California FAIR Plan temporary housing: how Fair Rental Value pays after a fire
By Mike Wojciak, founder, Agile RV Housing
Published October 28, 2026. Last updated November 12, 2026.
Your home is insured through the California FAIR Plan, and a fire has made it unlivable. Temporary housing on that policy comes from Coverage D, Fair Rental Value. It pays a monthly amount equal to what your own home could have rented for, furnished if you carry contents coverage, for the shortest time it takes to repair or replace the home.
That surprises families who expected hotel receipts to be reimbursed. The FAIR Plan's own claims FAQ says the payment is based on the rental value of your home, not on what you spend staying somewhere else, and that its policies have no coverage set aside for the extra costs of relocating.
We're an independent temporary housing company with no tie to the California FAIR Plan Association. The examiner assigned to your claim decides what it pays.
How much does the FAIR Plan pay each month for temporary housing?
Each month's payment is the fair rental value of the part of the home you lived in, minus expenses that stop while it's unlivable, such as a utility bill you no longer pay. The policy caps any one month at one twelfth (1/12) of the coverage, figured on a 30 day month, and never above that monthly rental value.
The FAIR Plan prices the rental value against an equivalent furnished home if your policy includes personal property coverage. Without personal property coverage, the comparison is an equivalent unfurnished home.
Here is the cap on a made-up policy. A homeowner with a $60,000 Fair Rental Value limit can receive no more than $5,000 for any one month, even if the home would rent for more. A smaller limit lowers that monthly ceiling the same way.
The policy's deductible clause doesn't apply to Fair Rental Value. Your sworn proof of loss does have to include records supporting the Fair Rental Value part of the claim, so ask your examiner early which records they want.
Where does the Fair Rental Value money come from?
From one of two places on your declarations page. If there's a checkmark next to Coverage D, Fair Rental Value, you bought a separate limit, and the amount is printed beside it. Whether or not you bought one, the policy lets you use up to 10% of your Coverage A dwelling limit for Fair Rental Value.
That 10% has a cost. Every dollar paid from it reduces your dwelling limit, the same money that rebuilds the house. The FAIR Plan's claims FAQ says plainly that it's not additional coverage. A Fair Rental Value limit you bought is in addition to the 10%.
| What your declarations show | Where Fair Rental Value comes from | Effect on your dwelling limit |
|---|---|---|
| A checkmark next to Coverage D with a limit | The limit shown, plus the option to use up to 10% of Coverage A | None from the purchased limit. Any of the 10% you use reduces Coverage A |
| No checkmark next to Coverage D | Up to 10% of Coverage A | Every dollar used reduces Coverage A |
If your dwelling limit was already short of what a rebuild costs, housing paid from the 10% widens that gap. Read your Coverage D line before you choose where to live.
What does the FAIR Plan not pay while you're displaced?
Meals, mileage, laundry, pet boarding, and storage aren't paid as separate expenses. The FAIR Plan's claims FAQ says its policies don't include designated coverage for additional costs from temporary relocation. Fair Rental Value is the only housing benefit in the policy, and it's measured by your home's rental value.
The FAIR Plan points its customers to a Difference in Conditions policy, often called a DIC or wrap policy, for coverage it leaves out, such as water damage, theft, and liability. The FAIR Plan doesn't sell DIC policies itself.
The California Department of Insurance lists 18 insurers that sell a DIC policy built to pair with the FAIR Plan, among them Mercury, CSAA, Foremost, Farmers, Nationwide, and Travelers' Standard Fire. Each DIC policy has its own form. Whether yours pays living expenses on top of the FAIR Plan, and for which causes of loss, is written in that form. Ask the DIC carrier and get the answer in writing.
How long does FAIR Plan Fair Rental Value last after a wildfire?
For the shortest time needed to repair or replace the home, and the policy says that period isn't cut short when the policy expires. After a declared state of emergency, California Insurance Code section 2060 sets a floor of 24 months for living expense coverage, with extensions to 36 months for delays outside your control.
The statute names unavoidable permit delays, missing construction materials, and a shortage of available contractors as delays outside your control. Past 36 months, it calls for further six month extensions for good cause. The dollar limit on your declarations still applies the whole time.
Section 2060 is written about additional living expense coverage, and the FAIR Plan's housing coverage is Fair Rental Value. Ask your examiner in writing how the state of emergency period applies to your claim.
