Panama City Hurricane Isaias Temporary Housing: Live in an RV on Your Own Lot

    By Michael Wojciak, founder, Agile RV Housing

    Updated October 7, 2026: Bay County is inside the National Hurricane Center's Hurricane Watch, and NHC forecasts 5 to 7 feet of storm surge from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Indian Pass, Florida, a stretch that includes Panama City Beach, Panama City, and Mexico Beach (NHC Advisory 4).

    Agile RV Housing places a fully set up RV on your own lot in Panama City, Panama City Beach, Lynn Haven, Callaway, Mexico Beach, or anywhere in Bay County when storm damage leaves your home unlivable. It is for homeowners with homeowners insurance. Loss of Use (Coverage D, also called Additional Living Expense) often pays for it once your adjuster approves it, and we work with your adjuster.

    Delivery is about four days from approval to move-in. The main variable is scheduling the electrical contractor. The rate is $120 to $140 a night, tax included, and our rate has not changed for the storm. Delivery and setup are priced separately for each property. We serve all of Bay County and all 48 contiguous states.

    Call (614) 655-4286

    Isaias and Bay County. At the 10:00 a.m. CDT advisory on October 7, Tropical Storm Isaias had 45 mph winds. The National Hurricane Center forecasts a strong hurricane, with winds near 105 to 110 mph, reaching the northern Gulf Coast Friday afternoon, October 9, with the forecast center crossing near the Alabama and Florida Panhandle coast. The Hurricane Watch and the Storm Surge Watch both cover the Bay County coast. Coastwide updates are on our Hurricane Isaias temporary housing page.

    Can you legally live in a camper in Florida after a storm?

    Yes. After the Governor declares a state of emergency for a natural disaster, Florida law bars a county or city from blocking a resident from living in one RV or similar unit on the lot of a home made uninhabitable, for up to 36 months or until the repaired home gets its certificate of occupancy, whichever comes first.

    Several Bay County cities have written local rules on this. Panama City, Lynn Haven, and Callaway each added an emergency RV housing rule to their codes in the months after Hurricane Michael in 2018, and Mexico Beach ran an RV permit for rebuilding owners. Agile RV Housing works through the local permit with you.

    Florida state law (applies across Bay County)

    Fla. Stat. 125.023 covers counties and Fla. Stat. 166.0335 covers cities. Both were added in 2023. The protection runs up to 36 months from the Governor's declaration or until the repaired home gets its certificate of occupancy, whichever comes first. The conditions:

    • You are making a good-faith effort to rebuild, for example by applying for a building permit.
    • The unit is connected to water and electric and is not a health or safety threat.
    • The resident of the damaged home lives in it.

    Section 166.0335 covers Panama City, Panama City Beach, Lynn Haven, Callaway, and Mexico Beach. Section 125.023 covers unincorporated Bay County.

    Panama City

    Panama City's Unified Land Development Code, Sec. 110-30, has a temporary permit for emergency residential units, adopted March 12, 2019. Once the City Commission declares an emergency after a catastrophic event, the rule works like this:

    • The property owner can live in an RV, travel trailer, or trailer on private property while a storm-damaged home is repaired or rebuilt.
    • The unit comes off the lot at the certificate of occupancy, completion of the home, or expiration of the repair building permit.
    • Use runs up to one year from the declared emergency, and the City Commission can extend it by a four-fifths vote.

    After a Governor's declaration, Fla. Stat. 166.0335 adds its 36-month protection inside city limits.

    Lynn Haven

    Lynn Haven's Unified Land Development Code, Sec. 5.02.01(D), adopted January 22, 2019, allows an RV or travel trailer as a temporary single-family home after three steps: a Governor's state of emergency, a Mayor's state of emergency, and an order of the City Manager. The terms:

    • A permit from the Department of Planning and Permitting that sets the location, type of unit, and how long it can stay.
    • Up to 18 months, with one 6-month extension on the director's approval.
    • Building setbacks do not apply to the unit.

    Agile RV Housing applies for the Lynn Haven permit with you when the City Manager's order is in place.

    Callaway

    Callaway's Land Development Regulations, Sec. 15.580, adopted November 27, 2018, allow an RV or travel trailer in any zoning district as a temporary single-family home after the same three steps: a Governor's state of emergency, a Mayor's state of emergency, and an order of the City Manager. The terms:

    • A permit from the Department of Planning that sets the location, type of unit, and how long it can stay.
    • Up to 12 months, with one 6-month extension on the director's approval.
    • Building setbacks do not apply to the unit.

    After a Governor's declaration, Fla. Stat. 166.0335 also applies inside Callaway.

