Temporary Housing on Your Lot in Chipley and Bonifay After Hurricane Isaias

This page is for homeowners in Chipley, Vernon, Bonifay, and unincorporated Washington and Holmes counties in the Florida Panhandle, if Hurricane Isaias left your home unlivable. Florida's temporary shelter law applies in every city and county the Governor's declaration covers, and both counties are covered. Washington County has written that law into its own code, while Chipley and Holmes County codes bar RVs as a home outside that law, so the local question is mostly about permits and hookups. 1st Choice Living has placed furnished travel trailers on homeowners' own property, nationwide, since 2004, and we bill the carrier directly under ALE where the claim covers it.

Hurricane Isaias and the Chipley and Bonifay area

Storm facts as of October 9, 2026, 8:30 p.m. CDT, from official sources:

• The storm. In its 4 p.m. CDT advisory on October 9, 2026, the National Hurricane Center said Isaias was a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph, and that it was forecast to make landfall along the coast of the western Florida Panhandle that evening and then move across Alabama. Source
• Warnings. That advisory had a hurricane warning in effect from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to the Bay and Gulf County line in Florida, and said storm surge could reach 6 to 9 feet above ground from the Alabama and Florida border to Grayton Beach, Florida. Source
• Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency on October 6, 2026, in Executive Order 26-202, and on October 7 extended it to 27 counties in Executive Order 26-211, including Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay. Source

The advisory forecast 4 to 8 inches of rain across southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend, and southwest Georgia, with localized totals up to 15 inches possible, particularly within banding across the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend. It said flash, urban, and river flooding was possible, with considerable impacts likely across much of southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle into southwestern Georgia, and that the tornado risk would continue into Friday night and Saturday across parts of the Florida Panhandle.

Away from the Gulf, the risk named in the advisory is wind, rain, and tornadoes rather than storm surge. If a tree comes through the roof or water gets in, a home can become unlivable far from the coast, and Additional Living Expenses coverage works the same way it does on the coast.

State of emergency. Washington and Holmes are among the 27 counties in Governor DeSantis's Hurricane Isaias state of emergency, Executive Order 26-202 as amended by Executive Order 26-211. That matters for housing too: Florida's temporary shelter law, below, applies once the Governor's declaration covers the county. Source

Return to your property only when local officials say it is safe. Stay out of flood water and keep clear of downed lines. For roads, shelters, and re-entry, follow the Washington County Emergency Management (850-638-6203), or the Holmes County Emergency Management (850-547-1112). For the current forecast, go to the National Hurricane Center.

Local rules on living in an RV on your lot

Start with where your address sits. Chipley has its own code and Planning and Zoning office. The Washington County Planning Department regulates land development in unincorporated Washington County and in Vernon, Caryville, Ebro, and Wausau under the county code. Bonifay has its own land development regulations, and Holmes County regulates the unincorporated county by future land use district; its planner also serves Bonifay under contract.

Washington County's code also allows living in an RV during construction of a new home with a land use application, a building permit, and a signed RV-use affidavit, for six months from the permit, extendable to no more than two years.

Chipley's zoning bans using a trailer for residential living anywhere outside designated RV parks, and Holmes County's planning FAQ says RVs may not be a primary residence. Neither has a disaster exception, but Florida's temporary shelter law, sections 166.0335 for cities and 125.023 for counties, applies when its conditions are met. Ask the office for your address how permits and hookups work.

Flood zones: Chipley's and Holmes County's flood rules say 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, or meet the anchoring and elevation rules. Ask before a unit is placed in a mapped flood zone.

Septic: we did not find a county health rule on RV septic hookups. The Florida Department of Health pages for Washington and Holmes counties say septic permitting moved to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in January 2025.

Rules here were read on official city and county pages on October 9, 2026 and can change after a storm. The side-by-side table for every Isaias area is on Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county.

Florida’s temporary shelter law

Under section 125.023 (counties) and section 166.0335 (cities), Florida Statutes, after the Governor declares a state of emergency for a natural emergency during which a home was damaged and made uninhabitable, a county or city may not prohibit one temporary shelter on the residential property. The statutes say a temporary shelter includes a recreational vehicle or trailer. It can stay up to 36 months after the declaration or until a certificate of occupancy is issued, whichever comes first, when all of these apply:

• You make a good faith effort to rebuild or renovate, such as applying for a building permit, submitting plans, or getting a construction loan.
• The shelter is connected to water and electric utilities and does not threaten health and safety.
• You live in it.

The city or county still decides how the hookups and any permit work at your address, which is why the local offices above matter. This is general information, not legal advice.

How the trailer is billed: Additional Living Expenses

Additional Living Expenses, or ALE, sometimes called loss of use, pays for somewhere to live while the house is not livable. Ask your carrier whether your policy includes it and what the limit is. The Florida Department of Financial Services explains that the additional living expense feature of most homeowners policies pays some expenses for losses that leave homes unlivable during repairs, and to keep all receipts. Its Insurance Consumer Helpline is 1-877-693-5236.

• Local rules for your address checked before delivery.
• A furnished travel trailer that sleeps 2 to 10, with a kitchen, a bathroom, real beds, and heat and air, delivered, leveled, and set up on your property.
• Utilities connected by licensed, insured contractors from our preferred vendor network, planned around what is actually working at the property.
• Site conditions documented at setup and again at takedown.
• Direct billing to your carrier under ALE where the claim covers it, tracked against your ALE limit. On a covered claim that is $0 out of pocket for your family.
• One named contact from the first call to the day the unit leaves.

Flood is different. National Flood Insurance Program policies do not provide additional living expense coverage. If your home also had damage your homeowners policy covers, such as wind, ask your adjuster how ALE applies. This is general information, not legal or coverage advice. Your policy and your adjuster decide what is covered.

Already working with a temporary housing company?

We work with any temporary housing company. If one is handling your housing, ask them to place you with 1st Choice Living for a trailer on your own lot in Chipley and Bonifay. They send us the placement, we deliver, set up, and service the trailer, and the billing runs through them or straight to your carrier, whichever way their program works.

What we need to start

• The property address in Chipley and Bonifay and whether it is inside city limits.
• How many people are in the household.
• Your claim number and your adjuster’s name and contact.
• Your ALE limit, if your adjuster has told you.

From there we check the local rules for that address, confirm the lot can take a unit, and plan setup around what is safe and working at the property. If a trailer on your lot is not the right fit, we will tell you. Adjusters and housing companies can send a placement through for adjusters and carriers.

More Hurricane Isaias pages

• Temporary housing after Hurricane Isaias: storm facts, safety, and how ALE works for a trailer on your lot.
• Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county: every area in one table.
• Our Florida temporary housing page.
• Nearby: Marianna (Jackson County, FL), FL
• Nearby: Walton County, coast and inland, FL
• Nearby: Panama City (Bay County), FL
• More inland Florida pages: Tallahassee (Leon County).
• Travel trailers for crews and families after Hurricane Isaias from Temporary RV Living.
• Drone documentation after Hurricane Isaias from LossMap, to record roof and property damage before cleanup.

Frequently asked questions