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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced today that it has exhausted available funds for its disaster loan program due to the high demand for financial relief following Hurricane Helene.

As a result, the SBA is pausing new loan offers for its low-interest, long-term disaster loans until Congress appropriates additional funding.

However, the SBA is encouraging disaster survivors, including individuals and small businesses, to continue submitting loan applications, with assurances from congressional leaders that more funds will be allocated once Congress reconvenes in November.

While new loan offers are temporarily halted, the SBA’s loan application portal remains open, and its disaster centers and staff remain fully operational across the country. The agency continues to accept new applications and prepare eligible borrowers to receive loan offers as soon as additional funding is made available. Disaster survivors seeking financial assistance for personal belongings, residential property damage, and business losses are urged to begin the application process without delay.

What Disaster Survivors Should Know

The SBA is continuing to process loan applications and support existing borrowers despite the funding lapse. New applications from all 173 federally declared disaster areas will be accepted and placed in a queue for processing once additional funding is secured. These applications will be processed in the order they are received, with eligible applicants receiving loan offers when funds are available.

Key points for disaster survivors:

• Applicants should submit their loan applications as soon as possible.
• Loan applications that meet eligibility and underwriting criteria will be processed and queued for loan offers once Congress provides funding.
• The SBA will continue to issue declines for applicants who do not meet eligibility criteria and will offer resources for further support.
• Borrowers with existing loan offers will continue to receive loan disbursements.
• The SBA will also support existing borrowers in managing loan servicing actions and modifications.

The SBA has already received around 37,000 applications for relief from those affected by Hurricane Helene, making over 700 loan offers totaling $48 million so far. For those impacted by Hurricane Milton, the agency has received over 12,000 applications.

The SBA may still issue a limited number of new loan offers during this period through loan cancellations and other actions that free up funds.

SBA Disaster Loans

The SBA provides long-term, low-interest loans to business owners, nonprofits, homeowners, and renters following federally declared disasters. These loans offer critical financial relief to those recovering from disasters, allowing them to avoid high-interest loans or credit cards.

Once Congress provides additional funding, eligible disaster survivors may apply for loans up to:

• $500,000 for homeowners to repair or replace damaged real estate.
• $100,000 for homeowners and renters to repair or replace personal property.
• $2 million for businesses to cover both physical damage and economic injury from business disruption.

Interest rates are set at 4% for businesses, 3.25% for nonprofit organizations, and 2.813% for homeowners and renters. Loan terms extend up to 30 years, and interest will not begin to accrue until 12 months after the first loan disbursement.

How to Apply

Disaster survivors can apply for SBA loans online and access more information at sba.gov/disaster. Additional assistance is available by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955 or emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Those who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability can dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services. For other disaster recovery resources, survivors are also encouraged to visit disasterassistance.gov.

This article, “SBA Exhausts Funds for New Disaster Loans, Urges Continued Applications as Agency Awaits Additional Funding” was first published on Small Business Trends