Mayor's Office

On Monday, March 7, Governor Tony Evers announced the launch of the Wisconsin Help for Homeowners (WHH) program—a $92 million statewide program. This comes at a much-needed and long-awaited time for City of Madison homeowners following the expiration of the federal moratorium on foreclosures in September 2021. Eligible homeowners (with and without a mortgage) who have experienced financial hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic can now receive financial assistance with overdue housing-related bills like mortgage payments, local property taxes, utilities, housing counseling and legal services.

Eligible households can receive a maximum award of $40,000. Total WHH monetary assistance below $10,000 will be structured as a grant. Assistance exceeding $10,000 will be provided as a 1-year, non-interest bearing, non-amortizing forgivable loan due in full upon sale, refinance, or transfer of ownership. If no resale, transfer, or refinance occurs within 1 year and the homeowner remains in the home, the loan will be fully forgiven.

You may qualify if you meet all of the following:

• Homeowner whose primary residence is a single-family home, condominium, owner-occupied 2- to 4-unit properties, or a manufactured home (permanently affixed and taxed as real property)
• Household income is at or below 100% Area Median Income
• Experienced a qualified hardship after January 21, 2020

Application is live and open on a first-come, first-served basis at homeownerhelp.wi.gov. To get additional information and assistance, call 1-855-2-HOME-WI (4663-94). Application portal and call center are available in Spanish, Hmong, and Somali in addition to English.

If you are a renter or landlord in need of financial assistance as a result of the pandemic, you can still access financial assistance through Dane CORE 2.0 Emergency Rental Assistance.