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78 COVID-19 was the centerpiece of legal actions affecting the default servicing industry in 2020 and will likely be for at least the first several months of 2021. e pandemic resulted in a lengthy backlog of cases expected to extend well into the year and perhaps even into 2022. e pandemic and resulting economic crisis resulted in financial hardships for borrowers and foreclosure moratoria at the federal, state, and local levels, many of which extended at least briefly into the new year and may continue much longer than that. At the beginning of December, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) extended the moratoriums on single-family foreclosures and real estate owned (REO) evictions from December 31, 2020, until at least January 31, 2021. e foreclosure moratorium applies to only Fannie Mae- and Freddie Mac-backed, single-family mortgages. e REO eviction moratorium applies to properties that have been acquired by Fannie or Freddie through foreclosure or deed-in-lieu of foreclosure transactions. "Extending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's foreclosure and eviction moratoriums through January 2021 keeps borrowers safe during the pandemic," said FHFA Director Mark Calabria, in a prepared statement. "is extension gives peace of mind to the more than 28 million homeowners with an Enterprise-backed mortgage." FHFA projected additional expenses of $1.1 to $1.7 billion due to the existing COVID-19 foreclosure moratorium and its extension. ese expenses are in addition to the $6 billion in costs incurred before the announcement. In a previous statement, Fannie Mae said it "has taken a number of actions to help homeowners and renters facing financial hardship due to COVID-19." In addition to suspending foreclosures on homeowners, Fannie Mae extended eviction protections Cover Story By: Phil Britt FORECASTING THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE Top legal minds weigh in on how ongoing moratoriums, a new administration, and a backlog of foreclosures will impact the industry in 2021.