FAQs

The Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund is a federally funded mortgage relief program to provide financial assistance to Louisiana homeowners struggling to pay their mortgage due to the financial impacts related to COVID-19. The program, which is run by the Louisiana Office of Community Development and funded by the U.S. Dept. of Treasury offers up to $50,000 in financial relief per homeowner. The program is free to participate and completely voluntary.

The program transfers allocated funding directly to a respective mortgage servicer for Louisiana homeowners that applied for assistance and are approved.

The program closed applications on December 21 at 5 pm. Applications submitted prior to the December 21 deadline will continue to be reviewed and processed for assistance until all available funds have been exhausted.

If you need advice, find a HUD-approved housing counselor near you:

• Call: 1.800.569.4287 or 1.888.995.HOPE (4673)

• Visit: hud.gov or consumerfinance.gov

If you need a lawyer or legal assistance, there are tips for finding a lawyer from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau as well as legal resources in Louisiana. If you’re a servicemember, you should consult with your local JAG Legal Assistance Office

• American Bar Association’s Legal Help: FindLegalHelp.org

• Legal Services Corporation: www.lsc.gov

• For more information regarding federal financial programming in response to COVID-19, please visit:

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: COVID Housing Assistance: consumerfinance.gov

• National Consumer Law Center: COVID Mortgage Relief Resources: library.nclc.org

Should additional funding become available, and the program is able to re-open applications, an announcement will be made via media and email. Interested homeowners are encouraged to sign-up for program updates on the LA HAF program website.

All applications submitted prior to the December 21 deadline will continue to be reviewed and processed until all funds are expended to assist as many Louisiana residents as possible. Applications are subject to funding availability and are not guaranteed assistance.

The application closing does not affect payments currently being remitted due to program expansion.

Eligible homeowners must:

• Own and occupy a home in Louisiana as their primary residence

• Meet income qualifications

• Have experienced a financial hardship associated with the COVID-19 pandemic

It is extremely helpful and efficient for your mortgage servicer to sign the Mortgage Servicer Participation Agreement, though it is not required. This agreement allows the Program to collaborate directly with mortgage servicers on your behalf to be able to share information and ensure accuracy of past-due amounts and make electronic payments. The Program in some cases may be able to issue payment based off of mortgage statements, but the preferred methodology is for direct engagement between the Program and mortgage servicers.

Eligible properties include:

• Single-family (attached or detached)

• Condominium units

• 1 to 4-unit properties where the homeowner is living in one of the units as their primary residence

• Manufactured homes permanently affixed to real property and taxed as real estate

• Mobile homes not permanently affixed to real property

Applicants for the Homeowner Assistance Fund should have a total household income less than or equal to 150% area median income (AMI) or 100% of the median income for the United States, whichever is greater, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program application team will be able to work with you to make sure that you meet the income eligibility requirements for the program. To see the income limits specific to HAF, please visit https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/haf-il.html.

Eligible homeowners must have experienced financial hardships due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic after January 21, 2020. This includes hardships that may have begun prior to January 21, 2020 but continued on past this date. During the application process, homeowners had the opportunity to explain their hardship.

Yes, as long as your hardship continued after January 21, 2020, you are potentially eligible for the program.

The funding cap for the Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund is $50,000 per eligible homeowner. If your delinquency amount is greater than the program cap, your mortgage servicer will need to agree to a loan modification or loss mitigation plan; for example, moving the other outstanding portion of the unpaid balance to the back end of the mortgage. Specific modification options will need to be coordinated with your respective servicer. If you are unable to reinstate the shortfall or come to a loss mitigation agreement with your lender, you are not eligible for program assistance at this time.

Yes, you could still qualify for program assistance if your delinquency is due to a qualified hardship resulting from COVID-19.

If you are not delinquent on your mortgage, you may still be eligible for up to six future, monthly payments through the program if:

• You are currently receiving unemployment insurance benefits,

• You received unemployment benefits at least 3 weeks per quarter for the current year of more than 12 weeks of the prior year, or

• You have experienced any involuntary household member changes

This funding will be remitted to your lender to be posted to your account.

The application for the Homeowner Assistance Fund closed on December 21 at 5 p.m. Should additional funding become available and the program is able to reopen the application process, an announcement will be made via media or email. Should you need assistance with an existing application, you may contact the LA HAF Call Center at 833.88.LAHAF Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

§  Applicants were required to submit a copy of their photo ID. Any supporting documents are requested as part of the application. The Louisiana Office of Community Development has partnered with other state agencies to verify applicant information in order to reduce the number of documents requested during the application process. However, if third-party verification cannot be obtained, the program may request mortgage statements, pay stubs, wage statements such as a W-2 form, IRS Form 109ss, tax filings along with personal identification.

Applications for LA HAF closed on December 21 at 5 p.m. Homeowners were able to apply online at haf.lacovidhousing.com by answering a brief set of pre-screening questions and registering through the self-service portal.

Applicants can check their status online in the program portal here. Any specific questions regarding your application can be directed to your case manager.

Please note: Your application status may change as the program reviews your application and prepares to remit additional funding.

No, funds will be transferred directly to your mortgage servicer and will require no repayment except in cases of fraud or wrongful misrepresentation.

The program is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (H.R. 1319) which provides $9.961 billion in federal relief for vulnerable homeowners. Louisiana was allocated $146.7 million in funding to provide up to $50,000 per eligible homeowner.

Program funding will be distributed equitably to eligible homeowners throughout the state of Louisiana, with those with the most immediate needs receiving priority. Those with immediate needs include lower-income homeowners and socially disadvantaged individuals, per the U.S. Dept. of Treasury program guidelines.

The Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Fund will provide:

• Funding to help a homeowner reinstate a mortgage or to pay other housing related costs from a period of forbearance, delinquency, or default

• Mortgage payment assistance

• Homeowner’s insurance, homeowner association fees, flood insurance and mortgage insurance, if escrowed.

No, financial relief will be sent directly to your mortgage servicer.