LA Wildfire Displacement Help in 2027: What's Still Available Two Years After the Fires
January 7, 2027 marks two years since the Eaton and Palisades fires. If your family is still in temporary housing, that date matters for more than the anniversary. Insurance living-expense coverage, FEMA housing money and mortgage relief all have deadlines or rule changes landing between now and next summer. Some programs have already closed, including LA County's $23 million Emergency Rent Relief Program for fire-affected landlords and displaced homeowners, which stopped taking applications on January 23, 2026.
Here's what is still open, what's changing and what to do before each deadline.
Key Dates to Know
October 9, 2026: FEMA's extended housing assistance for renters ends.
January 1, 2027: Two new California laws take effect. One protects living-expense coverage for smoke-damaged homes, and the other expands wildfire mortgage forbearance.
January 7, 2027: The two-year mark. It's the end of the minimum period for insurance living expenses on many claims, but not an automatic cutoff.
July 9, 2027: FEMA's extended housing assistance for homeowners ends.
If Your Insurance Living Expenses Are Running Out
Many survivors are hearing that their Additional Living Expenses (ALE) coverage ends on January 7, 2027. That isn't automatically true.
Under California Insurance Code § 2060, after a declared state of emergency, ALE must be available for at least 24 months. If rebuilding is delayed by things outside your control, like permits, materials or contractor shortages, the insurer must grant up to 12 more months, for 36 months total. The California Department of Insurance says additional six-month extensions must be given for good cause after that.
Two big limits still apply. Time extensions don't add money, so if you've used up your policy's ALE dollar limit, the payments stop. And renters' insurance often covers living expenses only until you can move back or reasonably find another rental, whichever comes first.
What to do now, well before January:
Ask your insurer in writing for your ALE payment history, the remaining dollar limit and the date they expect it to run out.
Request the extension in writing. Cite § 2060 and explain why you can't move home yet.
Document every delay. Keep permit applications, contractor bids, emails and inspection dates that show you've kept the project moving.
If your home is standing but smoke-damaged, a new law (the Smoke Damage Recovery Act, AB 1795) takes effect January 1, 2027. For covered smoke claims in the wildfire impact zone, it bars insurers from ending ALE until the home is restored and cleared for occupancy, subject to your policy limit. Insurers may argue over whether it applies to 2025 fire claims, so raise it in writing before any cutoff.
If your insurer won't cooperate, call the California Department of Insurance hotline at (800) 927-4357.
FEMA Housing Help: Different Deadlines for Renters and Owners
In June 2026, FEMA extended housing assistance for the 2025 fires (disaster DR-4856-CA), but it treated renters and owners differently:
Renters: All financial assistance ends October 9, 2026. Renters can receive up to 21 months of temporary housing help, which may include October 2026 costs.
Homeowners: Assistance continues through July 9, 2027, for up to 30 months of temporary housing help.
Continued Temporary Housing Assistance is for people who used up their first round of FEMA rental money and still don't have permanent housing. Only applicants who received initial rental assistance before July 9, 2026 can be considered. FEMA looks at your current housing costs and income and may cover the gap between what you can afford and what you're paying.
You have 60 days to appeal any FEMA decision. That still holds even if a decision arrives less than 60 days before the program ends. FEMA's helpline is (800) 621-3362.
Mortgage Relief for Homeowners
Forbearance under state law. California's wildfire forbearance law (AB 238) lets borrowers with a fire-related hardship pause mortgage payments in 90-day increments, with no late fees during the forbearance. A new law, AB 1847, takes effect January 1, 2027. It:
Raises the maximum forbearance from 12 months to 24 months.
Moves the latest request deadline from January 7, 2027 to January 7, 2029, or six months after the state of emergency ends, if that's sooner.
Requires you to affirm that the home is uninhabitable because of the fire.
Requires servicers to offer the option of deferring forborne payments to the end of the loan.
If you're near the end of 12 months of forbearance now, ask your servicer about extending once the new law takes effect. For help, LA County's Department of Consumer and Business Affairs runs a free foreclosure prevention line at (800) 593-8222.
CalAssist Mortgage Fund. This state program pays up to 12 months of mortgage payments, capped at $100,000, directly to your servicer. You don't pay it back. It covers primary residences that were destroyed or left uninhabitable by a qualifying disaster, including the 2025 LA fires, and there are income and loan-size limits. If you already got three months of help, you can be offered more to reach 12. Apply at calassistmortgagefund.org.
Help for Renters
Renters have fewer recovery tools than homeowners, and some protections have ended. LA County's post-fire ban on rent gouging expired on May 29, 2026. Landlords are no longer held to the 10% cap over pre-fire rents. Regular local rent control rules still apply where they cover your unit.
What's still available:
Union Station Homeless Services Eaton Fire Housing Assistance: For households directly affected by the Eaton Fire. It can pay security deposits, rent, back rent, essential furnishings and motel vouchers, or provide rental assistance for several months. Income limits are waived, but income affects how much help you get. You'll need proof that your home, workplace or child's daycare was destroyed or uninhabitable because of the fire. Fill out the questionnaire at ushs.org/efhap, and a staff member should contact you within three business days.
211 LA: Call 211 for current rental assistance and housing referrals anywhere in the county.
Get a Free Disaster Case Manager
A disaster case manager can help with FEMA appeals, insurance disputes, rebuilding decisions and finding local aid. The program is free for Eaton and Palisades fire survivors. You don't have to be registered with FEMA. Call the statewide line at (833) 775-3267 (775-DCMP), or submit an interest form through the Los Angeles Region Community Recovery Organization (larcro.org).
The program almost shut down on September 30, 2026, because federal funding was late. FEMA released another $6.6 million that day, but the rest of the funding is still pending. If you want a case manager, call now.
Related Guides
If the fires left gaps in your budget, these Los Angeles guides list nonprofits and churches that help with rent, food and bills:
Closing Thoughts
Two years in, the help that's left mostly goes to people who ask for it in writing and on time. Mark the dates above. Get your insurer's numbers before January. And if you're a homeowner near the end of forbearance, talk to your servicer as the new rules start. If it's all too much to manage alone, a disaster case manager can take some of it off your plate.
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