At the request of Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards, President Joseph Biden declared that a “major disaster” exists in much of south Louisiana due to damage caused by Hurricane Ida. One consequence of this declaration is that businesses, cooperatives, and non-profit agencies operating in the “major disaster” area are eligible to apply for low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration (SBA).  Homeowners in the major disaster area with damage not covered by insurance are also eligible to apply for a loan from the SBA loan to assist with the cost of home repairs.

The SBA offers disaster-related loans to businesses: (1) to repair physical damage to a business; (2) to assist with economic injury (e.g., a business that has lost revenue but has ongoing expenses); and (3) to assist a business whose essential employee(s) is a military reservist called to active duty.  The SBA also offers disaster-related loans to individuals for the cost of making disaster-related repairs to their primary residence or to replace personal property destroyed in the disaster (if insurance is not available).

You can learn more about SBA disaster loans here, and begin the application process here. Importantly, SBA disaster loans are loans, not grants; they must be repaid. The interest rates and repayment terms for SBA disaster loans are better than many borrowers would be able to obtain from commercial lenders. According to the SBA’s Disaster Declaration Fact Sheet for Hurricane Ida, currently located here, the interest rates for the more popular SBA disaster loans are as follows:

For Physical Damage:

  • Homeowners with Credit Available Elsewhere 3.125
  • Homeowners without Credit Available Elsewhere 1.563
  • Businesses with Credit Available Elsewhere 5.710
  • Businesses without Credit Available Elsewhere 2.855
  • Non-Profit Organizations with Credit Available Elsewhere 2.000
  • Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere 2.000

For Economic Injury:

  • Businesses & Small Agricultural Cooperatives without Credit Available Elsewhere 2.855
  • Non-Profit Organizations without Credit Available Elsewhere 2.000

Businesses and individuals in the following Louisiana parishes are currently eligible for Physical Damage and Economic Injury loans: Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, Saint Bernard, Saint Charles, Saint Helena, Saint James, Saint Martin, Saint Mary, Saint Tammany, St. John the Baptist, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, West Baton Rouge, West Feliciana.

Businesses and individuals in the following Louisiana parishes are currently eligible for (only) Economic Injury loans: Avoyelles, Concordia, Lafayette, Saint Landry, Vermilion.  Businesses and individuals in the following counties in Mississippi are also currently eligible for (only) Economic Injury loans: Amite, Hancock, Marion, Pearl River, Pike, Walthall, Wilkinson.

Contact author and attorney, Eric Lockridge, with questions concerning this blog post and the content within.