BATON ROUGE - FEMA has agreed to reduce the rent for flood survivors living in MHU's, according to Governor John Bel Edwards' office.

According to a press release, rent for people living in temporary housing units will be reduced to $50 a month starting March 1. That price will last through the program's scheduled end date of May 14.

"This is welcome news for our citizens who are still very much in the recovery process and who, until today, were faced with the difficult choice of having to pay rent for their temporary housing and the mortgage of their flood-damaged homes," Governor Edwards said.

Last year, FEMA announced it would start charging survivors the market rental rate of around $1,000. The governor's office said they continue to request extensions to the program's end date, which had been extended in the past.

According to the governor's office, there are currently 1,713 households in the IHP program. 1,533 of those are homeowners. 180 are renters.