The Housing Authority of Fiji has extended its COVID-19 Debt Relief Assistance to 31st December this year.

The authority states it has deferred mortgage repayment of 639 customers with a loan value of $29.27 million.

In a statement, the assistance is for customers who are facing financial hardship due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

These challenges include unemployment, those on reduced, hours and those who are on leave without pay.

The authority says the assistance is four-fold including three months’ holiday on repayment of loan, extension of the term of the loan without any fees, repayment of interest only; and three-month holiday on the repayment of the loan with extension to the term of the loan.

Further extension in deferment may be considered on individual cases basis.

The authority had introduced this relief assistance in April last year.