12.3.4.2 Fannie Mae Foreclosure Moratorium

On March 18, 2020, Fannie Mae announced a sixty-day moratorium on foreclosures due to COVID-19 through Lender Letter 2020-02 (a letter which Fannie Mae frequently updates).⁴⁷ The initial moratorium only provided a pause on foreclosure sales and did not mention a stay on the initiation of the foreclosure process. As discussed above, the CARES Act broadened the scope of the moratorium to include initiating foreclosures and moving for judgment in active foreclosure cases.

Upon expiration of its initial moratorium and the CARES Act moratorium, Fannie Mae extended its moratorium to June 30, 2020, to August 31, 2020, to December 31, 2020, to January 31, 2021, and again to February, 28 2021.⁴⁸

Unlike the initial moratorium from Fannie Mae, which only covered a pause on foreclosure sales, the extended moratorium is broader. It states: “During the period of the extension, servicers may not, except with respect to a vacant or abandoned property, initiate any judicial or non-judicial foreclosure process, move for a foreclosure judgment or order of sale, or execute a foreclosure sale.”⁴⁹ Fannie Mae exempts vacant and abandoned buildings from its moratorium.