Provides numerous entry points into resilience adoption across different segments of the housing market

Introduction

Louisiana faces some of the highest hurricane and wind-related property risks in the United States. It also has a substantial share of older housing—particularly in coastal areas—that predates modern, post–Hurricane Katrina wind-resistance standards. In response to repeated storm losses and growing insurance market stress, the state developed a set of resilience-oriented financing and policy tools designed to expand adoption of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) FORTIFIED Roof™ standard and related mitigation measures (IBHS n.d.).

Rather than relying on a single grant program or regulatory mandate, Louisiana’s approach is notable for attempting to create multiple pathways into resilience adoption across different segments of the housing market. These mechanisms were developed through separate legislative, insurance, tax, and housing finance initiatives over time. Collectively, they provide multiple entry points for homeowners, insurers, and affordable housing developers to participate in property-level risk reduction.

Louisiana’s current framework includes direct grant funding for roof retrofits for single-family homes through the Louisiana Fortify Homes grant program, state tax incentives for homeowners who self-finance resilience upgrades, and insurer recognition of verified mitigation through premium discounts (LDI n.d.). Owners of market-rate and affordable multifamily housing projects are encouraged to invest in resilience through development finance, tax-credit allocation, and federally supported rebuilding programs. This includes resilience-oriented scoring preferences within the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program for affordable housing development. On top of this, Louisiana strongly encourages or even requires FORTIFIED Roofs for Community Development Block Grant–Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funding to homeowners. Taken together, these mechanisms form a layered resilience adoption strategy allowing different parts of the housing market to participate through different financial channels and at different levels of financial capacity. Louisiana recently surpassed 10,000 cumulative FORTIFIED designations in 2025, one of the fastest state-level adoption trajectories in the country (LDI 2025a).

Separately from its financing programs, Louisiana has also begun moving portions of its coastal building code framework closer to FORTIFIED-like wind-resilience standards in some hurricane-exposed parishes. While these code developments are not equivalent to statewide FORTIFIED requirements, they reflect a broader trend toward normalizing stronger roof and wind-resistance practices within baseline construction standards.

This case study is part of Scaling FORTIFIED Roof Adoption, a project showing how states are shifting from reactive disaster spending toward proactive investments in resilient infrastructure.

Programs

Louisiana Fortify Homes Program

Program Overview: The Louisiana Fortify Homes Program (LFHP) is a state-administered mitigation grant program that provides eligible homeowners grants to upgrade existing roofs to the FORTIFIED Roof standard, reducing vulnerability to hurricanes and other severe wind events. Grants are awarded through a lottery process, paid directly to approved contractors upon successful completion and certification, and are designed to reduce future disaster losses while qualifying homeowners for insurance premium discounts (LDI n.d.; 2026a; 2026b).

Funding Source: Funding for the program flows through the Fortify Homes Program Fund, which received about $45 million across FY2024 and FY2025. In late May 2026, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed legislation adding around $50 million to the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, on top of ~$30 million already budgeted (Muller 2026).

Roof Financing: The program provides nonrepayable grants of up to $10,000 per home for a roof retrofit or replacement that achieves a FORTIFIED Roof designation.

Scale: As of February 2025, Louisiana had issued 5,413 FORTIFIED designations statewide, including 1,838 funded through the grant program.

Rationale: The program is designed to reduce wind and water losses by increasing adoption of verified roof standards before storms occur, using upfront funding tied to certification.

Access to Financing: The program follows a verification-based payment model. Homeowners apply during program windows and, if selected, complete the required steps that include an IBHS-certified evaluator and approved construction. The state pays the contractor after the evaluator verifies compliance and IBHS issues the FORTIFIED certificate (LDI n.d.).

The program was originally open to all home owners with both an active wind insurance policy and that met the structural readiness required, but now also includes a very high income eligibility threshold of 250% of area median income. A Louisiana legislative auditor review found that the Fortify Homes grant program is not reaching lower-income households., with homes valued under $90,000 representing about 15% of homeowners but only around 1% of program participants, reflecting significant access barriers tied to upfront costs and eligibility requirements (McKendry 2025).

FORTIFIED Roof Designation Tax Credit

Program Overview: Louisiana's FORTIFIED Roof Tax Credit provides homeowners with a nonrefundable state income tax credit to upgrade an existing roof to the FORTIFIED Roof standard. The credit complements the Louisiana Fortify Homes grant program by encouraging homeowners who do not receive grant funding to self-finance resilient roof upgrades while expanding the adoption of verified mitigation measures.^{1, 2}

Funding Source: The credit is a state tax expenditure with an annual statewide cap.

