Alaska’s state housing agency has distributed more than $243 million in financial aid the past year to help renters hurt economically by the pandemic and will soon embark on a $50 million federally funded program to help homeowners, too.

The aid can go toward eligible homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments, and may also be applied to current and past-due property taxes, insurance premiums and utility bills, the Alaska Housing Finance Corp. announced Friday.

Preregistration for Alaska Housing Homeowner Assistance opens Monday at AlaskaHousingRelief.org. Applications will be accepted March 14 thr...