TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Between the flooding and the cleanup, those who endured Hurricanes Helene and Milton have faced many hurdles.

Now, a federal regulation might cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The FEMA 50% rule is catching some homeowners who are affected by flooding and damage off guard. The mandate is a complex regulation that can cost homeowners a small fortune.

Essentially, those in a flood zone who have substantial damage might not be allowed to just do simple repairs. They may be forced to tear down their home and completely rebuild at a higher elevation.

“Elevate Florida” is a new state program that’s helping homeowners cover the cost to elevate their home.

“To start, homeowners need to apply through the Elevate Florida application portal,” said Lisa Miller, a disaster recovery insurance advisor. “So long as a property owner can put up to 25% of the project’s total cost, including initial inspections, the program can cover a whopping 75-100% of flood mitigation costs, depending on some other factors, including history of loss.”

Last year’s hurricane season took a devastating toll on homes across Tampa Bay.

Now, with a new hurricane season fast approaching, homeowners are making difficult and costly decisions when storm proofing their homes.

“The nice thing about it is that I get to keep my own house and use the insurance money to fix it up,” said Holly Young, a St. Pete Beach resident. “It will be elevated, and I will hopefully be safe from storms in the future.”

Elevate Florida is the first elevation mitigation program in the state.

According to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the goal of Elevate Florida is to enhance community resilience by mitigating private residences against natural hazards.

“It’s using federal dollars that we already have access to and redirect(ing) it to this particular resiliency program,” Miller said. “You can apply for a small business administration loan to see if that will help you cover those additional costs, so it’s a win-win.”

Officials say mitigation reconstruction is the alternative to structure elevation when the structure is not sound enough to elevate, as determined during application review.

Eligible projects include:

• Structure elevation
• Mitigation reconstruction
• Acquisition/demolition
• Wind mitigation

For more information about the program or to apply for assistance, click here.