Total losses are common on FAIR Plan wildfire claims. By May 22, 2025, the plan had received 5,542 claims from the Palisades and Eaton fires, and almost half reported total losses, according to its May 28, 2025 presentation to the Assembly Insurance Committee.
An evacuation by itself works differently. If a civil authority keeps you out of your home because fire damaged a neighboring property, the policy pays Fair Rental Value for no more than two weeks.
Can you get Fair Rental Value paid in advance?
Yes, on a total loss. The FAIR Plan's claims FAQ says that once a claim is confirmed as a total loss, it issues six months of Fair Rental Value in advance, along with 50% advances on the dwelling and contents. The FAQ tells you to raise the advance with your assigned examiner.
That FAQ was last revised February 5, 2025, in the weeks after the Los Angeles fires. Confirm the current practice with your examiner when you ask.
Can Fair Rental Value go toward an RV on your own lot?
The FAIR Plan's policy names no type of housing you must use. Fair Rental Value is measured by what your home would rent for, so the practical test is whether your monthly cap covers the housing you pick. A furnished RV on your lot keeps your household on the property while the rebuild goes on beside it.
One of our units is $120 to $140 a night, tax included. Delivery and setup are quoted separately for each property, since no two lots need the same work. Placements have a 30 day minimum and then run month to month, so the unit leaves when the house is ready.
Put your monthly cap next to what each option costs for 30 days before anyone signs. Our breakdown of what temporary housing costs by region covers hotels, furnished rentals, and RVs. Pets are always welcome in our units, and staying on the lot keeps you close to your contractor.
Whether an RV can sit on a fire-damaged lot is a city or county question. Ventura County, for example, lets an owner whose home was destroyed by a natural disaster live in an RV on the parcel while rebuilding, one RV per destroyed home, set back at least five feet from property lines, under a county zoning clearance. Your city or county sets its own terms, and our free zoning check researches them for your address. The day-to-day side is in our guide to living in an RV on your property during a rebuild.
Our page on temporary housing after a house fire lists local rules from official sources, including Ventura County and Paradise.
You choose your own housing. Confirm your plan with your examiner in writing before move-in, and see choosing your own temporary housing for what makes a choice reasonable.
My background is ten years in RV rental and fleet operations. More about Agile RV Housing.
Does the FAIR Plan cover manufactured and mobile homes?
Yes. A 2025 California law, Senate Bill 525, requires the FAIR Plan to insure manufactured and mobile homes under the same terms and conditions as basic coverage for other homes. Ask your broker which FAIR Plan form your manufactured home policy uses, then read its Coverage D line the same way.
We often place RVs beside manufactured homes on the owner's own land. In our experience, families coming from a manufactured home settle into a furnished RV quickly.
FAIR Plan temporary housing: common questions
Does the California FAIR Plan pay for a hotel?
Not as a hotel bill. Temporary housing on a FAIR Plan dwelling policy is Fair Rental Value, a monthly amount based on what your own home could have rented for. The FAIR Plan's claims FAQ says this coverage is based on your home's rental value, not on the expenses you incur staying at another location.
Does the FAIR Plan cover additional living expenses?
It has no coverage by that name. Coverage D, Fair Rental Value, is its housing benefit, and the claims FAQ says the policy has no designated coverage for extra relocation costs such as meals. A Difference in Conditions policy from a private insurer may add living expenses, so check that policy's form.
How do I find my FAIR Plan Fair Rental Value limit?
Look on your declarations page for a checkmark next to Coverage D, Fair Rental Value. The limit printed beside it is what you bought. With no checkmark, you can still use up to 10% of your Coverage A dwelling limit for Fair Rental Value, and that use reduces the dwelling limit.
Does using Fair Rental Value reduce my dwelling coverage?
Only when it comes from the 10% of Coverage A. The policy says payments under that option reduce the Coverage A limit by the amount paid. A Fair Rental Value limit you bought separately, shown with a checkmark next to Coverage D, is in addition to the 10%.
How long does the FAIR Plan pay Fair Rental Value?
For the shortest time needed to repair or replace the home, and the policy expiring doesn't shorten it. After a declared state of emergency, California Insurance Code section 2060 sets 24 months of living expense coverage, extendable to 36. Ask your examiner how that applies to Fair Rental Value.
