WASHINGTON — The Federal Housing Finance Agency is extending its foreclosure and eviction moratorium for loans backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac until at least Aug. 31 to protect borrowers and renters during the coronavirus pandemic.

Previously, the moratorium was set to expire June 30. It is the second time the agency has pushed back the moratorium, which was originally set to last until May 17.

“During this national health emergency no one should worry about losing their home,” said FHFA Director Mark Calabria in a press release.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which Congress passed in March, allowed for a 60-day moratorium on foreclosures and evictions on properties financed through federally backed mortgages. But the FHFA along with the Federal Housing Administration also imposed their own moratoriums independent of the CARES Act.

Lawmakers on the Senate Banking Committee had pressured Calabria as well as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson last week to extend the moratorium, expressing concern about an impending “housing cliff” when several CARES Act provisions — including enhanced unemployment benefits — are set to run out last month.

At the time, Calabria said he only expected his agency to push back the moratorium by a month.

“I don't think we'd want it to be any more than two months just because we can always extend it again, as we start to see how the economy evolves, so my preference here is to give people enough certainty without necessarily locking us in,” he said.