How to Apply for Mortgage and Utility Aid in Pennsylvania

Spotlight PA is a non-partisan newsroom established by The Philadelphia Inquirer in collaboration with PennLive/The Patriot-News, TribLIVE/Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and WITF Public Media. The state of Pennsylvania was granted $350 million by the federal government to aid homeowners who were struggling to keep up with mortgage payments during the pandemic. Unfortunately, the process of distributing this aid has been slow and arduous, due to the high demand and the inability to gather critical information from mortgage companies.

This article aims to provide a comprehensive guide for Pennsylvania homeowners who are seeking assistance with their mortgage payments or other housing costs. To begin with, the Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund is available to help with a range of costs including late mortgage payments, utility bills, property taxes, homeowner’s insurance premiums, and homeowner association fees. However, the maximum amount of assistance anyone can receive is $50,000, with specific caps on each type of assistance. As of February 1, 2022, you are only eligible for each type of aid once, meaning that if you receive funding for your mortgage debt, for example, and then fall behind again, you won’t be eligible for another round of assistance.

The payments from the program are directly transferred to the mortgage or utility company, and further details can be found on the program’s official website. To qualify for the aid, you must be a Pennsylvania homeowner who has experienced financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, starting January 21, 2020. You must be at least one month behind on your mortgage payments to receive debt assistance and up to date on payments with monthly mortgage payments taking up at least 30% of your monthly income for ongoing payment assistance. The property tied to your application must be your primary residence, and the mortgage amount borrowed must be below a certain limit depending on the year the loan was taken and the location of the home. You must also meet specific income requirements based on your county or metropolitan area.

Applications aren’t processed on a first come, first served basis. Homeowners are prioritized based on their income, demographics, and risk of foreclosure, utility shut-off, or property sale due to overdue property taxes. Wait times can vary based on how quickly the mortgage company responds to the program’s requests for information, and whether the process runs into any obstacles. Homeowners should expect to wait at least several months for assistance. In cases where assistance is needed for multiple housing costs, the program’s policy is to only work on the mortgage assistance first, which could leave other bills on hold for several months. However, if the applicant is at risk of having utilities shut off or their property sold due to back taxes, they can sign a form to receive help with those bills first.

Unfortunately, long wait times are common due to the high demand and difficulties in coordinating with mortgage companies. The program’s initial goal when it launched in February 2022 was to provide assistance to homeowners within 60 days, but average wait times have exceeded four months as of mid-December 2022. If you’re waiting for assistance and require updates, you can try reaching out to your caseworker directly or set up an appointment through the program’s call center. Some homeowners have reported more success reaching the program through Facebook Messenger on the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency page.

In most cases, mortgage companies are required to put foreclosure proceedings on hold for at least 60 days once an applicant has applied to the program, and program officials report that many companies are willing to wait longer. If you receive a pre-foreclosure notice, send it to the program immediately.