy individual NFIP policies. FEMA states that during a lapse it would “stop selling and renewing policies,” while claims on policies already in force continue to be paid.³ A lapse therefore bites hardest on master policies and unit policies with renewal dates inside the gap, and on unit sales that need new flood coverage to close a federally backed mortgage.

What to watch next

• December 11, 2026. The flood program is again tied to the government-funding deadline, so its fate depends on how Congress handles fiscal 2027 appropriations.
• Long-term reauthorization. The stand-alone NFIP Extension Act (H.R. 5577) was reported in January 2026 and saw no action in the summer.⁴ The program has run on short-term extensions since 2017.

How the master policy, coinsurance and the reauthorization cycle work is covered on the NFIP flood insurance topic page.

1. H.R. 6500 (119th Cong.), bill status, GovInfo ↩
2. Public Law 119-103, Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, §§ 106, 139 ↩
3. FEMA, NFIP congressional reauthorization ↩
4. H.R. 5577 (119th Cong.), bill status, GovInfo ↩