NYS Homeowner Assistance Fund Program Update — June 2023
Background:
NYS Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), the New York State affordable housing agency, was awarded just under $540 Million as part the Homeowner Assistance Fund; a $10 Billion federal program authorized under the American Rescue Plan to assist homeowners at risk of delinquency, default or foreclosure due to an economic hardship caused by the COVID 19 Pandemic.
Under NYS HAF, just over $450 Million is available for awards on behalf of at-risk homeowners. Under the program rules, all funds must be expended within 5 years of program launch.
HCR received approval of our NYS HAF plan from the US Department of Treasury in November of 2021; the first state in the nation to be approved.
We opened our program for applications on January 3, 2022. Just under 31,000 applications were received in the first 6 weeks. In February 2022, the program established a waiting-list for homeowners to sign up to be considered for assistance if additional funds remain available.
Types of Assistance Under NYS HAF:
The HAF program can assist homeowners who have fallen behind on property taxes, water bills, coop and condo fees and mortgage delinquencies. We also assist homeowners with securing affordable loan modifications through negotiations with their banks or mortgage holders, and with “forward payment” assistance; offered in eligible cases where homeowners have unaffordable housing expenses due to COVID and need assistance with their current and future housing costs.
A single applicant may qualify for multiple types of assistance.
Program Partners:
Through a competitive Request for Proposals, HCR selected Sustainable Neighborhoods LLC, the Community Development Financial Institution affiliated with the Center for New York City Neighborhoods, a non-profit with a 14 year history of running programs dedicated to increasing and preserving homeownership, including an array of foreclosure prevention programs.
In addition, HCR engaged the Office of the New York State Attorney General through an interagency Memorandum of Understanding to assist the NYS HAF program with engaging banks and mortgage lenders to push to obtain/secure affordable loan modifications in addition to NYS HAF awards. NYS HAF also created partnerships with over housing counseling and legal services organizations operating state-wide affiliated with the Homeowner Protection Program (HOPP), to assist homeowners in submitting applications and with moving through the NYS HAF program.
NYS HAF Accomplishments to Date:
As we approach our one-year anniversary in January 2023, we are pleased to provide this report on the many accomplishments the program has achieved to date. Some of the key metrics from the first year include:
All ~31,000 applications have been reviewed for eligibility: 19,033 have been deemed eligible, and of those, 14,861 have received a financial HAF award and an additional 2,743 have been granted an affordable loan modification.
Nearly $375 million (which represents 83% of total available NYS HAF grant funds) has been committed or disbursed in under a year.
60% of all awards have been made to applicants who identify as a race or ethnicity other than white, which meets the definition of Socially Disadvantaged under U.S Treasury Guidelines.
The dashboard below will be updated quarterly over the remaining term of the program to report on NYS HAF’s ongoing progress.
Published as of 06/01/2023
