SAN BERNARDINO – California Mortgage Relief funding has provided 547 San Bernardino County homeowners with a total $14.6 million for past-due mortgage payments since its January 2022 inception. The state has provided a total of $206 million in payments of the $1 billion that was received from the federal American Rescue Plan Homeowners Assistance Fund.

The grant program provides up to $80,000 for homeowners who have experienced a COVID related income loss. The program has funded a total of 6,956 homeowners statewide and hopes to help as many as 40,000. The state recently expanded eligibility requirements to help meet this goal.

“When launching the California Mortgage Relief Program, our first priority was to ensure access to those who were most at risk and in need,” said California Housing Finance Agency Executive Director Tiena Johnson Hall in a June press release. “After six months and over $68 million distributed, we can confidently expand to include additional delinquent housing payments, raise income limits and extend the delinquency timeline to include people who missed payments in the first half of 2022.”

The program initially required homeowners to have missed at least two payments prior to program launch on December 27, 2021. Homeowners who have missed at least two payments before June 30, 2022, and are currently delinquent, may now be eligible for full reimbursement for missed housing payments up to $80,000.

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The program has also adjusted the income threshold for program qualification. Homeowners are now eligible for assistance from the program if their household income is at or below 150% of their county’s Area Median Income. Previously, eligibility required the household income be at or below 100% of their county’s Area Median Income.

In addition, assistance with past-due property taxes will now extend to mortgage-free homeowners and those whose mortgage payments are current. These newly eligible homeowners can now receive up to $20,000 to cover past-due property tax payments if they missed at least one payment prior to May 31, 2022.

Applicants who were previously deemed ineligible have been notified of the program expansions and the state encourages anyone who believes they meet the new criteria to apply.

Although applicants can get up to $80,000 — on average, San Bernardino County homeowners have received $26,799 per household.

The California Mortgage Relief Program is a one-time grant only for eligible households and does not need to be paid back. While there is no strict deadline for applications, the state encourages homeowners in need to apply as soon as possible.

For more information about the California Mortgage Relief Program visit https://camortgagerelief.org/