The Federal Housing Finance Agency—the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—has extended pandemic-related forbearance options for multifamily properties until the end of September. This marks the third extension of the program, which most recently had been set to expire on June 30.
Property owners with a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac-backed multifamily mortgage can enter a new or modified forbearance if they experience a financial hardship due to the pandemic. To qualify, property owners must inform tenants in writing about tenant protections available during the property owner’s forbearance and repayment period. Property owners also must agree not to evict tenants solely for the nonpayment of rent while the property is in forbearance.
“While COVID-19 cases are declining and many homeowners continue to emerge from forbearance, many renters, who are unable to benefit from rising home prices, have not financially recovered from the pandemic,” Mark Calabria, FHFA’s director, said in a statement. “To help those families still struggling to pay their rent and to help multifamily property owners maintain their properties, FHFA is extending the multifamily COVID-19 forbearance and tenant protections through the end of September 2021.”
Read more at FHFA.gov about the latest extension.
From the start of the pandemic, the National Association of REALTORS® has advocated that any tenant eviction moratorium must be accompanied by rental assistance payments to housing providers. Read about the latest developments from the contested Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s nationwide tenant eviction moratorium: Housing Providers Seek SCOTUS Ruling.