Homeowner Assistance Fund: Find Local Help Before Federal Closeout

The Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) is in its federal closeout phase. It is not a new nationwide grant round with one application portal or one homeowner deadline. The U.S. Department of the Treasury says that HAF was authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act and provided $9.961 billion to programs run by states, U.S. territories, and Indian Tribes. Those local programs were created to help homeowners facing financial hardship associated with COVID-19.

The date in this listing, September 30, 2026, is the federal HAF award’s performance-period end date. It is not proof that a local program will accept an application until that day. A state or Tribal program may have paused applications, closed after exhausting its allocation, or continued accepting applications under its own published rules. Check the local status before preparing a full application, and do not assume that a program is open simply because federal HAF closeout has not yet arrived.

At a glance

What the fund does

HAF was designed to help keep eligible homeowners housed when pandemic-related financial strain led to housing debt or threatened essential home services. Depending on the local program, assistance may address past-due or current mortgage payments, property taxes, homeowners insurance, homeowners association fees, utilities, internet service, or certain home repairs. The list is not a promise that every program pays every kind of bill. Each participating jurisdiction decides which approved uses it offers, how it prioritizes applicants, and how it verifies the amount owed.

The federal allocation is therefore not the same thing as an amount available to an individual homeowner. Treasury’s $9.961 billion figure describes the national funding distributed to HAF participants. It does not establish a standard award, a universal maximum, or a promise that an applicant will receive cash. The CFPB explains that local programs often send approved assistance directly to a mortgage servicer, utility company, or repair contractor. Some programs generally provide grants, but local terms can include repayment conditions in particular circumstances, such as selling the home before a specified date. Read the agreement for your jurisdiction before accepting assistance.

Who may qualify

The core eligibility questions are consistent across the federal framework, but the answer for a particular homeowner comes from the local program. You generally need to show that:

• You experienced a financial hardship associated with the COVID-19 pandemic after January 21, 2020. The CFPB gives examples such as job loss, reduced income, increased health-care costs, or increased costs of caring for a family member. Your local program may use a self-attestation, documentation, or a fact-specific review to establish the connection.
• The assistance concerns your primary residence. A rental, vacation home, or investment property may not qualify under the local rules. Property types covered by many programs can include single-family homes, duplexes, condominiums, one-to-four-unit dwellings, and manufactured homes, but property eligibility must be confirmed locally.
• Your household income meets the applicable local requirement. The CFPB says most state programs use a limit below 150% of area median income or $79,900, whichever is higher, while also noting that some programs use lower limits or additional rules. That general description cannot replace the income test for your state, territory, Tribe, the District of Columbia, or the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands program.

Other conditions may apply. A local program may limit eligible expenses, require that the bill be delinquent or at risk, ask whether other assistance has already paid part of the cost, or require the servicer or provider to participate. Meeting the basic categories does not guarantee funding. The CFPB warns that some locations may receive more eligible applications than they can fund.

How to check whether applications are open

Start with the current Treasury HAF page. Treasury directs homeowners to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s interagency housing portal for information about homeowner assistance near them. The CFPB’s HAF help page links to a map for state, District of Columbia, and territorial programs and to a separate listing for Tribal members.

Select the jurisdiction connected to your primary residence and read its current notice carefully. The local page should tell you whether it is accepting applications, temporarily paused, permanently closed, or operating in cycles. Treasury’s website-communications guidance specifically tells HAF programs to state whether applications are currently being accepted and, when they are not, to explain reopening plans or direct people to other assistance. This is why the federal closeout date and your local application status must be treated as two different facts.

If you are part of a Tribe or live on Tribal lands, contact the relevant Tribal government or Tribally Designated Housing Entity as the CFPB instructs. Do not assume that the state map is the correct route for a Tribal HAF program. If you cannot find a current local contact, a HUD-approved housing counselor can help you identify housing-preservation options and understand the local process.

How to apply if your local program is accepting applications

1. Confirm the local rules first

Read the eligibility, income, property, and expense pages for your jurisdiction before collecting a large document bundle. Check whether the portal is taking new applications or only completing files already submitted. Look for instructions about priority categories, income calculation, document age, household members, and whether the program pays providers directly.

