Biden Extends Moratorium on Foreclosures, Mortgage Payment Deferrals

The foreclosure moratorium, which was scheduled to end March 31, has been extended to June 30 along with the enrollment period for borrowers who want to sign up for mortgage payment forbearance. Borrowers who entered forbearance on or before June 30, 2020, can qualify for as much as six months of additional payment forbearance, delivered in three-month increments.

"These actions will bring needed relief to most of the 2.7 million homeowners currently in forbearance and extend forbearance options for nearly 11 million homeowners with government-backed mortgages across the country," Biden's press secretary, Jen Psaki, said in a news conference Tuesday.

The administration did not extend the moratorium on evictions, which expires on March 31, but Biden's $1.9 trillion economic relief plan, called the American Rescue Plan, extends that protection and the foreclosure moratorium through September and provides billions in assistance for tenants and landlords. Psaki said it was "critical that Congress pass the American Rescue Plan to deliver more aid to struggling homeowners."

Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com, said, "Extending the forbearance available on federally-backed mortgages is a critically important move to preserve homeownership for millions of households that have seen income disruption or outright job loss due to the pandemic."