MCLEAN, VA. AND WASHINGTON, D.C. — McLean-based Freddie Mac and Washington, D.C.-based Fannie Mae have extended their forbearance programs for multifamily borrowers that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the programs, multifamily landlords whose properties are financed with a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae loan can defer their loan payments by showing hardship as a consequence of COVID-19, and by gaining lender approval. The extension now runs through March 31, 2021. The programs also require landlords to suspend all evictions for renters during the forbearance period. The two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) had announced in June that the programs would expire at the end of 2020.
Other tenant protections through the program include:
- Landlords must provide rent repayment flexibility and cannot require missed or late rents to be paid in one lump sum;
- Landlords cannot charge late fees or penalties for nonpayments; and
- Landlords must provide 30 days’ notice for the tenant to vacate during the repayment period.
“We are still in the midst of the pandemic, and to continue to provide support for the multifamily market, we are providing additional time for borrowers to request a new or supplemental forbearance agreement,” says Debby Jenkins, executive vice president and head of multifamily at Freddie Mac. “Our forbearance program is just one way that Freddie Mac Multifamily has worked to support multifamily operators and renters throughout COVID-19, and we will continue doing what we can to provide for stability, liquidity and affordability.”