Texas Grant Program Provides Mortgage and Utility Aid to El Paso Homeowners

TXHAF Comes to El Paso

The Texas Homeowner Assistance Fund (TXHAF) was created to deliver targeted relief to Texas homeowners who fell behind on housing-related payments due to COVID-19. Administered by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) and funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, TXHAF rolled out statewide — and was heavily used by El Paso County homeowners, where many households faced job disruptions and income losses during the pandemic.

Local coverage by KFOX and outreach from the Alliance of Border Collaboratives helped drive El Paso awareness of the program, which paid grants directly to servicers, taxing entities, insurance carriers, HOAs, and utility providers on behalf of qualifying homeowners.

What TXHAF Covered

Eligible El Paso homeowners could receive grants to cover:

• Past-due mortgage payments — bringing a delinquent loan current.
• Up to three months of future mortgage payments.
• Past-due property taxes.
• Past-due homeowners insurance premiums.
• Past-due HOA and condo association fees.
• Past-due utility bills — including electricity, natural gas, propane, water, and wastewater.
• Up to three months of prospective utility payments.

Program caps were set at up to $40,000 per household for mortgage-related assistance and up to $25,000 per household for property tax, insurance, and HOA support.

Who Qualified

To be eligible, El Paso homeowners generally needed to meet the following:

• Own and occupy a primary residence in Texas.
• Have household income at or below 100% of Area Median Income (AMI) or a federally defined threshold, depending on the component of the program.
• Have experienced a COVID-19-related financial hardship after January 21, 2020.
• Be delinquent on a qualifying payment (mortgage, taxes, HOA, utilities, etc.), or imminently at risk of delinquency.
• Not exceed a maximum assistance cap.

Applications were free, and homeowners were strongly encouraged to avoid third-party companies that charged fees to 'help' apply.

How El Paso Homeowners Applied

Applications were handled through the TXHAF portal operated by TDHCA and its program administrator. The City of El Paso and the El Paso County Tax Office published consumer-friendly flyers pointing residents to the portal and outlining required documents. Typical documents required included:

• Identification and household member information.
• Proof of income or income loss.
• Mortgage statement, property tax bill, HOA statement, or utility bill showing the delinquency.
• Documentation tying the hardship to COVID-19 (layoff, reduced hours, medical, etc.).

The Alliance of Border Collaboratives and other El Paso nonprofits also provided hands-on application assistance in English and Spanish.

Program Status

TXHAF operated in phases, each with its own application window and funding allocation. By its third and final phase, TDHCA announced that all applications had been processed and the fund was making its final payments. Program status was ultimately listed as closed to new applications once federal funds were exhausted.

For El Paso homeowners whose applications were accepted before the closure, benefits continued to flow through servicers, tax offices, and utilities until committed funds were disbursed.

What to Do If You Missed TXHAF

El Paso homeowners who did not benefit from TXHAF but are currently facing mortgage or utility hardship still have options:

• Mortgage servicer loss mitigation — federal rules require servicers to evaluate loss mitigation options (forbearance, modification, repayment plan) before foreclosure.
• HUD-approved housing counseling — free, certified counselors can negotiate with servicers and screen for available programs.
• El Paso County Community Services — provides emergency rent and mortgage assistance for county residents facing immediate hardship.
• LIHEAP (Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program) — for utility bill help.
• Texas Legal Services Center / Lone Star Legal Aid — for legal help with foreclosure or tax delinquency.

The Lasting Impact in El Paso

For thousands of El Paso homeowners, TXHAF was a lifeline during and after the pandemic. Direct payments to mortgage servicers, tax offices, and utility companies kept families in their homes, preserved credit records, and preserved long-term housing stability. While the program has closed, the infrastructure — the application portal, the servicer agreements, the local outreach partnerships — has been noted by housing advocates as a model Texas could activate again in future housing emergencies.