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Seniors, homeowners say federal HAF payments delayed for years; Legal advocates urge faster payouts
Summary
Homeowner Assistance Fund recipients and legal aid groups told the Committee on Housing that federal HAF funds intended to prevent foreclosures have been slow to reach approved households — in some cases taking years — and urged DHCD to speed payments and publish clear timelines.
At a March 3 Committee on Housing oversight hearing, senior homeowners and legal aid attorneys urged quicker payments from the District's Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF), saying approved applicants have waited years for funds meant to prevent foreclosure. Legal Aid DC and Legal Counsel for the Elderly told the committee that inconsistent communications and long processing delays are leaving homeowners in limbo.
Legal Aid DC senior staff attorney Johanna Schmidt told the committee the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) must "use all of these funds as quickly as possible," noting that the District received $50,000,000 in federal HAF funds and that DHCD told the council it had “spent or allocated $40,100,000 of the program’s allocated federal grant,” leaving an unclear balance. Schmidt asked the agency to publish how many already-approved…
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