Federal Homeowner Assistance Fund Reaches Its Final Days as Sept. 30 Deadline Nears

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A nearly $10 billion federal homeowner-relief program created during the pandemic is entering its final days, closing a chapter in the government’s effort to prevent mortgage defaults, foreclosures and displacement after COVID-19.

The federal Homeowner Assistance Fund’s period of performance ends Sept. 30, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Participating governments may not make new HAF obligations for mortgage payments, utilities or other qualified expenses after that date. Expenditures tied to obligations made by the deadline must be completed by Jan. 28, 2027.

The distinction is important for homeowners and mortgage servicers: Sept. 30 is the federal program deadline, but it is not a universal application deadline. Many state and local programs exhausted their allocations or stopped accepting applications earlier, while the status and eligibility rules of remaining programs vary by jurisdiction.

A $9.96 billion foreclosure-prevention program winds down

Congress created HAF through the American Rescue Plan Act. Treasury says the program authorized $9.961 billion for states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

The money could be used for eligible homeowners experiencing pandemic-related financial hardship, including assistance with mortgage payments, property-related insurance, utilities and other qualified housing expenses.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says HAF was designed to prevent mortgage delinquencies and defaults, foreclosures, utility shutoffs and displacement. Eligibility and program design were administered locally rather than through a single federal application.

That decentralized structure means the wind-down is uneven. A homeowner cannot assume money remains available simply because the federal performance period has not yet ended. CFPB warns that funds are limited and programs may end when their allocations are exhausted.

Sept. 30 cuts off new federal obligations

Treasury’s closeout guidance is explicit: HAF participants must not obligate program funds for mortgage, utility or other qualified expenses after Sept. 30.

Programs have a 120-day period after Sept. 30 to complete expenditures for obligations already made and submit final reports. Treasury identifies Jan. 28, 2027, as the deadline for those final reports.

That does not create an extra four months for new homeowner assistance. The post-Sept. 30 period is for liquidation of existing obligations and closeout, not for extending the program’s eligibility window.

Some tribal programs have been racing the clock

The Navajo Nation illustrates the late-stage pressure. Earlier this month, its Division for Children and Family Services said program administrators were working to obligate an estimated remaining $7 million before Treasury’s Sept. 30 deadline after the Navajo Nation Council directed the program to remove eligibility requirements that were more restrictive than federal rules.

The Navajo program subsequently reported that its Mortgage Principal Reduction application portal had reached its maximum number of applications and closed.

Other jurisdictions have their own timelines and funding conditions. Homeowners seeking assistance should verify the current status directly with the administering state, territory or tribal program rather than relying on the federal deadline alone.

What the wind-down means for servicers and housing counselors

HAF became one piece of the loss-mitigation system for borrowers facing delinquency after the pandemic. Its expiration removes a federal funding stream that, where still available, could be paired with servicer options to cure arrears or stabilize other housing costs.

For mortgage servicers, housing counselors and foreclosure-prevention organizations, the practical issue is identifying whether a borrower still has access to a local HAF program before assuming the resource is available. A pending foreclosure, tax sale, insurance cancellation or utility shutoff also requires attention on its own timeline; applying for assistance does not automatically suspend those actions.

Homeowners can use CFPB’s HAF directory to locate their jurisdiction’s program and can also contact a HUD-approved housing counselor for help evaluating alternatives.

The federal program’s end does not eliminate mortgage-servicing loss mitigation or other state and local assistance. But after Sept. 30, HAF itself moves from active program operations into closeout, ending one of the largest homeowner-specific relief efforts created in response to the pandemic.