Temporary Housing on Your Lot in Columbus After the August Storms

This page is for homeowners in Columbus, Newark, Heath, Pataskala, and the townships of Franklin and Licking counties whose home is not livable after the August 2026 storms. Ohio law lets a township, or a county with rural zoning, bar travel trailers from residential districts, so the city or township code decides. Columbus allows a mobile home as emergency housing after a catastrophic loss for 90 days, renewable once, Franklin County lets its Board of Zoning Appeals approve an RV in the Rural district, and Newark bars living in a travel trailer. 1st Choice Living has placed furnished travel trailers on homeowners’ own property, nationwide, since 2004. We check the local rule for your address before anything is delivered, and we bill the carrier directly under ALE where the claim covers it.

The August storms and Franklin and Licking counties

FEMA lists Franklin County and Licking County under Individual Assistance for this disaster. Households there apply for FEMA help at DisasterAssistance.gov or 1-800-621-3362; Ohio EMA gives December 1, 2026 as the deadline to apply in Ohio. Storm facts as of October 17, 2026, from official sources:

• Ohio. On August 11, 2026, Governor DeWine declared a state of emergency in Perry and Muskingum counties, and amended it to add Franklin County on August 13 and Morgan County on August 14, 2026. Source
• Federal, Ohio. On October 2, 2026, FEMA listed a major disaster declaration for Ohio, DR-4945-OH, for severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, flooding, and landslides from August 10 to 22, 2026. As of October 17, 2026, its designated areas page named 7 counties under Individual Assistance, the FEMA program that pays households directly: Clermont, Franklin, Hamilton, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, and Perry. Source
• Deadline to apply, Ohio. On October 13, 2026, the Ohio Emergency Management Agency said the deadline to apply for FEMA assistance is December 1, 2026. Source
• Weather, Ohio. NWS Wilmington describes a widespread severe weather outbreak across the Ohio Valley on August 11, 2026, with an 82 mph gust at John Glenn Columbus International Airport, and says the afternoon round of storms was classified as a derecho by the Storm Prediction Center. Source

Go back to a property only when local officials say it is safe. For roads, debris, and assistance events, follow the Franklin County Emergency Management and Homeland Security, and the Licking County Emergency Management Agency, and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.

Recovery status as of October 17, 2026

What the official county, city, state, utility, and FEMA pages stated when we read them. Each line carries its date and links its source.

• October 17, 2026. FEMA's DR-4945-OH page, updated October 17, still lists the Reynoldsburg Community Church Disaster Recovery Center in Franklin County as open. Source: FEMA
• October 7, 2026. Ohio EMA said Disaster Recovery Centers would open that week, with the Franklin County center at Reynoldsburg Community Church, 1636 Graham Road, Reynoldsburg, serving Franklin and Licking counties. Source: Ohio Emergency Management Agency

Not stated on an official page. Anything not listed here was not stated on an official page we read. Ask the county emergency management agency for the latest.

Local rules on living in an RV on your lot

Whether a trailer can stay on your lot while the house is repaired is decided by your city or town, or outside city limits by the county or township, and by your HOA if you have one. We did not find an Ohio statute or state building rule that allows living in an RV or travel trailer on the lot of a home that is not livable after a disaster. Ohio law lets a township, and a county with rural zoning, prohibit travel trailers from any residential district, so the local zoning resolution decides.

“Prohibit from any residential district or zone, travel trailers, park trailers, and mobile homes, as these terms are defined in section 4501.01 of the Revised Code” Ohio Revised Code 519.212(B)(2) (township zoning) Ohio Revised Code 303.212(B)(2) (county rural zoning)

Here is what each local code says, in plain words and then in its own words, with the link to the official page it was read on.

Ohio law lets a township, or a county with rural zoning, bar travel trailers from its residential districts, so outside a city or village the township or county zoning office has the say. Where a township has no zoning, building and health rules still apply.

Rules here were read on official city, town, township, and county pages on October 17, 2026 and can change during a recovery. We confirm the rule for your address before delivery.

Permit and planning offices

• City of Columbus Department of Building and Zoning Services, 111 N. Front St, 1st Floor, (614) 645-7433
• Franklin County Economic Development and Planning, Zoning Division, 373 S. High St, 614-525-3094
• Franklin County Economic Development and Planning, Building, 614-525-3166
• City of Newark Engineering and Zoning, 40 W. Main St, 2nd floor, (740) 670-7729
• City of Heath Building and Zoning, 1287 Hebron Road, (740) 522-1420
• City of Pataskala Planning and Zoning, 740-927-4910
• Licking County Planning and Development, 20 S. Second St, Newark, (740) 670-5200
• Licking County Building Code Department (building permits in Newark, Pataskala, and the county), 740-349-6671

Septic and health

Ohio's state septic rules say a sewage treatment system may not be installed, altered, or operated without a permit from the local board of health. We found no county rule written for hooking a trailer to a home's septic system, so call the county health department before connecting. Source: Ohio Adm. Code 3701-29-06, General provisions and prohibitions

Power utilities

• AEP Ohio: serves most of Franklin County and Licking County Source
• Columbus Division of Power (Columbus Water and Power): city-owned electric utility serving customers inside its Columbus service territory; the outage map shows the territory boundary Source
• The Energy Cooperative (Licking Rural Electrification): serves members primarily in Licking, Knox, and Muskingum counties; the PUCO service area map also shows Licking Rural Electrification territory in Franklin County Source
• South Central Power Company: serves parts of Franklin County and Licking County Source

If a trailer is not allowed at your address

Then a trailer on your lot is not the answer, and we will tell you so. Ask the planning office what it does allow during repairs, and ask your adjuster how your Additional Living Expenses apply to a hotel or a furnished rental instead. Our guide to arranging your own temporary housing covers the questions to ask and the receipts to keep.

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 Ohio Department of Insurance says insurance policies usually pay for reasonable after-the-fact expenses, including additional living expenses: “room and board (e.g., stay at a hotel or motel) while you are unable to use your house.” If you need temporary housing, it says to check your policy for loss of use coverage, notes that many policies cover such expenses up to a stated amount, and says to keep receipts for emergency expenses such as temporary housing.

• Local rules for your address checked before delivery.
• A furnished travel trailer 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.
• 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. Your own carrier’s policy form sets the time and dollar limits; we have quoted them, with the source, on loss of use coverage by insurance carrier. This is general information, not legal or coverage advice. Your policy and your adjuster decide what is covered. 1st Choice Living is independent of every insurer and of FEMA.

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 Columbus. 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 and whether it is inside city or town 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 rule for that address, confirm the lot can take a unit, and plan setup around what is safe and working at the property. Adjusters and housing companies can send a placement through for adjusters and carriers or for housing companies.

More on the August storms

• Temporary housing after the Indiana and Ohio storms: storm facts, FEMA deadlines, and how ALE works for a trailer on your lot.
• Nearby: Zanesville and southeast Ohio, OH
• Nearby: Cincinnati, Hamilton County, and Clermont County, OH
• Travel trailers for families and crews in Columbus, Franklin County, and Licking County from Temporary RV Living, including the local rules on crew trailers at a job site.
• Drone documentation in Columbus, Franklin County, and Licking County from LossMap, to record roof and property damage before cleanup.
• Housewares for temporary housing after the storms from Temporary Housewares.

Frequently asked questions