    Mexico Beach

    Mexico Beach let rebuilding owners live in RVs after Hurricane Michael. The city's Ordinance 709 allowed RVs and campers on certain residential lots for 365 days, as described in Ordinance 742. The city's RV registration form was for owners who held the property before October 10, 2018, the day Michael made landfall.

    That permit ran until the home's certificate of occupancy or October 31, 2022, whichever came first. The RV had to connect to city water and sewer or be fully self-contained and use a licensed dump station. Agile RV Housing tracks whether Mexico Beach adopts a similar rule after Isaias.

    Unincorporated Bay County

    Bay County's Land Development Regulations, Section 3504, allow living in an RV on a temporary basis with a building permit from Bay County Building Safety. The section was last amended November 4, 2025.

    The county has also acted after a storm. On January 17, 2024, after a tornado hit the Bayou George area, the Bay County Commission approved an ordinance letting residents with damaged homes live in an RV on their property while rebuilding, hooked up to power and sewer, for two years (WJHG). After a Governor's declaration, Fla. Stat. 125.023 adds its 36-month protection.

    Panama City Beach

    Rules for an RV on your own lot differ by city in Bay County. Some require a permit, and some approve temporary housing through emergency orders after a major storm, the way Panama City, Lynn Haven, and Callaway wrote into their codes after Michael. Inside Panama City Beach, Fla. Stat. 166.0335 applies after a Governor's declaration.

    Agile RV Housing confirms the rules for your exact Panama City Beach address before anything is delivered. Run the free zoning check or call (614) 655-4286, and we will tell you what applies.

    Flood zone rules in Bay County

    Bay County and Panama City use the Florida flood rule for RVs. An RV placed in a flood hazard area must be on site fewer than 180 consecutive days or be fully licensed and ready for highway use (Bay County Sec. 9-42, Panama City Sec. 9-57).

    Ready for highway use means the RV is on its wheels or jacking system, attached only by quick disconnect utilities, with no additions, rooms, stairs, decks, or porches. Agile RV Housing looks up your flood zone and plans the placement around it.

    Long-term RV rental in Panama City, delivered to your lot

    Agile RV Housing's long-term RV rental in Panama City, Lynn Haven, Callaway, and the beaches is housing for a homeowner whose house is being repaired, set up on that homeowner's own lot and usually paid by Loss of Use once the adjuster approves it. The rate is $120 to $140 a night, tax included. Delivery and setup are priced separately.

    Stays run 60 days or longer, then month to month with no maximum. Most families stay about five months. If you work at Tyndall Air Force Base or Naval Support Activity Panama City, you keep your commute. Your kids stay in their Bay District school, pets stay with you, and you are home when the adjuster and contractors arrive. See what RV housing costs.

    Temporary power pole for an RV in Bay County

    A licensed electrical contractor installs the power for every Agile RV Housing unit in Bay County, and we arrange the contractor. If the house has lost its utility power, the electrician and your electric utility coordinate a temporary power pole for the RV.

    Agile RV Housing sets up the water and sewer hookup. Bay County's 2024 tornado ordinance called for RVs hooked up to power and sewer, Mexico Beach's post-Michael permit called for city water and sewer, and Florida's state law asks for a unit connected to water and electric. Scheduling the electrician is the main variable in delivery, which is about four days from approval to move-in. See RV utility setup.

    Does homeowners insurance or Citizens cover temporary housing in Florida?

    A Florida homeowners policy that covers wind often pays Loss of Use when wind damage makes a Panama City, Lynn Haven, or Mexico Beach home unlivable, and an RV on your own lot can be that housing once your adjuster approves it.

    Citizens Property Insurance includes Loss of Use in its HO-3 homeowners policy and in its HW-2 wind-only policy. On an HW-2 policy, Loss of Use is 10 percent of Coverage A, the dwelling limit on your declarations page (Citizens personal policies). How the hurricane deductible applies varies by Florida insurer, so ask yours how it applies to your claim and your living expenses. Our ALE coverage guide explains how the limit is set.

    How far does Loss of Use go in an RV compared with a hotel?

    An RV on your own lot draws substantially less against your Loss of Use limit than an extended hotel stay for a Bay County family. An Agile RV Housing unit at the top of our $120 to $140 nightly range, tax included, sleeps a family of up to five.

    The same family in hotels needs two rooms, and two rooms at typical ALE-approved rates cost more than $140 a night before meals, pet fees, and laundry. The RV also has its own kitchen, so the family cooks at home. On a Citizens HW-2 policy, where Loss of Use is a fixed 10 percent of Coverage A, that difference decides how far the coverage stretches through the repair.

    Does flood insurance cover additional living expenses?

