WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MORTGAGE, RENT & PROPERTY TAXES DURING THIS EPIDEMIC

What if I own my home and I can’t pay my mortgage because of COVID-19?

Call your mortgage servicer right away. Your servicer is the company or bank you send your mortgage payments to every month. Do not stop making payments without talking to them.

You also have a mortgage lender. This is different than your servicer. The lender owns your mortgage. If you don’t know who your lender is, ask your servicer. What rules apply to you depends on your lender.

Federally-Backed Mortgages
For many loans, servicers have to offer you forbearance options if you ask for help because your income has been affected by the COVID-19 emergency. Forbearance means your payments are not due until the end of the forbearance period. A forbearance can be up to 12 months. You still owe all your mortgage payments for that time, but they can’t charge you penalties or late fees.  At the end of the forbearance period, you can apply for a loan modification to help you get caught up on your payments. But loan modifications are not guaranteed. There may also be other options to catch up on your payments. Talk to your servicer.

If you ask for help, servicers have to offer forbearance options for the following types of federally-backed loans:

FHA
HUD Reverse Mortgage
VA
USDA
Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac

If you have one of these loans and need a forbearance, contact your servicer and tell them that you are having financial hardship due to COVID-19. Forbearances can be up to 12 months, but you may have to re-ask your servicer for the forbearance at different times during the 12 months. Pay attention to any dates or deadlines your servicer gives you.

For example: Sarah was approved for a 3-month forbearance by her servicer, for April, May, and June 2020. Sarah kept losing income during this time because of COVID-19. She called her servicer at the end of June to extend her forbearance for another 3 months – July, August, and September 2020. If she keeps losing income because of COVID-19, she can keep applying for forbearance extensions for up to a total of 12 months.
Forbearance options for these kinds of mortgages are available from March 27 until December 31, 2020, or the end of the COVID-19 emergency, whichever comes first.

Private Bank Mortgages
If your mortgage is not a federally-backed mortgage like the ones listed above, it is owned by a private bank. If that is the case, your servicer does not have to offer forbearance options. But your servicer may voluntarily offer a forbearance or have other COVID-related options. Contact your servicer right away and ask for information and options directly from them.

Forbearance for Multifamily Property Owners

Owners of multifamily properties (properties with at least five living units) with federally backed mortgages can request a mortgage forbearance if they are experiencing financial hardship due to the COVID-19 emergency. Property owners must have been current on their mortgage payments as of February 1, 2020 to request a forbearance under the act. The forbearance is for 30 days. After the 30 days are up, the property owner can request up to two additional 30-day extensions to their forbearance. The property owner can end the forbearance at any time and go back to making their regular mortgage payments.

Protection for Tenants of Multifamily Properties

Property owners who get a forbearance cannot evict tenants for nonpayment of rent or charge late fees for late rent during the forbearance. Property owners must give a tenant 30 days’ notice to vacate (leave) the home before filing for eviction, and can only do this after the forbearance ends. As always, a tenant can only be evicted after a court order. This means that after the notice period ends, the landlord would still need to file a court case for eviction to make the tenant leave.

Property Tax Foreclosurestop

On March 18, 2020, Governor Whitmer issued an executive order (EO) that extends the deadline to redeem property which was foreclosed on due to nonpayment of delinquent (past due) property taxes.

In Michigan, the property tax foreclosure process takes three years. Typically, the redemption period (the time to pay all past due taxes and fees and reverse the foreclosure) for delinquent (past due) taxes ends on March 31 of the third year of delinquency. That is when a Foreclosing Governmental Unit (usually the county treasurer or the State of Michigan) forecloses on the property. The EO extends the redemption period for properties that may be foreclosed on this year from March 31st to May 29th or at 30 days after the state of emergency ends (whichever is later).

If you have questions about your property taxes, contact your local county treasury department or use the Guide to Legal Help to see if there is a lawyer who can help you. You also may be able to find information on the Michigan Department of Treasury website.

Eviction Moratoriumtop

On April 17, 2020, Governor Whitmer signed a new executive order (EO) that continues to stop evictions in Michigan during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) emergency. This means that tenants will not be evicted if they aren’t able to pay all their rent during the emergency. Landlords can still make a demand for rent, but their demand cannot include a demand for possession, or other threat of eviction, based on the nonpayment of rent.

The EO also tells courts to stay (put on hold) all current eviction cases until after the emergency has passed. There is an exception that allows for removal of tenants and mobile home owners if they pose substantial risk to another person or an imminent and severe risk to the property.

If you think you are being evicted in violation of this EO, use the Guide to Legal Help to find a lawyer or legal services office in your area. Even though many law offices are closed to the public, many offices are still open with lawyers working remotely.

This EO took effect on March 20 and will last until May 15 at 11:59pm. Once the EO expires, eviction cases will start or continue where they left off. These toolkits have useful information: I Am Being Evicted for Non-Payment of Rent (Non-Subsidized Housing), I’m Being Evicted because My Landlord Wants to Recover Possession of My Home (Non-Subsidized Housing), I’m Being Evicted for Health Hazard/Injury to the Premises, and I’m Being Evicted from a Mobile Home Park.

Do I Still Have to Pay Rent?
Yes, if you can. You must still follow all parts of your lease. If you fall behind on rent during this emergency, your landlord can’t file an eviction now, but you still owe your landlord that money. This means that after the emergency has passed, your landlord can either start or continue your eviction case.

If you are withholding rent for repair problems, this is different than just not paying your rent. To learn more about this, review the I Am Having Trouble Getting My Landlord to Make Repairs toolkit.

If you are struggling to pay your rent because you lost your job, review the I Need to Apply for Unemployment Benefits toolkit.

Some local community organizations offer rent assistance. You can search Community Services to find organizations in your area that may be able to help. Be sure to select your county for accurate results.

Can My Landlord Evict Me Without Going to Court?
No. It is still illegal for your landlord to evict you without first going to court and getting an eviction order. Without an eviction order, your landlord can’t do anything that prevents you from having access to your home. If your landlord gets an eviction order, only a sheriff, sheriff’s deputy, or court bailiff can physically remove you and your belongings from your home.

To learn more about illegal evictions and what you can do if your landlord is trying to illegally evict you, review the I Think I’ve Been Illegally Evicted toolkit and use the Guide to Legal Help to see if there is a lawyer who can help you.