The Connecticut House of Representatives recently voted to extend the state’s current foreclosure program for at least three more years. The bill, HB 6752, was an order to extend the Connecticut Foreclosure Mediation Program. It passed with a vote of 140 to 2.

Originally, the foreclosure mediation program was set to end on June 30, 2016, but will not be extended until at least 2019. The program was put into place after the 2008 mortgage crisis and gave Connecticut families access to foreclosure mediation with the goal of keeping them in their homes, even if they were struggling with mortgage payments. House representatives considered it the most important bill ever passed in response to the financial crisis.

Lawmakers acknowledge the number of foreclosures has decreased since 2008 and the years following, but there are still many homeowners in Connecticut in need of the services provided by the program, which is administered by the state’s Judicial Branch.

Under it, many homeowners and their lenders have come to mutually agreed upon resolutions that make it possible for homeowners to continue living in their homes and paying their mortgage. Mandatory mediation ensures that each side gets a say in the matter and that a balanced solution that is beneficial to both sides is a viable option.

Nobody has said whether lawmakers would consider extending the program beyond 2019, though most are hoping the fall-out from the mortgage crisis will long be over by that point and improvements in the economy will make foreclosures less of an issue in general.