The Biden administration announced Tuesday it was taking steps to extend a moratorium on home foreclosures and a forbearance on mortgages until the end of June as the economy continues to recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The White House said Tuesday that in coordinated actions, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Agriculture would extend the policies that were first put into place by the Trump administration last year.
According to NBC News, it’s the second time Biden has extended the policies. On his inauguration day, Biden extended the foreclosure moratorium and the forbearance on mortgage payments through the end of March.
The Biden administration also announced Tuesday that those who entered mortgage forbearance prior to June 30, 2020, will get an additional six months of forbearance protection.
The foreclosure moratorium will prevent banks and lenders from selling houses when homeowners default on their mortgages until the end of June. The forbearance on mortgage payments will allow homeowners to pause mortgage payments for the time being — but homeowners will still need to make those paused payments when the new rules expire.
The White House’s orders on Tuesday do not address a moratorium on rental evictions That moratorium is currently set to expire on March 31.
