The National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced that “significant improvements” have been made to the 21st Century Flood Reform Act (H.R. 2874), a bill that aims to improve the financial stability of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
NAR announced its support of the House Financial Services Committee’s commitment to retaining “grandfathering” – a policy that protects homeowners from significant rate increases when a flood map changes.
NAR added that the most recent draft will limit proposed increases to fees and rate hikes that policyholders faced under previous iterations of the legislation. Earlier versions of the legislation included more dramatic cost increases for homeowners and eliminated grandfathering protections beginning in 2021.
When the bill initially passed the committee, it only received a 30-26 vote.
“House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas), as well as Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance Chairman Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), deserve high praise for working with Realtors to improve this legislation,” NAR President William E. Brown said in a statement. “The changes to the 21st Century Flood Reform Act will help give certainty to homeowners who have brought their property to code and have done their part to protect it against flood risk.”
Brown added that the association is eager to see reauthorization of NFIP progress quickly. The program is set to expire Sept. 30, 2017.
“Leaders on both sides of the aisle are well aware that this issue touches 22,000 communities – in every state, both coastal and inland,” Brown added. “We’re grateful for the committee’s support and look forward to their continued efforts on behalf of homeowners.”
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