13 C.F.R. Subpart C—Physical Disaster Business Loans
Title 13 - Business Credit and Assistance
(a) Almost any business concern or charitable or other non-profit entity whose real or tangible personal property is damaged in a declared disaster area is eligible to apply for a physical disaster business loan. Your business may be a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability company, or other legal entity recognized under State law. Your business' size (average annual receipts or number of employees) is not taken into consideration in determining your eligibility for a physical disaster business loan. If your damaged business occupied rented space at the time of the disaster, and the terms of your business' lease require you to make repairs to your business' building, you may have suffered a physical loss and can apply for a physical business disaster loan to repair the property. In all other cases, the owner of the building is the eligible loan applicant. (b) Damaged vehicles, of the type normally used for recreational purposes, such as motorhomes, aircraft, and boats, may be repaired or replaced with SBA loan proceeds if you can submit evidence that the damaged vehicles were used in your business at the time of the disaster. (a) You are not eligible for a physical disaster business loan if your business is an agricultural enterprise or if you (or any principal of the business) fit into any of the categories in §123.101. Agricultural enterprise means a business primarily engaged in the production of food and fiber, ranching and raising of livestock, aquaculture and all other farming and agriculture-related industries. (b) Sometimes a damaged business entity (whether in the form of a corporation, limited liability company, partnership, or sole proprietorship) is engaged in both agricultural enterprise and a non-agricultural business venture. If the agricultural enterprise part of your business entity has suffered a physical disaster, that enterprise is not eligible for SBA physical disaster assistance. If the non-agricultural business venture of your entity has suffered physical disaster damage, that part of your business operation would be eligible for SBA physical disaster assistance. If both the agricultural enterprise part and the non-agricultural business venture have incurred physical disaster damage, only the non-agricultural business venture of your business entity would be eligible for SBA physical disaster assistance. (c) If your business is going to relocate voluntarily outside the business area in which the disaster occurred, you are not eligible for a physical disaster business loan. If, however, the relocation is due to uncontrollable or compelling circumstances, SBA will consider the relocation to be involuntary and eligible for a loan. Such circumstances may include, but are not limited to: (1) The elimination or substantial decrease in the market for your products or services, as a consequence of the disaster; (2) A change in the demographics of your business area within 18 months prior to the disaster, or as a result of the disaster, which makes it uneconomical to continue operations in your business area; (3) A substantial change in your cost of doing business, as a result of the disaster, which makes the continuation of your business in the business area not economically viable; (4) Location of your business in a hazardous area such as a special flood hazard area or an earthquake-prone area; (5) A change in the public infrastructure in your business area which occurred within 18 months or as a result of the disaster that would result in substantially increased expenses for your business in the business area; (6) Your implementation of decisions adopted and at least partially implemented within 18 months prior to the disaster to move your business out of the business area; and (7) Other factors which undermine the economic viability of your business area. (d) You are not eligible if your business is engaged in any illegal activity. (e) You are not eligible if you are a government owned entity (except for a business owned or controlled by a Native American tribe). (f) You are not eligible if your business presents live performances of a prurient sexual nature or derives directly or indirectly more than de minimis gross revenue through the sale of products or services, or the presentation of any depictions or displays, of a prurient sexual nature. [61 FR 3304, Jan. 31, 1996, as amended at 62 FR 35337, July 1, 1997; 63 FR 46644, Sept. 2, 1998] (a) Disaster business loans, including both physical disaster and economic injury loans to the same borrower, together with its affiliates, cannot exceed the lesser of the uncompensated physical loss and economic injury or $1.5 million. Physical disaster loans may include amounts to meet current building code requirements. If your business is a major source of employment, SBA may waive the $1.5 million limitation. A major source of employment is a business concern which has one or more locations in the disaster area which: (1) Employed 10 percent or more of the entire work force within the commuting area of a geographically identifiable community (no larger than a county), provided that the commuting area does not extend more than 50 miles from such community; or (2) Employed 5 percent of the work force in an industry within the disaster area and, if the concern is a non-manufacturing concern, employed no less than 50 employees in the disaster area, or if the concern is a manufacturing concern, employed no less than 150 employees in the disaster area; or (3) Employed no less than 250 employees within the disaster area. (b) SBA will consider waiving the $1.5 million loan limit only if: (1) Your damaged location or locations are out of business or in imminent danger of going out of business as a result of the disaster, and a loan in excess of $1.5 million is necessary to reopen or keep open the damaged locations in order to avoid substantial unemployment in the disaster area; and (2) You have used all reasonably available funds from your business, its affiliates and its principal owners (20% or greater ownership interest) and all available credit elsewhere (as described in §123.104) to alleviate your physical damage and economic injury. (c) Physical disaster business borrowers may request refinancing of liens on both damaged real property and machinery and equipment, but for an amount reduced by insurance or other compensation. To do so, your business property must be totally destroyed or substantially damaged, which means: (1) 40 percent or more of the aggregate value (lesser of market value or replacement cost at the time of the disaster) of the damaged real property (including land) and damaged machinery and equipment; or (2) 50 percent or more of the aggregate value (lesser of market value or replacement cost at the time of the disaster) of the damaged real property (excluding land) and damaged machinery and equipment. (d) Loan funds allocated for repair or replacement of landscaping or recreational facilities may not exceed $5,000 unless the landscaping or recreational facilities fulfilled a functional need or contributed to the generation of business. [61 FR 3304, Jan. 31, 1996, as amended at 63 FR 46644, Sept. 2, 1998] (a) SBA will announce interest rates with each disaster declaration. If your business, together with its affiliates and principal owners, have credit elsewhere, your interest rate is set by a statutory formula, but will not exceed 8 percent per annum. If you do not have credit elsewhere, your interest rate will not exceed 4 percent per annum. The maturity of your loan depends upon your repayment ability, but cannot exceed 3 years if you have credit elsewhere. Otherwise, the maximum maturity is 30 years. (b) Generally, you must pay equal monthly installments, of principal and interest, beginning five months from the date of the loan as shown on the Note. SBA will consider other payment terms if you have seasonal or fluctuating income, and SBA may allow installment payments of varying amounts over the first two years of the loan. There is no penalty for prepayment for disaster loans. For mitigation measures implemented after a disaster has occurred, you can borrow the lesser of the cost of the mitigation measure, or up to 20 percent of the amount of your approved physical disaster business loan to repair or replace your damaged business real estate and other business assets. [67 FR 62337, Oct. 7, 2002]
Title 13: Business Credit and Assistance
PART 123—DISASTER LOAN PROGRAM
Subpart C—Physical Disaster Business Loans
§ 123.200 Am I eligible to apply for a physical disaster business loan?
§ 123.201 When am I not eligible to apply for a physical disaster business loan?
§ 123.202 How much can my business borrow with a physical disaster business loan?
§ 123.203 What interest rate will my business pay on a physical disaster business loan and what are the repayment terms?
§ 123.204 How much can your business borrow for post-disaster mitigation?
