The Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund (ILHAF or HAF) program is CLOSED for new applicants. 

If you applied for help before November 1, 2023, you can check the status of your application on the Illinois Housing Development Authority website.

If you have an active foreclosure case, use Get Legal Help to apply for legal aid. 

Why did IHDA create the ILHAF program?

The Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) created the Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund (ILHAF) program to help homeowners who fell behind on their mortgage payments due to Covid-19 ("coronavirus"). 

How much money can I get?

If you qualify, you can get up to $60,000 to help you catch up on your mortgage and other costs. 

You may still qualify for assistance if you are behind more than $60,000, if you can cover the difference or "gap."

If you received assistance during the first round of ILHAF applications, you can still apply this round. However, you are limited to a maximum of $60,000 in total assistance between ILHAF part 1 and ILHAF part 2.

The money will go directly to your mortgage servicer (and other agencies or companies to whom you owe money). It is primarily used to pay overdue:

• Mortgage payments for homeowners who are behind on their first or primary mortgage, or
• Mobile home loans.

You may also be able to get help with:  

• Overdue payments on your second mortgage,
• Overdue homeowner's or flood insurance,
• Overdue Mobile home lot rent,
• Overdue Condo, co-op, or homeowner association fees, and
• Overdue property taxes.

Can I apply for the program?

To apply for ILHAF:

• You must have experienced a Covid-19-related hardship that began, continued, or worsened after January 21, 2020,
• You must own the home,
• The home must be your primary residence,
• The home must be located in Illinois, and
• Your household income must be below 150% of the Area Median Income. Find the income limit for your county on the Housing and Urban Development website. 
• Your home can be a condo, townhouse, manufactured or mobile home, or a 1-4 unit building, if you live in one of the units.
• Proof of citizenship is not required. 

Starting July 1, 2023, ILHAF is expanding to help applicants with past due Contract for Deeds (also called Land Contracts or Installment Sales Contracts). Applicants must owe less than 80% of the original purchase price of the property and meet all other eligibility criteria. Learn more about Contract for Deed.

Starting July 1, 2023, ILHAF applicants may also be eligible for help with a "subordinate," or second, mortgage. To qualify, the subordinate mortgage must be in active foreclosure. Applicants must include their primary mortgage information in the application. The application asks for the past due amount on your primary mortgage. If your primary mortgage is current, enter $1 past due to complete the application process. Applicants will also need to provide documentation, such as recent mortgage statements, for both the primary and subordinate mortgages.   

To qualify for mortgage assistance under ILHAF you must:

• Have a mortgage on your home,
• Have a current mortgage statement that shows a past-due balance, and
• Have some income. Your monthly mortgage payment (including taxes and insurance) must be 42% or less of your total monthly household income. If you're above 42%, you may still be able to get funding if:
  • Your application has enough ILHAF funding to cover three months of future mortgage assistance in addition to what it takes to make you current, or
  • You get an affordability exception from a HUD Approved Housing Stability Service (HSS) provider. For help or questions, locate an approved HUD-Certified Housing Counselor near you. 
• If you have more than one mortgage, you must be behind on your first mortgage to qualify for help from ILHAF.
• If you are eligible for loss mitigation, you may not qualify. However, ILHAF has a review process in place for applicants who have been offered a loss mitigation option that is unfavorable. To learn more, read ILHAF's Frequently Asked Questions.

If you already worked out an agreement with your mortgage servicer that resolved the missed payments, you may not qualify. 

These agreements can include:

• A modification, which is an agreement that permanently changes certain loan terms. It also resolves the missed payments.
• A deferral, which is an agreement that requires you to pay the missed payments when your loan is due.

You are no longer considered to be behind unless you get behind again after working out such agreements.

If you are in forbearance, you can apply for ILHAF. Forbearance is when the mortgage servicer allows you to pause or reduce your payments for a set period of time. 

To qualify for tax assistance:

• You must have a past due tax payment before applying,
• Only covers taxes from years 2019, 2020, or 2021,
• You can get property tax assistance by itself or along with primary mortgage assistance and association assistance,
• You can apply for tax assistance as long as you have a mortgage. It doesn't matter if you are current or behind on your mortgage payments,
• ILHAF can pay for property taxes that have been sold or are in repayment, also known as 'redemption,' and
• Owning taxes from 2018 or before will no longer disqualify you from tax assistance.

To qualify for association assistance:

• Can be applied to fees or dues for homeowner association (HOA), condo association, or co-op,
• Must be past due on your association fees or dues before applying, 
• You can get association assistance by itself or along with primary mortgage assistance and property tax assistance,
• You can apply for association assistance as long as you have a mortgage. It doesn't matter if you are current or behind on your mortgage payments.

How do I apply?

Before you apply for ILHAF, watch an educational webinar to learn about ILHAF, mortgages, foreclosures, and the application process. These are available on the Illinois Housing Help website. 

Explore your options to resolve the missed payments. You can do one or more of the following:

• Contact legal aid for legal help,
• Contact your mortgage servicer to discuss loss mitigation, or
• Contact a HUD-certified housing counseling agency to discuss foreclosure prevention options. 

You will have to show proof that you looked into your options. You can show proof by including one of the following forms with your application: 

• A housing counseling certificate,
• A loss mitigation determination or offer letter from your servicer, or
• A form from a legal aid lawyer.

Gather all your documents you are required to provide before you apply.

Apply online at the Illinois Homeowner Assistance Fund website. You are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. Documents may be submitted after the application closes.

Visit the answers to frequently asked questions on the Illinois Housing Development Authority website. 

Please note that services are free. Scammers charge to help you with mortgage relief. Learn about mortgage relief scams on the Federal Trade Commission website.

What happens after I apply?

Applicants can check on the status of their application by logging into their ILHAF account. Also, be sure to check your email regularly for updates and in case IHDA asks you for more information. 

IHDA will follow up 3 to 6 months after you receive the funds. They will ask you:

• If you are still making payments and your mortgage is current,
• If there have been any changes in household income, and
• If you have decided to list or sell the home.