WASHINGTON, D.C. – Apartment renters and landlords alike were accorded some relief recently.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that during the coronavirus national emergency, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will offer multifamily property owners “mortgage forbearance” if they suspend all evictions of renters unable to pay rent because of the spread of the pandemic.
Eviction suspensions are in place for the entire duration of time that a property owner remains in forbearance. The forbearance is available to all multifamily properties with an Enterprise-backed performing multifamily mortgage negatively affected by the coronavirus national emergency.
“Renters should not have to worry about being evicted from their home, and property owners should not have to worry about losing their building, due to the coronavirus,” FHFA Director Mark Calabria said.
“The Enterprises are working with mortgage servicers to ensure that these programs are implemented immediately so that property owners and renters experiencing hardship because of the coronavirus can get the assistance they need.”
The multifamily mortgage forbearance and eviction suspension programs are the latest actions that FHFA has announced to ensure the Enterprises fulfill their missions during the coronavirus national emergency.
Earlier this month the federal government suspended foreclosures and evictions on home mortgages for 60 days, until mid-May.
The moratorium includes the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac).
According to the Wall Street Journal, approximately 182,000 homeowners are in some stage of the foreclosure process.