DR-4860-KY MLR RFI_7.23.2025.pdf

DR-4860-KY

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

Severe Storms, Straight- line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides – DR-4860-KY

MULTIFAMILY LEASE & REPAIR REQUEST FOR INFORMATION # 70FBR425I00000014

THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) is issued in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 15.201(d) & (e). This RFI does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP), Invitation for Bid (IFB), or Request for Quotation (RFQ), and it is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contract, nor will the Government pay for the information submitted in response to this request. All information contained in this RFI is preliminary and is subject to change if, and when, a solicitation is issued. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract. If a competitive solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the System for Award Management (SAM.gov) website. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this RFI, or future solicitations.

BACKGROUND

Multifamily Lease and Repair (MLR) is a form of Direct Temporary Housing Assistance that allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to repair or make improvements to existing multifamily rental properties for the purpose of providing temporary housing to eligible applicants who are displaced Severe Storms, Straight- line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides under DR-4860-KY. FEMA may utilize this form of temporary housing assistance for eligible applicants who are unable to use rental assistance due to lack of available resources. MLR is not intended to repair or improve individual rental properties to re-house existing tenants.

PROJECT SCOPE/DELIVERABLES

FEMA is seeking multifamily rental properties in the State of Kentucky counties of Breathitt, Clay, Estill, Floyd, Harlan, Johnson, Knott, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike, or future declared counties. Properties located in an undeclared county may be considered but must be must have been impacted by a major disaster, in the State of Kentucky, and within thirty (30) to sixty (60) minutes from the affected areas or within a distance that does not place an undue hardship to applicants. Properties should have incurred damages from Severe Storms, Straight- line Winds, Flooding, Landslides, and Mudslides under DR-4860-KY and can be repaired to local, state, and federal codes/standards. Repaired properties will be offered as temporary housing for FEMA applicants up to 18-months from the date of declaration, with option of lease extension.

Each property must have been previously used as a multifamily housing and contain two or more rental units. The property must be repairable within a four-month period and cannot be in a floodway. Within this program, there is no rental cost for the eligible applicant. The repair costs are funded by the State/FEMA and the value of these repairs are deducted from the value of the lease agreement between the State/FEMA and the property owner. All interested property owners are encouraged to participate.

PROPERTY REQUIREMENTS & PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION CRITERIA

FEMA will enter into a lease agreement with the property owner and pay for the cost of repairs/improvements or provide monthly rent to the property owner when the total estimated cost of repairs is less than the Fair Market Rent (FMR) rates identified by the U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) value of the lease. The total amount of monthly rent payments may not exceed the difference between the total estimated cost of repairs and the FMR value of the lease. FEMA will not pay monthly rent when total projected cost of all necessary repairs and improvements equals or exceeds the FMR value of the lease.

Property management companies must be willing to act on behalf of the government with property owners or their agents in all aspects of the lease, including but not limited to, inspecting properties, managing tenant concerns, ensuring building maintenance occurs, executing tenant leases with FEMA applicants, and tenant lease evictions. Property owners will be required to evaluate potential units or properties to ensure properties adhere to all local, state, and federal codes, standards, permitting, and inspection requirements to be considered habitable by the agency.

Owners of multifamily properties meeting the criteria below who are interested in participating in MLR are encouraged to respond to this RFI:

• The property must have been previously used as multifamily housing;

• The property must contain two or more units;

• The property must be located in an area included in a major disaster declaration or impacted by the same disaster and located within thirty (30) to up to sixty (60) minutes commuting distance of a major disaster declaration area within the State of Kentucky;

• Each unit must provide complete and independent living facilities for one or more persons and contain permanent provisions for living, sleeping, cooking, and sanitation;

• The property/unit must comply with Housing Quality Standards established by Housing and Urban Development, and all utilities, appliances, and other furnishings must be functional.

• The property must be located within reasonable commuting distance to community and wrap-around services, such as accessible public transportation, schools, fire and emergency services, grocery stores, etc.;

• The vacant units on the property must be available to be leased to FEMA allowing FEMA’s exclusive use as temporary housing for eligible applicants for a term of no less than 18 months with the possibility of contract extension;

• The property owner must provide all property management services, including building maintenance; and

• All contractors must be registered in System for Award Management (SAM) and have a Unique Entity Identifier.

Interested property owners are advised of the following terms and conditions will apply to any agreement between FEMA and owners of property selected for MLR:

• A provision granting FEMA exclusive use of the units and sole discretion to identify and select occupants during the term of lease agreement;

• A provision granting FEMA the option to extend the lease if FEMA extends the period of assistance beyond 18 months;

• A provision granting FEMA the option of releasing the unit to the owner and ceasing all monthly payments for the unit at any time by providing thirty days’ notice;

• A provision allowing FEMA to make reasonable accommodation and/or modification repairs or improvements during the term of the lease agreement without requiring FEMA to remove the improvements at the end of lease agreement;

• A provision incorporating a lease addendum containing FEMA’s conditions of eligibility and termination of tenancy and eviction into any lease between the property owner and the occupant;

• A provision agreeing to waive credit screening for eligible applicants;

• A provision allowing FEMA to re-assign a vacated unit when eligible applicants need temporary housing assistance, and a unit becomes available before the end of the period of assistance;

• Property owners must be current and in good standing with property mortgage payments and ensure mortgage standing verification is provided as well as proof of ownership.

• Property owners/ managers are responsible for all eviction proceedings as required due to an applicant’s violation of program rules or end of the period of assistance.

