The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday extended COVID-19 foreclosure and forbearance moratoriums for FHA and USDA loans to June 30, 2021. It also extended the deadline for the first legal action and the reasonable diligence time frame to 180 days.

This announcement follows FHFA action last week to extend moratoriums for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The measures announced by HUD today include:

• Extending the timeframe for homeowners to request the start of a COVID-19 forbearance from their mortgage servicer through June 30, 2021.

• Expanding the COVID-19 forbearance to allow up to two forbearance extensions of up to three months each for homeowners who requested a COVID-19 forbearance on or before June 30, 2020. These extensions are designed to provide relief to homeowners who will be nearing the end of their maximum 12-month forbearance period and have not yet stabilized their financial situation.

• Expanding the use of FHA’s streamlined COVID-19 loss mitigation home retention and home disposition options to all homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments by at least 90 days. This expansion will require mortgage servicers to assess more homeowners for a streamlined waterfall of loss mitigation home retention options, starting with FHA’s COVID-19 Standalone Partial Claim.

Mortgage servicers take steps to support borrowers amid COVID-19

As call volumes have spiked to a level not seen since last April, lenders and servicers need to prepare for a significant increase in their workload as they help borrowers through difficult times.

Presented by: Computershare Loan Services

“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.”

Last week, the FHFA announced that borrowers with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be eligible for an additional forbearance extension of up to three months. FHFA forbearance plans initially had a 12 month expiration date, however, the government entity is now allowing borrowers up to 15 months of coverage.

According to the agency, eligibility for the extension is limited to borrowers who are on a COVID-19 forbearance plan as of Feb. 28, 2021. The FHFA said other limits may apply to the extension but did not provide specific detail.