2. Describe the hardship clearly

Prepare a short timeline connecting the COVID-19-related hardship after January 21, 2020 to the housing cost you cannot meet. State what changed, when it changed, and how it affected your ability to pay. A job-loss notice, reduced-hours record, medical bill, caregiving expense, or other document may support the explanation if your program requests proof. Do not add a connection that you cannot explain or document; the local reviewer decides what evidence is sufficient.

3. Gather the documents the local portal requests

Requirements vary, but an application may ask for identity and contact information, proof that the home is your primary residence, ownership or mortgage information, household income records, and a current statement showing the amount owed. Depending on the expense, that could be a mortgage statement, reinstatement quote, property-tax notice, insurance bill, HOA ledger, utility notice, internet bill, or repair estimate. Use the local checklist rather than relying on an old national list.

Name files so a caseworker can identify them quickly, make sure scans are readable, and keep copies of everything submitted. If the portal requests an updated statement, provide the newest version available. A reinstatement quote can expire, and a payment made while a case is pending may change the balance that the program needs to verify.

4. Apply through the official local channel

Use the application link published by the government program or its official administering partner. There is no nationwide Treasury application that substitutes for the local application. If the program allows an incomplete application or a document follow-up, follow its instructions; if it requires a complete file, wait for the requested documents rather than guessing at missing information.

5. Keep your servicer or provider informed

If mortgage assistance is involved, tell the servicer that you are applying and ask how it handles HAF payments. The CFPB says that approved funds are often sent directly to the servicer, utility company, or contractor. Continue following your servicer’s instructions while the application is pending unless the servicer or a qualified counselor gives you different advice. HAF assistance does not automatically replace every other loss-mitigation option.

6. Monitor the case after submission

Check the portal, email, and voicemail for requests. Save confirmation numbers and upload receipts. If your application is denied or the program says funds are unavailable, ask the local program for the reason and for any appeal or referral information it provides. Application submission alone is not a guarantee of payment.

What the September 30 date means

Treasury’s self-service guidance states that the HAF award period runs through September 30, 2026. HAF participants must not obligate HAF funds for mortgage, utility, or other qualified expenses after that date. The same guidance describes September 30 as the end of the award performance period and the start of closeout activity for participants that have not already closed out.

For a homeowner, that federal date should prompt timely verification, not a false sense that every local portal remains open. A local program may impose an earlier closing date, stop accepting applications when its funds are exhausted, or keep working on applications already filed. No new nationwide HAF cycle is confirmed here. If your local program is closed, follow its instructions for alerts, appeals, other housing assistance, or counseling rather than submitting information to an unofficial site.

If foreclosure or a utility shutoff is already threatened

Do not wait for a HAF decision before contacting the company or agency demanding payment. Ask the mortgage servicer about loss-mitigation options and tell it when a HAF application has been filed. The CFPB notes that a foreclosure process may be paused in some circumstances, but the protection depends on who backs the mortgage and on the rules of the servicer and local program. Some loans have specific pause requirements after notice of a HAF application; other agencies strongly encourage a pause without requiring one.

For independent help, use the CFPB housing-counselor search. A HUD-approved counselor can help you understand the HAF application, communicate with a servicer, and consider other options. If a sale date, court filing, tax sale, or shutoff notice is close, ask about legal aid as well. Do not assume that filing an application automatically stops a legal process.

Scam warnings

HAF information and applications should come from official government or authorized program websites. Be suspicious of anyone who demands an upfront fee, asks you to transfer title, tells you to stop paying your servicer without a written plan, or promises a guaranteed award. The CFPB says there is no cost to apply for HAF. A legitimate local program can explain its eligibility rules, application status, document requests, and payment process without requiring you to hand over control of your home.

Bottom line

The Homeowner Assistance Fund remains useful as a way to locate local COVID-19 hardship assistance, but it should be treated as a closing federal program with jurisdiction-specific availability. Treasury’s current page confirms the $9.961 billion federal allocation and links to the CFPB locator. Use that route to find the program for your home, confirm whether it is accepting applications, check local income and expense rules, and act on any foreclosure or utility risk separately. The September 30, 2026 date is the federal performance end date recorded for this historical reference; it is not a promise that every local program accepts a new application until then.