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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, due to congressional review, with respect to the need 14
to continue foreclosure protections for homeowners who applied for funding from the DC 15
Homeowner Assistance Fund (“DC HAF") program before September 30, 2022 and 16
whose applications remain under review, pending approval, pending payment, or under 17
appeal, and to require that notices continue to be sent to homeowners informing them of 18
the DC HAF program before a foreclosure action. 19
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 21
resolution may be cited as the “Foreclosure Moratorium and Homeowner Assistance Fund 22
Coordination Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2023”. 23
Sec. 2. (a) There exists an immediate need to continue a foreclosure moratorium for 24
certain homeowners who applied for COVID pandemic- related funding from the DC 25
Homeowner Assistance Fund (“DC HAF”) program before September 30, 2022, and whose 26
applications remain under review, pending approval, pending payment, or under appeal, and to 27
require regular application status updates be provided to those homeowners until their 28
applications are resolved. 29
(b) The District received $50 million in f ederal assistance through the American Rescue 30
Plan Act to assist low- and moderate-income homeowners who experienced new or exacerbated 31
financial hardships as a result of the pandemic and, in June 2022, the Department of Housing and 32 2
Community Development (“DHCD”) opened applications for DC’s Homeowner Assistance 33
Fund (“DC HAF”) program. 34
(c) In June 2022, the Council extended the pandemic -related foreclosure moratorium to 35
align with the opening of the DC HAF program and required homeowners to submit an 36
application for DC HAF assistance to cure housing debts by September 30, 2022, to remain 37
eligible for foreclosure protections beyond that initial deadline. 38
(d) As of June 30, 2023, DHCD had approved 1,048 DC HAF applications but 400 39
applications were still under review and awaiting potential payment, necessitating an extension 40
of the foreclosure moratorium protections previously guaranteed to those homeowners who met 41
the September 30, 2022, deadline for their DC HAF applications. DHCD explains that the 42
reasons for delays in processing DC HAF applications and providing payments include 43
applicants’ complex requests for assistance with multiple obligations, applicants’ revisions to 44
applications, financers’ need to register with DHCD, and financers’ need to verify payment 45
details. 46
(e) In July 2023, the Council passed the Foreclosure Moratorium and Homeowner 47
Assistance Fund Coordination Emergency Amendment Act of 2023, effective July 27, 2023 48
(D.C. Act 25 -192; 70 DCR 10725) and voted unanimously in favor of the Foreclosure 49
Moratorium and Homeowner Assistance Fund Coordination Temporary Amendment Act of 50
2023, passed on first reading on July 11, 2023 (Bill 25- 364). The temporary legislation may go 51
into effect after the expiration of the emergency legislation. 52
(f) Further emergency legislation is necessary to prevent any potential gap in the law and 53
protect homeowners from foreclosures as they continue to await approvals and payments from 54
DHCD. 55 3
Sec. 3. The Council determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute 56
emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Foreclosure Moratorium and Homeowner 57
Assistance Fund Coordination Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 be 58
adopted after a single reading. 59
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 60