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Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr. 2
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to preserve continue foreclosure 14
protections for homeowners who applied for funding from the DC Homeowner Assistance 15
Fund program before September 30, 2022 and whose applications remain under review, 16
pending approval, pending payment, or under appeal, and to require notices continue to be 17
sent to homeowners informing them of the DC HAF program prior to a foreclosure action. 18
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RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 20
resolution may be cited as the “Foreclosure Moratorium and Homeowner Assistance Fund 21
Coordination Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2023.” 22
Sec. 2. (a) There exists an immediate need to continue a foreclosure moratorium for 23
certain homeowners who applied for COVID pandemic- related funding from the DC 24
Homeowner Assistance Fund (“DC HAF”) program before September 30, 2022, and whose 25
applications remain under review, pending approval, pending payment, or under appeal, and to 26
require regular application status updates be provided to those homeowners until their 27
applications are resolved. 28
(b) The District received $50 million in f ederal assistance through the American Rescue 29
Plan Act to assist low- and moderate-income homeowners who experienced new or exacerbated 30
financial hardships as a result of the pandemic and, in June 2022, the Department of Housing and 31
Community Development (“DHCD”) opened applications for DC’s Homeowner Assistance 32
Fund program. 33 2
(c) In June 2022, the Council extended the pandemic -related foreclosure moratorium to 34
align with the opening of the DC HAF program and required homeowners to submit an 35
application for DC HAF assistance to cure housing debts by September 30, 2022 in order to 36
remain eligible for foreclosure protections beyond that initial deadline. 37
(d) As of June 30, 2023, DHCD had approved 1,048 DC HAF applications, but 400 38
applications were still under review and awaiting potential payment, necessitating an extension 39
of the foreclosure moratorium protections previously guaranteed to those homeowners who met 40
the September 30, 2022 deadline for their DC HAF application s. DHCD explains that the reasons 41
for delays in processing DC HAF applications and providing payments include applicants’ 42
complex requests for assistance with multiple obligations, applicants’ revisions to applications, 43
financers’ need to register with DHCD, and financers’ need to verify payment details. 44
(e) The Foreclosure Moratorium and Homeowner Assistance Fund Coordination 45
Temporary Amendment Act of 2022 was passed November 15, 2022, and is scheduled to expire 46
on October 6, 2023. 47
(f) Emergency legislation is necessary to prevent any potential gap in the law and protect 48
homeowners from foreclosures as they continue to await approvals and payments from DHCD. 49
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 50
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the 51
Foreclosure Moratorium and Homeowner Assistance Fund Coordination Emergency 52
Amendment Act of 2022 be adopted after a single reading. 53
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 54