Fort Lauderdale Has $12.4 Million in Flood Recovery Grants, but Few Homeowners Are Applying

Fort Lauderdale has $12.4 million in federal disaster recovery grant money available to homeowners still repairing damage from the April 2023 flood, but only 241 people have applied since the program opened in May, CBS News Miami reported on Oct. 19. Residents say neighbors are holding back out of fear that inspections could raise their property assessments or expose unpermitted repairs, and because the paperwork has proven hard to finish.

City officials say those fears are largely unfounded and that the grants are designed to cover the very permitting problems homeowners worry about.

The flood behind the money

On April 12, 2023, Fort Lauderdale was hit by a historic deluge. The National Weather Service recorded a preliminary 25.91 inches of rain in about 24 hours, which would rank as the greatest single-day total in Florida's recorded history. Streets and neighborhoods went underwater, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport closed for nearly 40 hours, and Broward County reported roughly 800 swift-water rescues.

Joint state and federal damage teams assessed more than 1,300 homes in the days afterward and found more than 1,000 with major damage, according to reporting at the time on the state's request for a federal disaster declaration. Many homeowners in neighborhoods such as Edgewood have spent the years since paying for repairs out of their own pockets or waiting for help.

Where the grants come from

The money flows through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery program, known as CDBG-DR. Fort Lauderdale was awarded $88,051,000 for the April 2023 flood under the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2025, according to the city. That award includes about $76.6 million for unmet recovery needs and about $11.5 million set aside for mitigation.

When the city released its draft plan in fall 2025, it proposed more than $40 million for housing and $19 million for drainage and other infrastructure meant to reduce future flooding. HUD designated the entire city as a most-impacted area, so homeowners citywide can qualify, and the city's action plan commits at least 70% of the money to benefit low- and moderate-income households.

CBS News Miami did not say how the $12.4 million now on offer to homeowners fits within the city's larger $88 million award, and the city's public notices reviewed for this story did not spell out per-home award limits.

The city's housing programs cover four kinds of help:

• Rehabilitation of flood-damaged homes
• Reconstruction of homes too damaged to repair
• Elevation of homes to reduce future flood risk
• Reimbursement for eligible repair costs homeowners already paid

The application portal opened in late May. The city held an in-person help session on Aug. 1 at the South Side Cultural Arts Center on South Andrews Avenue, where staff walked residents through the forms. CBS News Miami did not report an application deadline, and the city's public notices reviewed for this story did not list one.

Federal aid that came before

The grants are the latest layer of federal help for the 2023 flood. President Joe Biden approved a major disaster declaration for Broward County, FEMA-4709-DR, on April 27, 2023. By late July of that year, FEMA reported $34.1 million approved in Individual Assistance for affected households, and the window to apply for FEMA aid in Broward has long since closed. For many homeowners, FEMA aid and insurance did not cover the full cost of repairs, which is why the city's plan includes reimbursement for homeowners who paid the rest themselves.

Outside the city limits, Broward County received its own separate CDBG-DR allocation of $29,222,000 from HUD for 2023 storm and flood damage countywide, excluding Fort Lauderdale, which got its own award.

How reimbursement works

Rachel Williams, Fort Lauderdale's housing and community development manager, has described the reimbursement piece as a way to close gaps left by other aid. In a 2025 interview with CBS News Miami, she gave the example of a homeowner who spent $20,000 on repairs, received $2,000 from FEMA and about $15,000 from insurance, and was left $3,000 short. That homeowner could seek reimbursement for the $3,000, subject to the program's eligibility rules.

Why homeowners are hesitating

Edgewood homeowner Anthony O'Gorman, who had about $80,000 in flood damage, told CBS News Miami that neighbors worry an inspection could lead to their home being reassessed at a higher value, raising their property tax bill. Others fear fines or fees for repairs they made without permits in the rush to get back into their homes. "I think people are afraid to even come forward for the money," O'Gorman said.

Corrina Montes, another Edgewood resident, paid $58,000 out of pocket. She told the station that case managers repeatedly asked her to redo paperwork and that contacts at FEMA and the U.S. Small Business Administration were hard to reach. "It's just cumbersome," she said.

What the city says

Williams said inspectors look only at flood-related damage. She said the grant covers after-the-fact permits and the cost of bringing unpermitted work up to code, so homeowners pay nothing out of pocket for those fixes. "If you did unpermitted work, we can help you," she said.

On the tax question, Florida law offers homestead owners some protection. Under section 193.155(4)(b) of the Florida Statutes, repairing or replacing a homestead damaged by misfortune or calamity generally does not raise its capped assessed value under the Save Our Homes limit, as long as the home is not substantially enlarged. The Legislature amended that provision in 2025. Homeowners with specific questions can check with the Broward County Property Appraiser before applying.

What it means for Fort Lauderdale

Low participation matters because CDBG-DR grants come with federal spending deadlines, and the housing money is meant for residents who have not fully recovered. For homeowners like Montes, who have already spent tens of thousands of dollars, the reimbursement program may be the only realistic way to recover some of those costs more than three years after the storm.

What's next

Homeowners can apply through the city's CDBG-DR online portal, and the city's housing assistance line is 954-495-4533. The pace of applications over the coming months will show whether the city's assurances about inspections and permits are enough to overcome residents' doubts.