Federal officials announced a nationwide halt to foreclosures and evictions this week, protecting more than 30 million Americans from the risk of losing their homes as the coronavirus outbreak ravages the economy.
But the federal plans don’t cover more than 40 million renters, many of whom, housing advocates worry, may not be able to pay their rent next month.
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The Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, allowed the companies to establish a forbearance program allowing borrowers affected by the coronavirus to skip their mortgage payments for as long as a year. The Federal Housing Administration has a similar forbearance program.
Borrowers must apply for mortgage relief through their mortgage servicer. The servicer will decide whether the borrower qualifies for the assistance and how they would repay the missed payments. In many cases, the missed payments are tacked on to the end of a mortgage but servicers sometimes ask for a lump-sum payment.
From the article:
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