$277 Million Awarded for Florida HomeOwners

Florida Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) awards more than $277 million in total relief to more than 9,900 homeowners, awarding more than $31 million in the first week of August alone. 

    Florida has one of the highest rates of foreclosure in the United States. According to ATTOM Data Solutions, Florida has the sixth most foreclosures in the year so far. Florida is fighting those numbers. Florida's Homeowner Assistance Fund is designed to mitigate financial hardships associated with the COVID-19 pandemic by preventing homeowners’ mortgage delinquencies, defaults, foreclosures, and displacements, as well as by providing assistance with home energy services, internet, property and/or flood insurance, property taxes and homeowner or condominium association fees. 

"The data shows that no state is administering HAF better than Florida. If it weren’t for our quick action to stand up and administer Florida’s HAF program, many Floridians would have lost their homes this summer," said Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) Secretary Dane Eagle. "We’re not slowing down now. The DEO team remains committed to keeping Floridians in their homes, and we will continue expediting relief to the state’s most vulnerable homeowners, based on federal guidance, until funding is exhausted."

Earlier this year, the Department of Economic Opportunity received approval from the United States Department of the Treasury in order to implement the program for eligible homeowners. Prior to the approval of the state’s HAF Needs Assessment and Plan, DEO began utilizing 10 percent of the allocated funding to launch the Homeowner Assistance Fund Pilot Program in November 2021, in accordance with U.S. Treasury guidance. The state of Florida was one of 12 states to proactively launch a HAF Pilot Program while waiting for the U.S. Treasury to approve its Needs Assessment and Plan.

There has been tremendous outreach to Floridians and the HAF program has already received more Tier 1 applications than total funding allocated. This means that the entirety of the funding will be used to serve Floridians in need. Those eligible may receive up to $50,000 in assistance.