Latest COVID-19 Relief Bill Aims to Help Homeowners and Renters

On Feb. 10, the House Financial Services Committee is due to look at the next COVID-19 relief bull, which has allocations to frontline workers and homeowners/renters, among others.

The Senate bill, the Homeowners Assistance Fund (S. 254), was introduced by Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and would create a $75 billion Homeowner Assistance Fund that would provide funds to state housing finance agencies to help individuals negatively impacted by the pandemic make home-related payments.

The funds could be used toward mortgage relief, utility payments and other areas to prevent eviction, default or foreclosure.

Some of the homeowner/renter provisions in the committee's proposal include $10 billion for homeowner assistance, $25 billion for rental assistance and $10 billion for states to provide small business loan program support.