Evaluating tenant relocation outcomes from flood-related voluntary property buyouts in the United States

Abstract

In the United States (U.S.) flooding is a persistent and costly natural disaster. Flood hazards can be mitigated through voluntary property buyouts, where property owners voluntarily agree to sell their property to the government and the property is maintained as open space. Little is known about where people relocate after a buyout and whether their flood risk is mitigated through this program. In particular, there is limited research evaluating the impact on tenants of buyout properties, who do not benefit monetarily from buyouts as homeowners do. This paper evaluated rental property buyouts conducted through the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) between 2006 and 2017, tracking a total of 245 tenant households that were displaced from the buyout to their next location. Relocation trends were evaluated in terms of distance of the move and how flood exposure changed from the buyout address to the relocation address. Most tenant households relocated short distances, and more than 70% reduced their exposure to flood hazards. However, nearly 10% of tenants remained in flood-prone areas after relocating, suggesting that the buyout may not have eliminated flood risk for all impacted populations. Some individual household characteristics were also evaluated with regards to relocation trends. A majority of tenant households experienced the flood which triggered the buyout, but this experience did not appear to influence relocation trends when compared to households who did not experience the flooding. Additionally, households with children were more likely to reduce their flood hazard than households without children. The findings suggest that relocation decisions may be more complex than just experience with environmental disasters and family structure. This analysis provides preliminary information regarding buyout outcomes of tenants but is limited to analysis of secondary information. Future research may consider interviewing residents who are impacted by buyouts to better understand their experiences with buyouts and what factors are driving their relocation decisions.