Will the FAIR Plan advance temporary housing money?
On a confirmed total loss, the FAIR Plan's claims FAQ says it issues six months of Fair Rental Value in advance, along with 50% advances on the dwelling and contents. Ask your assigned examiner for it.
Does the FAIR Plan pay temporary housing during an evacuation?
In one narrow case. If a civil authority keeps you out of your home because fire damaged a neighboring property, the policy pays Fair Rental Value for no more than two weeks.
Is the California FAIR Plan a state agency?
No. It's an association of every insurer licensed to sell property insurance in California, created by state statute in 1968 and regulated by the Department of Insurance. It gets no public or taxpayer funding and issues policies on behalf of its member companies.
Can I live in an RV on my property with a FAIR Plan claim?
The policy names no housing type, so two questions decide it: whether your monthly Fair Rental Value covers the RV, and whether your city or county allows one on the lot. Our free zoning check answers the second one for your address.
FAIR Plan Fair Rental Value facts
| Item | What the FAIR Plan says | Source | Date checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coverage name | Coverage D, Fair Rental Value | Dwelling Property Policy, CFP 00 01 (05/2026), sample | 2026-10-27 |
| What it pays | Fair rental value of the part of the home you lived in, less expenses that stop while it's unlivable | CFP 00 01 (05/2026) | 2026-10-27 |
| Furnished or unfurnished | Furnished with personal property coverage, unfurnished without it | CFP 00 01 (05/2026) | 2026-10-27 |
| Monthly cap | No more than 1/12 of the coverage per month, on a 30 day month | CFP 00 01 (05/2026) | 2026-10-27 |
| Time period | Shortest time to repair or replace; not limited by policy expiration | CFP 00 01 (05/2026) | 2026-10-27 |
| 10% option | Up to 10% of Coverage A; payments reduce Coverage A | CFP 00 01 (05/2026); Claims FAQ | 2026-10-27 |
| Purchased limit | Shown with a checkmark next to Coverage D; in addition to the 10% option | CFP 00 01 (05/2026) | 2026-10-27 |
| Civil authority | No more than two weeks, after damage to a neighboring location | CFP 00 01 (05/2026) | 2026-10-27 |
| Deductible | Does not apply to Fair Rental Value | CFP 00 01 (05/2026), Condition 27 | 2026-10-27 |
| Relocation costs | No designated coverage for additional costs from temporary relocation | Claims FAQ, revised February 5, 2025 | 2026-10-27 |
| Total loss advance | Six months of Fair Rental Value; 50% on dwelling and contents | Claims FAQ, revised February 5, 2025 | 2026-10-27 |
| State of emergency floor | Living expense coverage of at least 24 months, extensions to 36, then six month extensions for good cause | Cal. Ins. Code 2060(b)(1) | 2026-10-27 |
Sources
- California FAIR Plan Association, Dwelling Property Policy, CFP 00 01 (05/2026), sample effective March 17, 2026. Checked 2026-10-27.
- California FAIR Plan, Claims FAQ, last revised February 5, 2025. Checked 2026-10-27.
- California FAIR Plan, Dwelling policies. Checked 2026-10-27.
- California FAIR Plan, Difference in Conditions (DIC). Checked 2026-10-27.
- California FAIR Plan, About the FAIR Plan. Checked 2026-10-27.
- California Department of Insurance, List of Insurers that Sell Difference in Conditions (DIC) Policies. Checked 2026-10-27.
- California Insurance Code section 2060. Checked 2026-10-27.
- California FAIR Plan Update, presented to the Assembly Insurance Committee, May 28, 2025. Checked 2026-10-27.
- County of Ventura, Temporary Housing After a Disaster, Frequently Asked Questions. Checked 2026-10-27.
- California Legislature, Senate Bill 525 (2025), Chapter 476, Statutes of 2025, chaptered text. Checked 2026-10-30.
Policy forms are revised over time. The sample above is the edition we read on the date shown. Your own declarations page and the policy issued to you control your claim. Nothing here is legal advice or a coverage decision.
Run your address before you pick housing
Put your address into our free zoning check. Our staff researches what your city or county allows on your lot and sends a report within one business day.
Then call us at (850) 605-4922 with the Coverage D line from your declarations page in front of you. Our phones are answered 7 am to midnight Eastern, every day.