South Carolina seeks takers for $17 million in housing assistance

A COVID-19 relief program spun up by the South Carolina State Housing Finance and Development Authority has $17 million left of undistributed federal money.

The program, dubbed the SC Homeowner Rescue Program, was created by the state agency to allocate money from the Homeowners Assistance Fund. The aim of HAF, created by the American Rescue Plan, is to help homeowners who have been impacted by financial hardships stemming from the pandemic.

As of April 19, the South Carolina state agency has distributed close to $100 million in mortgage and utility assistance to 19,123 applicants, noted Matthew McColl, public information director at SC Housing. 

Applications for COVID-19 related relief were set to close on April 20, but the housing agency will continue to dole out funding through Sept. 30, 2026, or as long as funds remain available, their website notes.

"SC Housing is leaving the door open for struggling homeowners to get this assistance and we are still accepting applications and will continue to provide this help until all funds are exhausted," McColl said.

The housing agency is also opening the door for existing assistance recipients to apply a second time for relief six months after they received their initial payments, reporting from News19 claims. The waiting period is one year.

In March 2021, Congress allocated close to $10 billion in funds to help homeowners from falling behind on their mortgage, losing utility services, or being displaced. The distribution of the funding got off to a bumpy start, with some states rolling out the program slower than others.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also signaled that it is closely monitoring the distribution of funds, warning servicers that borrowers must be given a chance to use the money to avoid the loss of their homes whenever possible. Thus far, the bureau has not announced any enforcement actions stemming from the roll out or distribution of the HAF program.

Despite the many nuances, more than 230,000 households have been assisted by the fund since its inception, per the U.S. Treasury.

Roughly two years after its inception, some states have already started to wind down their programs, including Alabama, Alaska, Florida and Louisiana, while others are on hold or accepting applications on a waitlist basis in Kansas, New York, Pennsylvania and Puerto Rico.