Temporary Housing on Your Lot in Pensacola After Hurricane Isaias

This page is for homeowners in the City of Pensacola, on Perdido Key, and in unincorporated Escambia County whose home is not livable after Hurricane Isaias. Escambia County has something many places do not: a written rule in its Land Development Code for disaster recovery housing, and a county storm permitting page that says an RV or trailer is authorized as temporary housing while a damaged home is repaired. Florida's temporary shelter law also applies after the Governor's emergency declaration. Inside Pensacola city limits the rules are different, and the city permit office is the place to ask. 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 Pensacola area

Storm facts as of October 9, 2026, 5 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

Escambia County is one of the 27 counties in Governor DeSantis's Executive Order 26-211. That order matters for housing too: Florida's temporary shelter law, below, applies after a Governor's emergency declaration. The storm surge range in the advisory above was for the coast from the Alabama and Florida border to Grayton Beach, which includes the Escambia County coast.

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 Escambia County Emergency Management Storm Center. For the current forecast, go to the National Hurricane Center.

Local rules on living in an RV on your lot

The first question is which side of the city line your address is on. The City of Pensacola has its own zoning code and building office. Perdido Key and the rest of mainland Escambia County outside the city follow the county's Land Development Code, and the county storm page sends temporary housing approvals to Planning and Zoning.

Pensacola Beach is handled separately. Escambia County's storm permitting page says temporary housing on Pensacola Beach needs approval from the Santa Rosa Island Authority Development Services Department, 850-932-2257.

Septic: the Florida Department of Health says that as of January 2, 2025, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection handles septic system permitting in Escambia County. For disaster recovery housing, the county code requires sanitary sewer connections that meet the Florida Building Code.

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 Pensacola. 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 Pensacola 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 ALE for Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.
• Hurricane Isaias RV rules by county: every area in one table.
• Our Florida temporary housing page.
• Nearby: Baldwin County, AL
• Nearby: Santa Rosa County, FL
• 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