LANSING, Mich. — Homeownership debt relief for Michiganders impacted by the pandemic is still available through the Michigan Homeowner Assistance Fund (MIHAF).
MIHAF says there is about $32 million remaining that is available for Michiganders who are delinquent on property taxes, mortgage payments, land contracts, mobile home lot fees and more.
“This was a result of the American Cares Act,” Dawn Hengesbach, the MIHAF project manager, explained. “We’re a year and a half into the program, and so it’s part of the COVID assistance with families and homeowners and helping them through some delinquencies as a result of the COVID pandemic.”
You must own and occupy your home to be eligible for this assistance.
Additionally, you must attest to a COVID-related hardship, such as caring for someone in your family who had COVID, by explaining how it reduced your income or increased your expenses.
“We recently modified the MIHAF program to include property tax assistance prior to the COVID pandemic because we realized that the need was there,” Hengesbach added. “Once the pandemic hit, it put families struggling to pay those already delinquent property taxes even further behind so it just made it impossible to get caught up and it put them at a risk of losing their homes so it was our hope by expanding the program to include those prior tax years…that it would put families in a better position moving forward.”
You can apply for assistance on the Michigan State Housing Development Authority’s website.
To apply, you will need proof of identification, proof of social security number, proof of household income and proof of delinquency.
If you need help applying for the program, MIHAF partnered with 211 of Michigan to assist.