Roof Financing: Louisiana’s FORTIFIED Roof designation tax credit³ applies to qualified expenses for retrofitting an existing primary residence to the FORTIFIED Roof designation. The credit is a nonrefundable state income tax credit of up to $10,000, subject to a statewide annual cap of $10 million, with unused amounts eligible for a three-year carryforward.

Rationale: The tax credit creates an additional pathway for households that self-finance upgrades or do not receive a grant, extending the reach of resilience incentives beyond the grant program.

Access to Financing: To claim the credit, taxpayers must provide documentation that includes the FORTIFIED Roof designation certificate and itemized proof of eligible expenses and payment. Administration and documentation requirements are implemented through the Louisiana Department of Revenue’s emergency rule (LDR 2025). The tax credit is best understood as a market-based incentive targeted implicitly at middle- and higher-income homeowners. Credits are available on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to an annual statewide cap of $10 million, and cannot be combined with a Louisiana Fortify Homes grant for the same project

Construction Code Retrofitting Deduction

Program Overview: Louisiana's Construction Code Retrofitting Deduction allows homeowners a tax deduction for voluntarily upgrading an existing owner-occupied home to comply with the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code or the IBHS FORTIFIED Home™ standard.⁴ The deduction complements the state's grant and tax credit programs by reducing the after-tax cost of self-financed resilience improvements while encouraging mitigation before disaster strikes.

Funding Source: The deduction is a state tax expenditure.

Roof Financing: Louisiana expanded its construction code retrofitting deduction so homeowners can deduct 50% of eligible retrofit costs, up to $10,000, for work that meets Louisiana building code requirements or FORTIFIED Roof designations. Costs covered by other state, local, or federal incentives are not eligible for the deduction.

Rationale: The deduction broadens access to financial relief for households investing in mitigation, while the grant program provides upfront capital for selected participants.

Access to Financing: The deduction is broadly available for eligible resilience retrofits to owner-occupied primary residences and is not subject to an annual program cap, making it a scalable incentive for self-financed mitigation. However, because it reduces taxable income rather than providing upfront capital, its value increases with a taxpayer's income and tax liability. As a result, it is most effective for households with sufficient cash flow to finance improvements up front and provides more limited support for lower-income homeowners, reinforcing the continued need for grants and affordable financing.

Additional Context: Unlike Louisiana's FORTIFIED Roof Tax Credit, which is limited to certified FORTIFIED roof upgrades, the Construction Code Retrofitting Deduction applies more broadly to voluntary resilience improvements that bring an existing home into compliance with the Louisiana State Uniform Construction Code or the FORTIFIED standard. Together, the two incentives provide complementary pathways to encourage self-financed resilience investments.

Insurance Incentives

Program Overview: Louisiana encourages resilient construction by requiring insurers to recognize and file premium discounts for qualifying mitigation measures, including FORTIFIED Roof designations (LDI 2025a). Rather than prescribing a uniform statewide discount, the state promotes a competitive insurance market in which insurers determine the value of verified risk reduction.

Funding Source: Private insurers provide premium discounts based on filed underwriting practices and actuarial assessments, with oversight and transparency provided by the Louisiana Department of Insurance.

Roof Financing: Louisiana enables insurers to set discounts based on their markets (e.g. types and location of buildings insured) rather than mandated premium discounts. By requiring insurers to publicly file and disclose available mitigation credits, the state makes the financial value of resilient construction visible to homeowners, builders, and lenders. Verified FORTIFIED Roof designations translate physical risk reduction into measurable insurance savings, helping improve the financial return on resilience investments.

Premium discounts vary by insurer, property characteristics, and annually approved rate filings.

Rationale: Improves market recognition of resilience investments by allowing insurers to price verified risk reduction while increasing transparency for consumers.

Access to Financing: Available to insured homeowners and multifamily property owners who complete qualifying mitigation measures and obtain the required third-party verification. The value of the incentive depends on insurer.

Additional Context: Unlike Alabama, which requires insurers to provide premium discounts for FORTIFIED homes, Louisiana emphasizes market transparency and insurer competition. By publicly disclosing available mitigation discounts, the state allows insurers to differentiate products while providing homeowners with clearer information about the financial benefits of resilient construction.

Low Income Housing Tax Credit Scoring

Program Overview: Louisiana's Housing Corporation incentivizes resilience investments in affordable housing through favorable scoring for proposals for housing tax credits that enable developers to build to a higher standard. The program helps ensure that the benefits of mitigation extend to vulnerable populations while reducing future disaster recovery costs. Louisiana has been an early adopter of integrating resilience standards into affordable housing finance (Louisiana Legislative Auditor 2025).

