The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) just announced it is reopening a mortgage assistance program designed to assist homeowners financially impacted by the pandemic on Tuesday November 1st. The Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund (ILHAF) provides up to $60,000 in mortgage assistance to eligible homeowners —
paid directly to the servicer, taxing body or other approved entity — while homeowners work to regain their financial footing. This is double the $30,000 previously offered in the last round of grants. Whether homeowners have a mortgage, a reverse mortgage, or are mortgage-free, the program can fund past due housing payments and up to three months of prospective mortgage payments.
The program is free and funds do not need to be repaid. Application, program information and updates can be found at illinoishousinghelp.org. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, January 31st, 2023.
To qualify for ILHAF assistance, Illinois homeowners must have experienced a financial hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic after Jan. 21, 2020 (including a hardship that began before Jan. 21, 2020, but continued after that date). They also must currently own and occupy their home in Illinois as their primary residence, be at least 30 days late on their monthly housing payments and have a household income at or below 150% of the area median income.
Potential applicants must demonstrate they have either communicated with their mortgage provider about their inability to pay, or sought counseling with a HUD-approved counseling organization. Interested homeowners are strongly encouraged to attend an information session hosted by IHDA or one of our housing partners. The session schedule is posted online at illinoishousinghelp.org, for those without access to a computer or the internet,
please contact the ILHAF hotline at 1-866-IL-HELP (866-454-3571).
ILHAF is funded through an appropriation in the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which was signed into law in March 2021. The $1.9 trillion economic stimulus relief designed to speed up recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic included $9.96 billion allocated for state territories, tribes and the Department of Hawaiian Homelands. The state of Illinois was allocated $386.9 million which was appropriated to IHDA by the Illinois General Assembly.