The Biden Administration recently announced the extension of COVID-19 forbearance and foreclosure protections for homeowners. According to the White House announcement, one in five renters are behind on rent today and over 10 million homeowners are behind on mortgage payments, with people of color facing even greater hardship.
The move is part of a coordinated extension and expansion of existing forbearance and foreclosure relief programs at the following organizations: the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Agriculture.
“As President Biden has made clear, it is urgent that we help homeowners throughout the nation who are struggling financially from this unprecedented national emergency,” said Acting HUD Secretary Matthew Ammon. “The steps we are taking today will provide both immediate relief to those in desperate need of assistance and help more homeowners keep their homes and resume their payments when the pandemic subsides.”
These protections were set to expire in March. The new actions 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 statement, the recent moves strive to provide immediate relief to American homeowners, support hard-hit communities of color and provide a centralized resource for housing assistance.
“President Biden is committed to protecting homeownership and housing stability as America begins to turn a painful crisis into a robust recovery,” said the statement. “Today’s [at press time] extended forbearance and foreclosure programs are an important step toward building stronger and more equitable communities.”
The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced last week that it would be extending its forbearance by three months. Due to these coordinated actions, about 70% of existing single-family home mortgages are covered under COVID-19 protections.
“Extending the forbearance available on federally-backed mortgages is a critically important move to preserve homeownership for millions of households that have seen income disruption or outright job loss due to the pandemic,” said Greg McBride, Bankrate.com chief financial analyst, in a statement. “These actions to extend forbearance and foreclosure moratoriums benefit renters whose landlords are getting relief on their federally-backed mortgages from these provisions.”
Liz Dominguez is RISMedia’s senior online editor. Please email her your real estate news ideas to lizd@rismedia.com.
How “President Biden is committed to protecting homeownership and housing stability..” by extending eviction moratorium. Did anyone though about landlords who will find themselves in foreclosure because of non paying tenant? Especially large chunk of those tenants can pay. They just abusing the system.
Correct Leanna! The landlords are a big part of this equation that are being overlooked!
How do people sign up for this type of assistance
is there a web site? does it go by state/county or US overall
any additional information would be helpful
thanks
It seems that common sense has gone out the window. If you don’t have a job or cannot work then you need to scale back and move in with family. THE INSISTANCE of government reaching their hand in legal agreement between a landlord and a tenant and giving a sledgehammer to one party (in this case, the tenant) should scare EVERYONE. The government has essentially commandered private housing for public use. The problem with that is that it started with a little creep in that direction and it was left unchecked by the Realtor Associations and the Apartment Associations and it makes little sense to me. You cannot have a situation where PRIVATE HOUSING becomes GOVERNMENT HOUSING without realizing that our GOVERNMENT intends something different. They are utilizing this PANDEMIC to creep into a terrority that looks very different from a DEMOCRACY!.. This singular motion needs to be stopped. If a tenant cannot afford rent.. FIND A DIFFERENT PLACE TO RENT or move in with family or look for a different job. If they cannot work due to disability I say go on DISABILITY. I’m more than happy to pay for that until we get through this. I’m not ok with taking private housing and using as public housing! IT JUST IS WRONG and EVERY AMERICAN should take issue with this.
It’s unfortunate when tenants lose their jobs and can’t pay their rent. Is anyone in the government even considering what happens to the landlords financial picture and their mortgage? The answer is a big NO. Landlords are still responsible for paying their mortgage and many landlords DON’T qualify for assistance. All the administration can talk about is the tenants. If the landlords foreclose where will the tenants live then? The unemployed tenants need to make arrangement they can afford. Forbearance is not a problem solver. Forbearance make all late payments due in 1 lump sum at the end of the period. Deferment is a better answer. Deferment extends the term and put any missed payments on the end of the loan. Look up the difference, another example of our government at work.
Exactly, and forebearance only delays the inevitable. Renters who don’t pay rent for 1.5 years will not be able to make that up even if legally obligated to. But landlords will be required to pay back the forebearance liens or just eat the significant losses, if they can afford to, due to said unpaid rent. Private landlords provide a lot of housing and should be protected as much or more than tenants should. Forebearance is a bubble and is not the solution alone!!!
Keep people in their homes. In 2008 the mortgage industry foreclosed on many homeowners that are now renters. This Country already has a homeless problem and certainly we can maintain an economy that works for all people so the middle class does not slip into the homeless population.
No mention of how the suspended payments during forbearance are to be repaid. “Catch 22”, there is no free ride. The payments must be made up
Forbearance should be used as a LAST resort. Most will not be able to make up the missed payments and will be negatively affected by the drop in credit rating.
There is no free ride for the landlord since covid19 protection only pros pound the payment. As of tenants. As soon as they realize sheriff is behind their door. They will pack and run after living for free for a year or two, and nothing you can do about it. There is a couple of legal ways to go after them, but chances that you can collect on judgments are almost zero.
Yes, the Landlords have to keep paying insurance and taxes on their rental properties and the mortgage payments. And continue to be responsible for repairs whether it is plumbing, electrical or tenant carelessness. Because the tenants have rights. Landlords have to provide safe housing. Doesn’t matter that tenants are not paying rent. Landlords are being used and abused.
This is ridiculous this needs to stop as long as they continue to tell them it’s ok not to pay they won’t. If they can’t make their payments then sell. Then move. As long as we give them a excuse not to pay they won’t. This is wrong. This is not the American way. Americans pay their way and need to learn to save for a rainy day. Remove these restrictions and hold people responsible. Let the banks work with them to refi or to short sale to get out of the debt.
Why so little sympathy for those are caught in the crosshairs of a situation that few had a say about, be it tenant, landlord or homeowner? If forbearance helps the owner occupying their home, does it not help the homeowners who has a tenant, though I am sure it is not the answer either would prefer but is better than having no option at all. Dare I say that these times have been trying for all of us, for one reason or the other. There is several ways things could have been handled differently, but regardless of how we arrived to this point, we are here. Rather than whining about it or criticizing those who are more afflicted than we are, and in many cases one decision from homelessness, try to be a comforting and consoling voice instead one of great disdain and insensitive. It’s them today, it could be you tomorrow!
I was under the impression that it helps the tenant pay the landlord so the landlord DOES get paid and avoids foreclosure. That´s how a friend was able to clear up the back rent that her tenant owed her. There is even info about it to the right of the article.
Why doesn’t the government offer rent assistance to the landlords for the private renters seeing how they are so concerned? Then the Mortgages will be paid and will have no worries about extensions, foreclosures or forbearance.
I agree with everyone above the government is screwing over landlords and that needs to STOP way before June, it needs to stop today. Landlords should have every right to tell their renters to move out and have them removed if they are not paying for their rent, PERIOD.
Its scary to know that the government has so much control. This is just a sad world we live in today. I’m dreading the years to come.
The government has a plan. They want/need we the people to all be dependent on the government. They can’t have land lords or small business surviving. It defeats their agenda.
Big business pays officials billions to get what they want. Small business does not.
It’s always about money and power!
We need to remind those in power that they work for us. The way to remind them is to vote them out and take their power.
Come June 30, what will happen? The big re-shuffle will begin. How will it play out? Will those behind on their mortgages, but with equity, sell and solve the inventory problem? Gov’t interference in markets usually defies logic. Will those delinquent just stay put, payment free, while the foreclosure process grinds on for years like 08-12? Will the short sale cabal resurface? Did we learn anything from the last mortgage crisis?