Alabama has stopped taking new applications to help people pay their mortgages during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are not accepting further applications at this time, because the number of applications we can accept based on funds made available by the U.S. Treasury has been met,” said Caryllee Cheatham, spokesperson for the Alabama Housing Finance Authority.

So far 2,808 households, representing all but two counties in the state, received financial help through Mortgage Assistance Alabama, funded by the American Rescue Plan in 2021.

The state received $100 million dollars to distribute to Alabamians at risk for foreclosure during the pandemic, including paying up to 12 months of mortgage payments for people in need. The state paid out over $39 million dollars so far.

The remaining portion of Alabama’s federal money has been earmarked for existing applicants.

“(We have) obligated $64.5 million in funds to pay existing applicants future months of mortgage payment assistance under program guidelines,” said Carrie Hamaker, single-family administrator for the Alabama Housing Finance Authority.

Mortgage Assistance Alabama projects that by October of 2023, it will have distributed the full $100 million for monthly mortgage payments to the more than 4,000 households that sought help through the program.

On average, Alabama’s recipients have so far received about $13,905 for help with paying mortgages and other costs of preventing foreclosure.

The money comes from the American Rescue Plan, which set aside over $9.9 billion for states to help low to moderate income Americans prevent foreclosure and utility shutoffs following financial difficulties during the pandemic.

At this point, 1,423 applications in Alabama are still pending review. Of the total applications sent to the department since the program started in August of 2021, 612 were denied or withdrawn by the applicant.

Most of the applicants to the program were between the ages of 35 and 50, according to the department. Over 76 percent of the homeowners who participated were Black, and 17.8 percent were white. More than half were employed and less than ten percent were either unemployed or disabled.

Montgomery County saw the most help with 537 applicants, followed by 369 applicants from Jefferson County and 279 applicants from Mobile County.