Last week, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced plans to halt foreclosures and evictions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
HUD announced that it will put a stop to all foreclosures and evictions for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) until the end of April 2020. The FHA backs an estimated 8.1 million mortgages.
HUD Secretary Ben Carson released the following statement on the agency’s move:
“Today’s actions will allow households who have an FHA-insured mortgage to meet the challenges of COVID-19 without fear of losing their homes, and help steady market concerns.
The health and safety of the American people is of the utmost importance to the Department, and the halting of all foreclosure actions and evictions for the next 60 days will provide homeowners with some peace of mind during these trying times.”
Later that same day, FHFA instructed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the companies financing nearly half of the U.S.’s estimated $11 trillion mortgage market, to suspend foreclosures and evictions for single-family homes for at least 60 days in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
FHFA Director Mark Calabria said on the decision:
“This foreclosure and eviction suspension allows homeowners with an Enterprise-backed mortgage to stay in their homes during this national emergency. As a reminder, borrowers affected by the coronavirus who are having difficulty paying their mortgage should reach out to their mortgage servicers as soon as possible. The Enterprises are working with mortgage servicers to ensure that borrowers facing hardship because of the coronavirus can get assistance."
Both agencies stated they will continue to monitor the situation, updating and adjusting polices and needed.