These agencies may soon stop taking COVID-19 forbearance requests

The COVID-19 public health emergency has officially concluded, but when the mortgage forbearance associated with it ends is another story.

Some government agencies that back U.S. mortgages have set what look likely to be final expiration dates for new requests, with varying deadlines for how long forbearance periods can extend beyond that.

In contrast, government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and their regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, so far appear to be continuing their forbearance programs. 

"Their guidance has been independent of the end of the national emergency," said Adam Saab, vice president and head of early stage default at Cenlar. "We've been instructed by them that we are to continue offering new forbearances as is until they give us a different direction."

Here's what the post-pandemic directives on new forbearance requests were at the time of this writing for various different entities in the U.S. mortgage market.

• Federal Housing Administration: Borrowers with pandemic-related hardships must file new requests by May 31, and "no COVID-19 forbearance period may extend beyond Nov. 30," according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

• Department of Veterans Affairs: Consumers with VA-guaranteed mortgages must file new requests by May 31, and the department has said it "expects that all COVID-related forbearances, initial or extended, will end no later than Dec. 31."

• U.S. Department of Agriculture: New requests must be submitted by May 31, but the extensions the agency allows could extend some forbearance policies on the loans into 2024.

• Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: "We don't have any expiration set for COVID forbearance," said Adam Russell, a spokesman for the FHFA. "We also have loss mitigation programs and those will remain available whenever COVID forbearance would end."