Funding Source: The Louisiana Housing Corporation's Qualified Allocation Plans for the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program have incorporated resilience requirements and incentives, including FORTIFIED Roof standards for projects in higher-risk parishes and additional scoring for enhanced resilient construction (Louisiana Legislative Auditor 2025).

Roof Financing: Developers that incorporate resilience enhancements, including stronger roof systems and FORTIFIED-related design features, may receive a competitive scoring advantage during the state’s allocation of federal LIHTCs, giving those proposals a competitive advantage.

Scale: There has been no assessment of the success of this program and extent of the resilience enhancements in new low-income housing built since this program was put in place (builds since 2021).

Rationale: Federal LIHTCs are the dominant financing tool for building affordable rental housing in the United States. Without them, very little new income-restricted housing gets built. LIHTCs provide equity to projects by allowing investors (usually banks or large corporations) to receive federal tax credits over 10 years in exchange for investing in a housing development. That equity reduces the amount of debt the project must carry, allowing rents to remain below market. LIHTC equity often covers 40% to 70% of total development costs. The inclusion of resilience-oriented scoring criteria creates an incentive for developers to incorporate stronger roof systems and related mitigation features into affordable housing projects—in effect, to build long-term affordability and durability (Louisiana Legislative Auditor 2025). However, the extent to which these incentives change development behavior or increase adoption of resilience standards has not yet been evaluated.

Access to Financing: LIHTCs improve access to financing by replacing debt with equity, making resilient affordable housing developments financially feasible while keeping rents affordable. Because the incentive is available only through qualified affordable housing developments, it benefits low-income renters indirectly rather than providing financing directly to individual households.

Additional Context: In addition to incentivizing resilience through their LIHTC program, Louisiana has incorporated enhanced resilience requirements into selected US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) CDBG-DR housing investments following major disasters, demonstrating how federal disaster recovery funding can be used to strengthen—not simply replace—damaged housing (Louisiana Housing Corporation 2023). Together, these initiatives illustrate both the opportunity and the challenge of embedding resilience into affordable housing finance. While Louisiana has shown that resilience standards can be incorporated into housing policy and financing, the long-term durability of these approaches remains dependent on future legislative priorities, administrative guidance, and market conditions.

Summary Tables

Louisiana uses complementary pathways rather than relying on a single grant program. The state uses legislative appropriations to provide upfront grants through the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, while also expanding access through tax incentives for households that self-finance roof upgrades or do not receive a grant. In addition, Louisiana reinforces the financial case for verified mitigation through insurer discounts and related policy incentives tied to FORTIFIED designations and incentivizes resilience enhancements in new low-income housing.

Table 1. Financing Mechanisms

Table 2. Beneficiaries

Louisiana’s progress has depended on a network of public agencies, nonprofit organizations, insurers, and technical partners that collectively establish standards, provide financing, support implementation, and create market demand for resilient construction.

Table 3. Partners

Insights

Legislative appropriations provide the upfront capital for the Louisiana Fortify Homes grant program for single-family home mitigation, while tax incentives embed resilience support into the state tax code and insurance discounts provide an additional incentive. This combination creates additional pathways for self-financed mitigation and insurer recognition of verified upgrades. However, the scale of adoption may still remain sensitive to future legislative appropriations and insurance market conditions.

Louisiana has been a leader in incentivizing mitigation for new multifamily and affordable housing builds through the Low Income Tax Credit program. Taken together, these mechanisms form a layered resilience adoption strategy allowing different parts of the housing market to participate through different financial channels and at different levels of financial capacity

Financial Sustainability: Louisiana has intentionally diversified the financial support for residential resilience across multiple funding channels rather than relying on a single program. Legislative appropriations provide upfront grant funding, tax expenditures encourage private investment, insurer incentives reward verified risk reduction, and federal affordable housing finance integrates resilience into long-term development. This layered approach reduces reliance on any one funding source while allowing successful programs to reinforce one another. Over time, continued expansion of insurance recognition and the integration of resilience into existing housing and finance programs may prove more durable than grant funding alone, although the pace of adoption will continue to depend on legislative priorities, insurance market conditions, and sustained institutional support.

Accessibility: The grant program helps to address cost barriers by covering up to $10,000 for selected homeowners, while the tax credit and deduction expand support to households that self-finance upgrades or do not receive a grant. At the same time, access is still strongest for insured, owner-occupied primary residences that can navigate documentation, certification, and tax filing requirements. Over time, resilience-oriented scoring preferences within affordable housing finance could increase the number of income-restricted housing developments that incorporate stronger roof systems and related mitigation features, though the scale of this effect has not yet been evaluated. Renters are not direct beneficiaries under the current structure.

