US to landlords, lenders: heed pro-military housing rules

The Department of Justice and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are warning mortgage servicers and landlords to heed rules meant to protect members of the U.S. military against foreclosure, eviction and other potential housing-related financial hardships during the pandemic.

The move, announced Monday, comes as forbearance programs put in place in the early weeks of the pandemic last year to allow homeowners to hit pause on their mortgage payments are set to expire at the end of the month.

Roughly 7.6 million homeowners entered forbearance during the pandemic and have exited, but some 1.25 million, many military personnel or veterans, remain in forbearance programs about to expire.