On June 5th, Governor Newsom announced the CalAssist Mortgage Fund, which will be launching on June 12th to provide grants up to $20,000 to homeowners whose homes were destroyed or left uninhabitable in recent fires, floods, and other disasters. This new disaster mortgage relief program, managed by the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), will be paired with $25 million in additional housing counseling support through CalHFA’s National Mortgage Settlement Housing Counseling Program. Those included are residents whose homes were destroyed or left uninhabitable as the result of a disaster that received a State of Emergency proclamation by the Governor or a Major Disaster Declaration approved by the President between January 2023 and January 2025, such as the Eaton Fire, Palisades Fire, and the Park Fire, which impacted the RCRC member counties of Butte and Tehama, along with the San Diego floods. The Governor’s announcement does not make any mention of the funds being tax exempt.
To provide time for affected homeowners to get prepared to apply, application and eligibility information about the CalAssist Mortgage Fund is now available at CalAssistMortgageFund.org. These grants do not have to be repaid and applying to the program is free. Grants will be sent directly to the approved homeowner’s mortgage servicer. Homeowners can call the CalAssist Mortgage Fund for in-depth, one-on-one assistance with preparing and completing their application. Call 800-501-0019 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Additionally, homeowners can also access free support and services from HUD-certified housing counseling agencies and a list of them can be found HERE.
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, Staci Heaton.