• Property owners must provide all building maintenance services.

Requested Information

Interested property owners should submit the following information via email to the Points of Contact listed below. Responses will be used to determine which properties meet MLR criteria and provide the timeliest, most cost-effective means of providing direct assistance to eligible disaster survivors.

• Complex name (if applicable) and location of property;

• Property owner name, and phone number;

• Confirmation that the property owner is current and up to date with the property’s

• mortgage payments;

• Total number of housing units within the property;

• Number of vacant units (a separate bathroom, kitchen, and living space) available for

FEMA's exclusive use and the number of bedrooms each unit contains;

• Number of vacant housing units compliant with the Uniform Federal Accessibility

Standards (UFAS) and/or have features that provide accessibility for individuals with disabilities;

• Description of repairs and improvements required to make the housing units habitable;

• Projected length of time required to make the housing units habitable (from execution of the contract);

• Repair or improvement estimates (if available);

• Description and timeline of repairs currently underway (if applicable);

• Year building was constructed (if known);

• Years the building was used for multifamily housing;

• Rental rates during the last year of operation (state whether utilities were included and, if so, which ones);

• Any applicable pet restrictions, such as what pets are allowed in the units and any restrictions on amount, breed, or size of pets, and any applicable pet deposits or monthly charges;

• Number of parking spaces (including accessible and van-accessible) available for each housing unit.

DEFINITIONS

Applicant: An individual or household who has applied for FEMA Assistance, and because of the disaster has a disaster-caused need for temporary housing.

Fair Housing Act: Protects people from discrimination when they are renting, buying, or securing financing for any housing. The prohibitions specifically cover discrimination because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and the presence of children.

Fair Market Rent (FMR): Housing market-wide estimates of rent values in which rental housing units are in competition. The FMR rates applied are those identified by HUD as being adequate for existing rental housing in a particular area. FEMA uses the applicable rate based upon the location of the housing unit, the number of bedrooms in the housing unit, and the fiscal year in which the major disaster declaration was issued.

Multifamily Lease and Repair (MLR): MLR allows for the repair or improvement of existing multi-family housing which FEMA can utilize as temporary housing for eligible applicants.

MLR is not intended to repair or improve individual units to re- house existing tenants.

Occupant: An applicant, co-applicant, or any household member over the age of 18 who is listed on the Temporary Housing Agreement, as being authorized to reside in the Temporary Housing Unit (THU).

Period of Assistance: Individuals and Households Program (IHP) assistance is limited to 18 months following the date of the disaster declaration. The period of assistance begins at the date of the Presidential declaration and not the date on which the disaster is designated for Individual Assistance (IA). The President may extend the period of assistance due to extraordinary circumstances that an extension would be in public interest. Through the delegation of authority, the Assistant Administrator (AA) for Recovery may, at the request of a state, territorial, and tribal government, extend the period of assistance for the IHP Financial Assistance, Direct Temporary Housing Assistance, or both.

Period of Performance (POP): The POP is for 18 months after the Presidentially declared disaster February 24, 2025.

Reasonable Commuting Distance: A distance which does not place an undue hardship on an applicant. It also takes into consideration the traveling time due to road conditions; e.g., mountainous regions or bridges out and the normal commuting patterns of the area.

Repair: To restore a property or component of the property to a functional condition that will make the property safe and adequate for temporary housing

Unit: A living quarter within a multi-family housing building that provides complete and independent living facilities for one or more persons and contain permanent provisions for living, sleeping, cooking, and sanitation.

Utilities: Services such as water, gas, electricity, heating oil, and/or propane. Utilities do not include amenity services, e.g., cable, television, internet, telephone, etc.

SUBMISSION OF CAPABILITY PACKAGES INSTRUCTIONS

In addition to the requested information above, interested property owners should submit a brief capabilities' statement package via email to the Points of Contact listed below. There is no page limitation on your submission.

This documentation should address, at a minimum, the following to demonstrate the property owner’s capability to perform the requirements:

• Cover page with the property/company name, Unique Entity Identifier, CAGE Code, web address, address, point of contact, telephone number, e-mail address, size of your organization, and, if applicable, the small business socioeconomic category;

• The vendor's technical capability to deliver the aforementioned services within the specified timeframe;

• Past experience with similar requirements along with the contract type/ pricing methodology;

• The vendor's capacity in the State of Kentucky to include the number of available properties and access to additional properties; and

• The vendor's ability to manage, as prime, the types and magnitude of services required.

Please provide additional information you deem relevant to respond to the specifics of the RFI. The Government is not requesting any proprietary information to be submitted, nor shall it be liable for any consequential damages for proprietary information included. Any information submitted to the RFI (e.g. capability statement) is subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 USC 552 (a). All submissions submitted will not be returned.

RESPONSE DEADLINE: RFI responses and comments are due as soon as possible but no later than 3:00 PM ET, August 23, 2025, via email to the POC listed below. The email subject line shall read: RFI #70FBR425I00000014 Response: MLR – DR4860- KY

POINTS OF CONTACT:

Contracting Officer: Nicole Joseph and Brigitte Huffin

Email: FEMA-DR4860KY-MLR-RFI@fema.dhs.gov

Phone calls will not be accepted or returned.

All responses received and questions answered will be considered as part of the market research for this requirement in accordance with FAR 10.001(a)(3).

SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS: Small Business concerns are encouraged to provide responses to this RFI in order to assist in determining competition determination. The applicable NAICS code is 531110. The applicable PSC is X1FA.

Rainey, Skylar Update once received from CO