The Biloxi City Council has voted to let 176 Katrina cottages be converted into permanent homes.

Biloxi joins Pass Christian in keeping the cottages, which were designed to temporarily move families displaced by Hurricane Katrina into more substantial housing.

Tuesday’s vote means families will have a chance to buy their cottages from the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency. MEMA says the leases on the cottages are set to expire Jan. 31, 2009.

The agency says as many as 121 of the city’s cottage dwellers have expressed an interest in buying the temporary homes. Qualified cottages will be raised and placed on permanent foundations.

Owners must stay in their cottages for a minimum of two years.