All told, roughly 7.6 million homeowners entered forbearance during the pandemic, according to the DOJ. A majority of borrowers have resumed making their mortgage payments, but roughly 1.25 million others, many military personnel or veterans, remain in forbearance programs about to expire, the government said.
Members of the military have legal protections established so they are free to comply with their service requirements, such as a potentially lengthy deployment overseas. Among the protections: mortgage servicers, which manage payment collection on home loans, are not allowed to foreclose on or evict certain servicemembers or their families without a court order.
The DOJ and the CFPB’s letter to landlords focused on reminding them of the legal protections that apply to military tenants, including rules that make it possible for them to terminate their lease early.