	What is the Hardest Hit Fund? The Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), created in 2010, is one of several temporary programs that were established to help prevent home mortgage foreclosures in the wake of housing and mortgage market turmoil that began around 2007-2008. It provided funding to 19 states (including the District of Columbia) to design locally tailored initiatives to prevent home foreclosures. Participating states have until December 31, 2020 to use their HHF funds. The first four rounds of funding—a total of $7.6 billion—were allocated in 2010. However, in December 2015 the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 ( P.L. 114-113 ) authorized Treasury to make up to an additional $2.0 billion in unused TARP funds available to the HHF. The HHF was intended to provide funding to certain states that were deemed to be the "hardest hit" by the turmoil in housing and financial markets that started in 2007-2008, based on features such as house price declines or high unemployment rates. Funding was allocated through five rounds using different criteria to identify eligible states and allocate funds among the eligible states. In early 2016, after Congress authorized Treasury to provide an additional $2 billion in TARP funds to the program, Treasury allocated this amount to participating states through two phases:
Round 5, Phase 1: In February 2016, Treasury allocated $1 billion to participating states based on their population and utilization of previous HHF funds. (Every participating state was using funds for at least two types of programs, and many states were using funds for several different types of programs.) As of December 2016, participating states had drawn about $7 billion of the total $9.6 billion HHF allocation from their Treasury accounts. Of that amount, they had disbursed a total of about $5.8 billion.
The Hardest Hit Fund (HHF), administered by the Department of the Treasury, is one of several temporary programs that were created to help prevent home foreclosures in the aftermath of housing and mortgage market turmoil that began around 2007-2008. It provided a total of $9.6 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds to 19 states (including the District of Columbia) that were deemed to be "hardest hit" by the housing market turmoil, as defined by factors such as house price declines or unemployment rates.
In 2010, a total of $7.6 billion was allocated to selected states through four rounds of funding. Different funding rounds used different criteria to identify eligible states. In December 2015, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (P.L. 114-113) authorized Treasury to make up to an additional $2.0 billion in unused TARP funds available to the HHF, bringing total program funding to $9.6 billion. Treasury allocated this additional funding to the states that were already participating in the HHF through two phases in 2016.
The Hardest Hit Fund is intended to provide funds to participating states to design foreclosure prevention programs that respond to local conditions. Participating states are using their funds for a variety of programs, including mortgage modifications, helping unemployed homeowners with mortgage payments, facilitating short sales and other foreclosure alternatives, and removing blighted homes, among other programs. Most participating states are using their funding for several different types of programs.
As of December 2016, participating states had disbursed about $5.8 billion of the total $9.6 billion allocated to the HHF and assisted over 290,000 homeowners. States have until December 31, 2020, to use their HHF funds.