Government Role: Louisiana’s government plays a central role in both funding and administration. The state appropriates funds into the Fortify Homes Program Fund, the Department of Insurance administers the grant program and tracks insurer discount activity, and the state tax code provides additional incentives for eligible retrofit spending. The state (Louisiana Housing Corporation 2023) also sets up the scoring for the federal tax credits for low income housing development. This makes Louisiana’s model a clear example of coordinated public policy using appropriations, tax expenditures, and regulatory oversight to support mitigation.

Potential for Replicability: Louisiana’s approach may be especially replicable for states that want to scale roof mitigation beyond a limited grant pool. A state can combine grants for households facing upfront financing barriers with tax incentives for those able to self-finance and then reinforce the value of mitigation through insurer discounts. This structure is particularly relevant for hurricane-prone states where verified roof performance has a direct effect on losses, premiums, and recovery outcomes.

Sources

IBHS. n.d. “FORTIFIED Roof™.” Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety. https://fortifiedhome.org/roof/.

LDI. 2025a. Act 533 of the 2024 Regular Session: 2025 Report. Louisiana Department of Insurance. https://ldi.la.gov/docs/default-source/documents/propertycasualty/act-533-fortified-discount-report-2025.pdf.

LDI. 2025b. Temple Announces 10K FORTIFIED Roof Achievement, Next Round of LFHP Grants to Open November 12. (Baton Rouge, LA), November 10. https://www.ldi.la.gov/news/press-releases/11-10-25-temple-announces-10k-fortified-roofs-in-la-next-lfhp-grant-round-on-nov.-12.

LDI. 2026a. “FORTIFIED Benchmarks - Effective January 1, 2027.” Baton Rouge, LA. https://www.ldi.la.gov/fortifiedbenchmarks.

LDI. 2026b. “Summary of Requirements for the LFHP Homeowner.” Louisiana Department of Insurance, May 29. https://ldi.la.gov/docs/default-source/documents/fortifyhomes/lfhp-homeowner-rules-and-requirements.pdf.

LDI. n.d. “Louisiana Fortify Homes Program – Homeowners.” Louisiana Department of Insurance. https://ldi.la.gov/fortifyhomes.

LDR. 2025. “Louisiana Fortified Roof Tax Credit Program and Construction Code Retrofitting Deduction.” Louisiana Department of Revenue. https://dam.ldr.la.gov/lawspolicies/Proposed%20Regulation.pdf.

Louisiana Housing Corporation. 2023. “2023 Piggyback Resilience Initiative—Mixed Income (Prime 3).” Baton Rouge, LA. https://www.lhc.la.gov/prime3.

Louisiana Legislative Auditor. 2025. Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Cost Containment. Informational Report. Louisiana Housing Corporation. https://www.lhc.la.gov/low-income-housing-tax-credit-lihtc-program.

McKendry, N. 2025. “Report: Fortified Roof Program Isn’t Reaching Every Homeowner Equally.” American Press (Lake Charles, LA), March 11. https://americanpress.com/2025/03/11/report-fortified-roof-program-isnt-reaching-every-homeowner-equally/.

Muller, W. 2026. “Louisiana Adds Money to Expand Its Fortified Roof Program by 60%.” Louisiana Illuminator (Baton Rouge, LA), May 27. https://lailluminator.com/2026/05/27/fortified-roof-expansion/.

Smart Home America. 2026. “Louisiana.” Mobile, AL. https://www.smarthomeamerica.org/resources/louisiana.

1. An Act To Enact R.S. 47:6044, Relative to Income Tax Credits, SB28, Louisiana State Legislature Regular Session (2025). https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1425933.↩︎
2. An Act To Amend and Reenact R.S. 47:293(2)(a)(i), (b), and (d) and to Repeal R.S. 47:293(2)(c) and (e), Relative to Individual Income Tax, HB145, Louisiana State Legislature Regular Session (2025). https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1427657.↩︎
3. SB28, Louisiana State Legislature Regular Session (2025). https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1425933.↩︎
4. An Act to Enact R.S. 22:1483.1(F) and R.S. 47:293(9)(a)(XXVII), Relative to Grants from the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, SB52, Louisiana State Legislature, Regular Session (2025). https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1422214.↩︎

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Julie Shiyou-Woodard and Graham Green of Smart Home America for their valuable contributions, insights, and support in the development of this work.

Authors and Affiliations

• Lydia Olander, Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University
• Matt Posner, The Resiliency Company
• Sujay Dhanagare, Duke University

The authors welcome corrections and clarifications. Please contact lydia.olander@duke.edu.

Citation

Olander, L., M. Posner, S. Dhanagare. 2026. FORTIFIED Roof Case Study: Florida. NI 26-20. Durham, NC: Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability, Duke University. https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/publications/fortified-roof-case-study-florida.