Minnesota homeowners facing a backlog of housing costs caused by hardships during the Covid-19 pandemic can now apply for assistance through HomeHelpMN.
HomeHelpMN is a program funded by the $109 million of federal money that will help struggling homeowners pay their mortgage or other housing-related costs.
"We're over two years into this pandemic, and we all wish it were over," said Minnesota Housing Commissioner Jennifer Ho. "Some of the economic impacts of this have impacted people for a very long period of time with lost wages, increased living expenses, people with long haul symptoms, and people who have lost loved ones."
Minnesota Housing said Tuesday that close to 25,000 Minnesota households are likely eligible for assistance. The application window for HomeHelpMN opened at 8 a.m. Tuesday and will remain open until June 17.
"The purpose is to support homeowners who've faced financial hardship due to the pandemic and prevent them from losing their homes," Ho said. "That's the fundamental goal of what we are doing here."
Qualified applicants are eligible to receive up to $35,000 through the program, but Commissioner Ho believes that the average payout will likely be far below that maximum payment.
"We expect the average payment will be about half of that."
In fact, Ho added, less than 30 percent of applicants will likely receive a payment.
"We anticipate a high need for assistance," Ho said. "We believe that the amount we received from the federal government is not sufficient to meet all the need in Minnesota. We anticipate about 25,000 Minnesota homes with past due mortgage payments. HomeHelpMN might be able to help 7,000 or 8,000 of those homeowners."
Applications can be submitted online here. The financial hardship must have been experienced after January 21, 2020.