The California Mortgage Relief Program is providing financial assistance to cover missed mortgage or property tax payments to help homeowners who have a mortgage, a reverse mortgage, or who are mortgage-free. The grants help homeowners who have had a financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistance provided through this program is not a loan and does not need to be paid back.

Whether they have a mortgage, a reverse mortgage, or are mortgage-free, the program is open to all California homeowners who meet the eligibility requirements. 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 partial claim or loan deferral (If you are applying for help with your partial claim or loan deferral, but you are also behind on your mortgage, please also apply for mortgage assistance); or
• Have a reverse mortgage and owe their servicer for past due property tax and/or insurance.

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. More information on eligibility requirements can be found on the Who is Eligible page. For further questions regarding eligibility, the Contact Center is available Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 AM and 6 PM PST.

The California Mortgage Relief Program encourages applicants who were previously denied to re-apply if they believe they meet the updated eligibility criteria. Applicants can re-apply by submitting a new application at CaMortgageRelief.org.

Homeowners may only have one active application in the review process at a time.

• For homeowners with a mortgage or reverse mortgage, funding covers the full past-due amount owed to their lender. Homeowners who are delinquent by more than $80,000 at the time they submit their application would not be eligible for assistance. 

• For homeowners who pay their property taxes directly to their county, grants fund the past-due amount that is owed to their county tax collector.  

• Grants from the Program may also be used to reduce or eliminate an existing partial claim or loan deferral received during or after January 2020. To receive this assistance, homeowners must be caught up on mortgage payments or also apply for help with late mortgage payments (must have missed at least two payments by August 1, 2023).   

The assistance provided through the California Mortgage Relief Program is not a loan and does not need to be paid back. Homeowners receiving these grants should talk with a tax professional about any impact this may have on their income taxes.

Households are allowed to apply for additional assistance, even if they previously received funding, with each household eligible to receive a maximum of $80,000 in total assistance. The household must meet all other requirements for additional support at the time of the new application. Applicants may only have one active application in the review process at a time.

Eligible homeowners may apply multiple times for any of the assistance options and receive a maximum of $80,000 in funding, even if they already received a grant from the California Mortgage Relief Program. Once an eligible homeowner has received $80,000 in total assistance, they will have reached the program assistance limit. You must meet all other eligibility requirements at the time you submit your new application.

With the program expansion, homeowners who have previously applied to the program may reapply for additional assistance. However, applicants may only have one application in the review process at a time. If your initial application has been approved, declined or canceled, and you have fallen behind again or had another change in circumstances, you may reapply. Any additional applications will not be processed if your initial application is still in the review process.

Eligible homeowners are now allowed to receive multiple grant awards, up to a maximum of $80,000 in total assistance. If you would like to apply for assistance in more than one area, you may select all that would apply in the Application Questionnaire. 

For the California Mortgage Relief Program, a financial hardship is either a reduced income or increased living expenses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Examples of living expenses are medical expenses, more people living in the household, or costs for utility services. 

A sample list of documents to gather before completing the application includes:

• Mortgage statement
• Bank statements
• Utility bill
• Income documentation (i.e. paystubs, tax returns, or unemployment document)

Depending on their unique circumstances, some applicants will have to provide different kinds of information as well. More information on documents needed can be found on the Who is Eligible page

You can find out if you meet income requirements by using the AMI calculator found on the home page of the California Mortgage Relief Program website. Homeowners are eligible for assistance from the program if their household income is at or below the county income limit (150% of their county’s AMI, based on federal limits set for this program). The AMI varies by county and household size. 

Income limits are determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to U.S. Treasury Guidance for the Homeowner Assistance Fund, a homeowner may be eligible for assistance if their household income is at or below 150% of their local county’s Area Median Income, or at or below 100% of the U.S. Median Income, whichever is greater. 

