CA Could Help Pay Your Back Mortgage: Report

CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom said California will help up to 40,000 homeowners catch up on mortgage payments for those who struggled financially during the pandemic.

The governor's mortgage plan was approved by the federal government, Newsom's office announced Monday.

California will reserve $1 billion to render aid to homeowners in "socially disadvantaged and underserved communities" hit hardest by the pandemic.

"No one should have to live in fear of losing the roof over their head, so we’re stepping up to support struggling homeowners to get them the resources they need to cover past due mortgage payments," Newsom said.

Through the mortgage relief program, late housing payments will be covered in full — up to a maximum of $80,000 per household. Payments will be made directly to qualified homeowners' mortgage services.

Homeowners that qualify will receive a one-time grant that they will not have to repay.

Funding will be made possible by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act’s Homeowner Assistance Fund, Newsom's office said.

Californians at or below 100 percent of their county's Area Median Income, who own a single-family home and faced pandemic-related financial hardship after Jan. 21, 2020 may be eligible, the state said.

"Homeowners who have had their mortgage payments paused during the pandemic are now facing the end of those forbearance periods," Tiena Johnson Hall, Executive Director of the California Housing Finance Agency, said in a statement. "The California Mortgage Relief Program will alleviate some of that anxiety and give eligible homeowners a chance to get caught up on those housing payments and regain that sense of security."

The state will begin accepting applications in the coming weeks here.