President Biden extends pandemic relief for homeowners, eviction moratorium yet to be extended

Today, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Agriculture announced a coordinated extension and expansion of forbearance and foreclosure relief programs. The protections were due to expire in March.

The actions announced today will:

-Extend the foreclosure moratorium for homeowners through June 30, 2021;
-Extend the mortgage payment forbearance enrollment window until June 30, 2021 for borrowers who wish to request forbearance;
– Provide up to six months of additional mortgage payment forbearance, in three-month increments, for borrowers who entered forbearance on or before June 30, 2020.

According to the Biden Administration, 1 in 5 renters is behind on rent and just over 10 million homeowners are behind on mortgage payments.

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Last week, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the independent agency that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, extended forbearance by three months for borrowers coming to the end of their forbearance period. These coordinated actions will cover 70 percent of existing single-family home mortgages.

President Biden is looking for Congress to provide additional aid to homeowners.

“To bolster these efforts, it is critical that Congress pass the American Rescue Plan to deliver more aid to struggling homeowners. The rescue plan creates a Homeowners Assistance Fund which will provide states with $10 billion to help struggling homeowners catch up on their mortgage payments and utility costs. This relief is critical for homeowners with mortgages in the private market who are not able to take advantage of today’s actions and may face longer term challenges.”

A federal moratorium on evictions is currently set to expire on March 31.