COVID: Pennsylvania eviction and foreclosure moratoria expired on Aug. 31, 2020

by Christina Drzal, Supervising Attorney for LASP's Regional Housing Unit

(Aug. 31, 2020) Pennsylvania's eviction and foreclosure moratoria ended on Monday, Aug. 31. The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) has $150 million in rental assistance and $25 million in mortgage assistance for Pennsylvania residents affected by COVID-19. Information on the programs and applications can be found at https://www.phfa.org/pacares/.

The funds are a grant and do not need to be repaid. 

The Philadelphia Unemployment Project is offering several "Housing Help Virtual Info Sessions – Pandemic Mortgage Assistance Program" on Thursdays, Sept. 3 and Sept. 17, both at 7 p.m., and on Saturdays, Sept. 5 and Sept. 19, both at 10 a.m. To register for one of these free events:  https://bit.ly/32JxpWb. The sessions are designed for people who are currently behind or expect to fall behind on their mortgage payments to see if the Pandemic Mortgage Assistance program can help. The sessions also will briefly discuss other available resources for homeowners, renters, and those struggling with unemployment compensation.

In their current form, the PHFA programs have faced serious issues that have impeded success rates. In the first 25 days of the rental assistance program, out of about 10,000 applications, only 195 landlords were paid. For the mortgage assistance program, out of 1,500 hundred applicants, 100 were approved. 

However, PHFA has already submitted suggestions for legislative changes to the programs including increasing the monthly assistance amount, extending the program application deadline, and no longer requiring that people actually be delinquent to receive assistance.

The funds are disbursed through PHFA in partnership with a local agency in each county. Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, and Delaware counties all have separate funding through the Coronavirus Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act and are using or should soon be using that funding to supplement the PHFA funds.

LASP has received funding to assist people to apply to these programs.