The number of Chicago-area homeowners in trial mortgage modifications continued to fall in September, while the number of people who have received permanently lower payment terms rose 4 percent in the month, the Treasury Department said Monday.

The government’s September accounting of its Home Affordable Modification Program also showed that borrowers in permanent modifications are having trouble keeping their loans current, even after the payments are reduced.

Of the 4,722 borrowers nationally who received permanent modifications a year ago, more than 20 percent of them are 90 days or more delinquent, meaning they have missed three or more payments, are disqualified from the program and are at risk of foreclosure.  Of the almost 60,000 borrowers who received permanent modifications nine months ago, 11 percent have missed three mortgage payments.

The report showed that 24,244 Chicago-area homeowners have received permanent loan modifications since the program began in early 2009. Meanwhile, the volume of trial modifications fell 14 percent in the month, to 8,636, a decrease attributed to a recent requirement that borrowers must submit verification of their income to receive a trial payment plan.

Nationally, 34 percent of the almost 1.4 million trial plans started have turned into active permanent modifications, a success rate on par with last month’s report.

Some 76,500 borrowers have been waiting six months or more to see whether their trial modifications will be made permanent.