To be eligible, homeowners can own only one residential property and will not receive funding if they own multiple properties. However, eligible homeowners’ one property can have the following:

• Individual residence
• Duplex
• Triplex
• 4-plex

If the application questionnaire says you don’t qualify for assistance, we recommend that you contact a HUD-certified housing counselor at 1-800-569-4287 to discuss other options available to you. However, if you feel you have entered information incorrectly or if your circumstances change, you may try the Eligibility tool again with the corrected information.

You can check to see if you are eligible to apply for the California Mortgage Relief Program by visiting CaMortgageRelief.org and clicking the “Apply Now” button. Homeowners who meet the pre-screening criteria may complete an application for funding. Application assistance is available through the program’s Contact Center at 1-888-840-2594. 

For questions about your application or questions about the program, help is available through the program’s Contact Center at 1-888-840-2594 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 A.M. and 6 P.M. PST.

To see if there is locally available help near you, visit the Community Based Organizations page.

For help deciding if this program is the best way to get help for your housing situation, contact a HUD-Certified Housing Counselor.

OR

Free legal assistance for homeowners, including foreclosure prevention and assistance with the California Mortgage Relief Program application, is available through the organizations listed on the Legal Assistance page.

The Program will remain open until all funds have been awarded to California homeowners, with an end date projected by 2025. While there is no deadline to apply, funds are awarded on a first come, first served basis.

Completed applications with all required documentation may take several weeks from the date of application submission until a qualified applicant receives the approved funding. The California Mortgage Relief Program is committed to helping homeowners as quickly as possible.

Funds for approved applications will go directly to the organization/entity who is owed funds, either a mortgage servicer or a county tax collector. Funds are never provided directly to applicants.

Once an application is approved, the California Mortgage Relief Program will work closely with your loan servicer or county tax collector to process payments quickly. We are committed to helping homeowners as quickly as possible.

If your application for assistance was denied, you have up to 30 days after the denial to submit an appeal by filling out the questionnaire in the Application Intake Portal. The questionnaire will determine whether you may move forward with your appeal. When submitting your appeal, please include any documentation to support your appeal.

Once you submit your appeal, it will be reviewed, and you will be contacted if more information is needed or once a decision has been made regarding your appeal.

If you have questions about the reason for a denial that you need answered before you decide whether to appeal, please call the Contact Center at 1-888-840-2594.

You may also reapply for the program by submitting a new application. You can submit a new application by visiting CaMortgageRelief.org and clicking Apply Now.

Your eligibility is not impacted if your loan being is sold or transferred to another company. If, during that transaction, the new lender brings the loan current due to an agreed-upon loan modification, then the loan would not qualify because it is no longer past due.

To stay up to date on the latest updates to the program, which could impact your future eligibility, we encourage you to sign up for the eNewsletter in the Stay Informed section of the California Mortgage Relief Program website. We encourage homeowners who do not qualify for this program but need help figuring out their options, including other assistance programs, to contact a HUD-certified housing counselor at 1-800-569-4287. 

Find a HUD-certified housing counselor near you.

Yes, if your application was canceled, you can re-apply by visiting the California Mortgage Relief Program website and clicking the “Apply Now” button. 

Applicants may only have one active application in the review process at a time.

Applications must be completed online; however, housing counselors or partner community-based organizations may be available to help you complete and submit your application.

To check if in-person assistance is available near you, please visit the Community Based Organizations page.

The application is available in six languages: English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese and Tagalog.

The Contact Center is able to provide assistance over the phone in over 200 languages. To speak to a California Mortgage Relief Program representative call 1-888-840-2594 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8AM and 6PM PST.

Yes, digital photos of documents are considered equivalent to scanned documents. Make sure that the photos are taken in good lighting and are readable.

The application portal will store your information so you can return to where you left off. Homeowners have 30 days to complete their application and provide all required information. After the 30 days, the application will be canceled.  

Once you submit your application, it will be transferred for review, and you will no longer be able to make additional changes. However, a review specialist will contact you regarding your application, so you may discuss your changes with them. Applicants can also send messages directly to their reviewers in the application portal.