Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund Deadline: December 8, 2023

The Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund (MIHAF) closed its application portal at midnight on Friday, December 8, 2023, ending one of the state's largest pandemic-era relief programs for homeowners. In the months and weeks before the deadline, state officials pushed urgent messages to homeowners with pandemic-related mortgage, tax, or utility delinquencies to apply before the window shut. Thousands did, bringing the program close to its full $242 million allocation.

How MIHAF Worked

MIHAF was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which directed $242 million to Michigan specifically for homeownership-related assistance tied to COVID-19. The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) administered the program, with the goal of keeping homeowners from losing their homes because of pandemic-related hardship.

Eligible applicants could receive grants of up to $25,000 to catch up on:

• Past-due mortgage principal, interest, taxes, and insurance
• Property tax delinquencies directly threatening foreclosure
• Homeowner's insurance premiums
• Utility payments, including gas, electricity, and water
• Condominium or homeowners association fees threatening lien or foreclosure

Payments flowed directly to mortgage servicers, tax authorities, utility companies, or associations rather than to the homeowner.

Who Qualified

Basic MIHAF eligibility required:

1. Michigan residency with the home being the applicant's primary residence.
2. Pandemic-related hardship such as job loss, reduced hours, increased expenses, illness, or death in the family, beginning or continuing after January 21, 2020.
3. Income at or below 150% of area median income, with some program features targeted to lower income tiers.
4. Ownership of a qualifying property including single-family homes, condos, and certain manufactured homes.
5. A current delinquency that the homeowner could not reasonably resolve without assistance.

Households who had already received HAF assistance in another state were not eligible to double up, though many Michigan applicants could combine MIHAF with other forms of help such as utility hardship programs or state-funded tax deferrals.

Impact Before the Deadline

MIHAF delivered on a scale few Michigan homeowner aid programs had ever reached. By the final weeks of the program, it had stabilized thousands of households and distributed close to the full allocation. The average approved award ranged from several thousand to more than ten thousand dollars, depending on the size of the delinquency.

For many homeowners, MIHAF was the only viable path out of foreclosure. Servicers were sometimes unwilling or unable to modify loans for borrowers with large arrearages, and state law gave homeowners only limited time between missed payments and a sheriff's sale. MIHAF closed that gap.

The Pressure Around the Deadline

As the December 8 deadline approached, MSHDA and advocacy groups pushed strong messaging through media outlets, community organizations, and housing counselors. The message was straightforward: if you have been struggling, apply before December 8.

After December 8, homeowners could be added to a waitlist by calling MIHAF customer service or emailing the program, though waitlist placement did not guarantee funds. As the final balance closed out, only homeowners who had already submitted complete applications remained in the approval queue.

What Replaced MIHAF

Once MIHAF wound down, Michigan homeowners in distress had fewer state-specific tools available, but several options remained:

• Step Forward Michigan. While the original Step Forward program had ended, a successor principal reduction and loan modification resource remained in limited form.
• HUD-approved housing counseling. Free counseling helped homeowners negotiate with servicers, apply for loan modifications, and explore legal aid.
• Utility hardship programs. Michigan utilities operated programs like the State Emergency Relief Program and Michigan Energy Assistance Program for residents behind on bills.
• Property tax foreclosure avoidance programs. County treasurers operate installment plans and hardship options to prevent tax foreclosure sales.
• Legal aid for foreclosure defense. Michigan's legal aid organizations provide free representation for qualifying homeowners.

Lessons From MIHAF

The MIHAF experience carried a few takeaways for homeowners in any state:

1. Act early in the life of an assistance program. Programs with finite budgets close without warning, and late applicants are often shut out.
2. Complete every document fully. Incomplete applications stall, sometimes past a deadline.
3. Stay in contact with your servicer. Assistance programs work best when the servicer is willing to work with the state and pause foreclosure activity while an application is pending.
4. Keep receipts and letters. Post-program audits, repayment disputes, and tax questions can come up months or years later.

Bottom Line

The December 8, 2023 deadline marked the end of Michigan's largest homeowner rescue effort in recent memory. MIHAF prevented thousands of foreclosures, kept families current on insurance and utilities, and routed federal pandemic dollars exactly where they were needed. Homeowners who applied by the deadline preserved their chance at relief. Those who missed it had to shift to the patchwork of tools that remained, starting with a call to a HUD-approved housing counselor.