JOHNSTON — Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday she does not plan to extend a moratorium on home foreclosures and rental evictions, but will instead establish a program to provide financial assistance to Iowans who have lost income and face foreclosure or eviction.

Reynolds had ordered a temporary halt on home foreclosures and rental evictions as a part of her administration’s response to the global new coronavirus pandemic. The move was to offset the ordered closures of many Iowa businesses, which caused unemployment levels to spike to record highs. That order will expire at the end of Wednesday.

Reynolds said Tuesday during her daily briefing on the state’s pandemic response efforts that she will not extend the moratorium.

Instead, Reynolds said her administration will create a program that will assist Iowans who have lost income due to the pandemic and may be unable to pay their mortgage or rent.

The program will be funded by federal money designed for pandemic response efforts and administered by the Iowa Finance Authority, a state agency that operates housing assistance programs.

Reynolds said plans are being finalized and that she anticipates the program will be operational by the end of this week. Monday is the first day of the next month, when many mortgage and rent payments will be due.

“We’ll take a look at the numbers and take a look at who qualifies, then we’ll set aside the appropriate amount of funding to meet the needs of Iowans during this really difficult time,” Reynolds said. “We’re just changing the parameters in which we’re providing the assurance that individuals aren’t thrown out of their homes in these really difficult times.”