CHICAGO – The Illinois Housing Development Authority announced it is reopening a mortgage assistance program designed to assist homeowners financially impacted by the pandemic on November 1st. The Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund provides up to $30,000 in mortgage assistance to eligible homeowners, paid directly to the servicer, taxing body or other approved entity. Whether homeowners have a mortgage, a reverse mortgage, or are mortgage-free, the program can fund past due housing payments and up to three months of prospective mortgage payments. To qualify for assistance, homeowners must have experienced a financial hardship due to COVID-19, currently own and occupy their home, be at least 30 days late on their monthly housing payments and have a household income at or below 150% of the area median income. The program is free and funds do not need to be repaid. Application, program information and updates can be found at illinoishousinghelp.org. Applications will be accepted until January 31st of 2023.
“Having a roof over your head is one of the pillars of feeling safe and having a positive quality of life. The lingering economic impact of the pandemic is still being felt, especially when it comes to housing. That is why Illinois is so committed to helping residents stay in their homes,” said Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton.
Potential applicants must demonstrate they have either communicated with their mortgage provider about their inability to pay, or sought counseling with a HUD-approved counseling organization. Interested homeowners are strongly encouraged to attend an information session hosted by IHDA or one of our housing partners. The session schedule is posted online at illinoishousinghelp.org, for those without access to a computer or the internet, please contact the ILHAF hotline at 1-866-IL-HELP (866-454-3571).
Homeowners who received assistance in the previous round of ILHAF can apply for additional assistance this round. Please note, however, the maximum assistance that can be provided in total to applicants across both rounds is $30,000.
ILHAF is funded through an appropriation in the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2), which was signed into law in March 2021. The $1.9 trillion economic stimulus relief designed to speed up recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic included $9.96 billion allocated for state territories, tribes and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. The state of Illinois was allocated $386.9 million which was appropriated to IHDA by the Illinois General Assembly (P.A. 102-0017).
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