Mortgage relief program expands to help California homeowners with 2022 payments, past-due property taxes

A state program to help homeowners who have missed mortgage payments due to the pandemic is being expanded.

The California Mortgage Relief Program, which has distributed more than $68 million in one-time grants to more than 1,957 homeowners since it was launched, is expanding its income eligibility and is being extended to help people who have missed payments in 2022 or could not pay their property taxes.

"Many California homeowners, like many renters, felt the impact of COVID-19 on their household finances, putting them at risk of losing the homes they've worked so hard for," Lourdes Castro Ramirez, secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency, said in a statement.

The expanded program is now open to homeowners who have missed at least two payments before June 20, 2022 and are currently delinquent. These homeowners may now be eligible for full reimbursement for missed housing payments up to $80,000. The program will also now help mortgage-free homeowners and those who are up-to-date with their payments with past-due property taxes. These homeowners can now receive up to $20,000 to cover past-due property taxes if they missed at least one payment prior to May 31, 2022.

The program is now open to homeowners with a household income at or below 150% of the county's Area Median Income. Applicants can find their county's income limit at CaMortgageRelief.org or call 1-888-840-2594 for more information.

Applicants who were previously deemed ineligible will be notified of the program's expansion. There are no deadlines, but homeowners are being urged to apply as soon as possible.