    No, not on a National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy. Section V.A.5 of the standard NFIP policy excludes additional living expenses incurred while the building "is unable to be occupied for any reason" (44 CFR Part 61, Appendix A(1)).

    With surge and hurricane winds both forecast for the Bay County coast, one house can carry a flood claim and a wind claim. The adjuster decides what each policy pays, and the wind side can still trigger Loss of Use under your homeowners or Citizens policy.

    FEMA cannot pay for needs that insurance covers (FEMA), so insured Bay County homeowners arrange temporary housing through their insurer. If your flood policy is private, check its declarations page for living expenses. More in our flood insurance and temporary housing guide.

    How long does a Florida insurance company have to pay a hurricane claim?

    Under Fla. Stat. 627.70131, a Florida insurer must acknowledge your claim within 7 days, inspect within 30 days of receiving proof of loss, and pay or deny within 60 days. Fla. Stat. 627.70132 gives you one year from the hurricane's landfall to give notice of a hurricane claim.

    If you and your insurer disagree on a claim of $500 or more, the Florida Department of Financial Services runs a mediation program that is free to you, because the insurer pays its cost (Fla. Admin. Code 69J-166.031); call 1-877-693-5236. For a Bay County homeowner who needs housing now, the step that matters most is the adjuster's written approval of an RV on your lot.

    How do you get temporary housing for an insurance claim near Panama City?

    Tell your adjuster you want an RV on your own property as your Loss of Use housing, and ask for the approval in writing. An RV on your own lot is commonly approved as ALE housing even when it is not the first option offered. If the adjuster asks about local rules, Fla. Stat. 125.023 and 166.0335 are worth mentioning.

    You choose who provides your temporary housing. Your insurer or its housing agency may suggest a provider, and the choice stays yours. Your insurer may route housing through a temporary housing agency. In that case, ask your housing specialist for Agile RV Housing. We are a preferred vendor with the national temporary housing agencies, including ALE Solutions, Alacrity, Sedgwick, CRS, and National Corporate Housing, and we work with all of them. You can also call us directly at (614) 655-4286.

    How we have done this

    Agile RV Housing has completed over 100 long-term placements in the last two years, and founder Michael Wojciak has 10 years in RV rental and fleet operations. Agile is a preferred vendor with the national temporary housing agencies.

    For a Bay County home, that experience goes into the parts that take the most care: the Panama City, Lynn Haven, or Callaway emergency permit, the Bay County building permit, the flood zone, and hookups to water, sewer, and a temporary power pole.

    Call (614) 655-4286. Tell us your address and who insures you. We will tell you which county, city, and state rules apply to your lot, and what to ask your adjuster. Or start with the free zoning check.

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    Frequently asked questions

    Can Bay County or Panama City stop me from living in an RV on my lot after a hurricane?

    After the Governor declares a state of emergency for a natural disaster, Florida Statutes 125.023 and 166.0335 bar a county or city from blocking one RV on the lot of a home made uninhabitable, for up to 36 months or until the home's certificate of occupancy. You must be rebuilding in good faith, have the unit connected to water and electric, and live in it.

    What does Panama City's emergency RV rule allow?

    Panama City's Unified Land Development Code, Sec. 110-30, lets a property owner live in an RV, travel trailer, or trailer on private property while a storm-damaged home is repaired, once the City Commission declares an emergency. Use runs up to one year from the declaration, and the City Commission can extend it by a four-fifths vote.

    How long can an RV stay on my lot in Lynn Haven or Callaway after a storm?

    Lynn Haven's emergency RV permit, Sec. 5.02.01(D), runs up to 18 months with one 6-month extension. Callaway's, Sec. 15.580, runs up to 12 months with one 6-month extension. Both start after a Governor's and a Mayor's state of emergency and an order of the City Manager.

    Did Mexico Beach allow RVs after Hurricane Michael?

    Yes. Mexico Beach's Ordinance 709 allowed RVs and campers on certain residential lots for 365 days, and the city's RV permit for owners rebuilding after Michael ran until the certificate of occupancy or October 31, 2022, whichever came first. Agile RV Housing tracks whether Mexico Beach adopts a similar rule after Isaias.

    Does a Citizens policy include Loss of Use for an RV on my property?

    Citizens Property Insurance includes Loss of Use in its HO-3 homeowners policy and its HW-2 wind-only policy. On an HW-2 policy, Loss of Use is 10 percent of Coverage A. Ask your Citizens adjuster to approve an RV on your own Bay County property as your Loss of Use housing.

    Can you rent an RV for six months in Panama City?

    Yes. Agile RV Housing's minimum stay is 60 days, then month to month with no maximum, and most families stay about five months. The rate is $120 to $140 a night, tax included, and Loss of Use often pays it once your adjuster approves it.

    Sources

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