“The California Mortgage Relief Program is funded by the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act’s Homeowners Assistance Fund. It provides assistance to qualified homeowners who have fallen behind on their housing payments, property tax payments, or who have partial claims or loan deferrals taken due to pandemic-related financial hardships. Assistance provided through this state run program is not a loan and does not need to be paid back.

Maximum assistance per household: $80,000

Homeowners may be eligible if they:

• Missed at least two payments on their primary mortgage and are currently past due; or

• Owe for unpaid property taxes (whether paid directly to their county or as part of your mortgage payment); or

• Have a reverse mortgage and owe their servicer for past due property tax and/or insurance; or

• Have a partial claim or loan deferral.

All applicants must meet the following requirements:

• Household income is at or below the county income limit (150% of their county’s Area Median Income, based on federal limits set for this program);

• Own and live in a single-family home, condo, permanently affixed manufactured home or property with up to four units; and

• Experienced a pandemic-related financial hardship after Jan. 21, 2020 – either a loss of income or increase in household expenses.

Additional requirements will need to be met depending on the type of assistance needed. For further questions regarding eligibility, the Contact Center is available Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 AM and 6 PM PST.”

— CAmortgagerelief.org