Articles Tagged With: Fair Housing Act

August 1, 2019

FHA Home Loan Rules And Fair Housing Laws

We report on Fair Housing cases from time to time, a reminder to those looking for housing that there are federal laws that protect against discrimination in housing. But what are the FHA home loan rules in this area? Did you know that the FHA loan program has specific instructions to the lender regarding Fair Housing laws? Those instructions are found in HUD 4000.1, the FHA Single-Family Home Loan Handbook. Page 120 of that handbook instructs the lender, “The Mortgagee is required to comply with all federal, state and local laws, rules, and requirements applicable to the mortgage transaction, including all applicable disclosure requirements and the requirements of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including those related to: Truth in Lending Act (TILA); and Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act (RESPA).” | more...

July 30, 2019

HUD Approves California Housing Discrimination Settlement

By Joe Wallace

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a California housing discrimination case involving complaints of “redlining” against CIT Group, Inc., and CIT Bank, N.A., doing business as OneWest Bank. Investopedia.com defines redlining as “an unethical practice” that can include denying mortgages, mortgage insurance, or other financial services based on location (the justification being that such locations are “bad neighborhoods”) rather than “an individual’s qualifications and creditworthiness.” This practice was made illegal by the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, the Fair Housing Act makes it a violation of federal law for discriminating on the basis of race or national origin to include the practice of denying credit to residents of predominantly minority neighborhoods. “Homeownership is the foundation of the American dream,” said Anna María Farías, HUD’s Assistant | more...

July 24, 2019

HUD Announces Fair Housing Agreement In California Discrimination Case

By Bruce Reichstein

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a concillaition agreement in a California Fair Housing discrimination case. Recently, HUD approved a $10,000 Conciliation Agreement between a California fair housing group and “the agents and mortgage company for Boardwalk Townhomes in Corona, California. This agreement settles allegations that Boardwalk Townhomes discriminated against African American home seekers” according to a HUD press release. Federal Fair Housing Act laws forbid those in the housing industry from offering different terms or conditions on the sale or rental of a dwelling based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability. Those who have been discriminated against in such a fashion should report violations to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. “A person’s race should never be a factor in | more...

July 17, 2019

Fair Housing: HUD Partners With John Marshall Law School

By Bruce Reichstein

The Fair Housing Act is an important law that requires those at every stage of the housing process to provide discrimination-free practices. The Department of Housing and Urban Development is at the forefront of efforts to insure fair housing, but the agency wants to do more than just act as the enforcement arm of Fair Housing law whether applicable to borrowers and house hunters or to those looking for rental properties. HUD recently announced a partnership with the John Marshall Law School in Chicago, and Cloudburst Consulting Group, Inc., to develop the National Fair Housing Training Academy (NFHTA). According to a press release on the HUD official site, this academy “will prepare fair housing advocates, lawyers, investigators, and other stakeholders on effective strategies and techniques for addressing discriminatory housing policies | more...

July 11, 2019

HUD Charges Maine Apartment Owners With Fair Housing Act Violations

By Bruce Reichstein

Violations of the Fair Housing Act can seriously compromise a house hunter’s ability to find and keep housing. Even discrimination at the rental level can affect the ability to buy a home-how is someone supposed to rent an apartment in the meantime while dealing with discrimination? We report on these issues to raise awareness of how Fair Housing Act laws make house hunting more accessible and how violations of these laws hinder the consumer. In a recent example, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced charges against Roderick Apartments in Clinton, Maine for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act. These charges are associated with a complaint that the apartment owners denied a veteran with disabilities to keep an assistance animal on the property. Fair Housing Act | more...

June 25, 2019

HUD Brings Fair Housing Act Charges Against Minnesota Landlords

By Joe Wallace

Housing discrimination can affect potential borrowers and renters at any stage in the house-hunting or home seeking process. Discrimination in rental housing can negatively affect the attempt to find and buy a home in cases where the victim needs to rent a unit while still looking for a house to purchase with a mortgage loan. Housing discrimination of any kind whether in renting or buying is prohibited by federal law. The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced charges against Minneapolis landlords in a Fair Housing Act case involving a rental unit denied to tenants over reasonable accommodation issues. The HUD official site published a press release alleging that the owners “refused to allow a single mother to live with an assistance animal, a cat, for her oldest daughter, | more...

June 6, 2019

HUD Announces Charges In Idaho Fair Housing Case

By Joe Wallace

April was Fair Housing Month, and while HUD’s annual push to raise awareness of housing laws in the United States has come and gone, the agency prosecutes Fair Housing cases year round. One the most recent; the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced charges of Fair Housing Act violations against the owners and manager of a rental home in Nampa, Idaho. HUD’s case alleges that a married couple was refused a rental property there because they have children. The Fair Housing Act makes it a crime to “deny or limit housing because a family has children under the age of 18, make statements that discriminate against families with children, and impose different rules, restriction and policies on them” according to the HUD announcement at HUD.gov. “Denying a | more...

May 31, 2019

June Is National Home Ownership Month

By Joe Wallace

June is National Homeownership Month. The Department of Housing and Urban Development announce this on their official site as “a time to recognize the importance of homeownership to the U.S. economy and the benefits owning a home have on building household wealth for families”. National Housing Month is a time the agency uses to raise awareness of home ownership issues much in the same way that April is used (as Fair Housing Month) to raise awareness of federal law that protects house hunters and renters from discrimination in housing. This year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced millions of dollars in funding in support of “sustainable homeownership”; the agency announced $43 million in grants intended for housing counseling organizations nationwide. “HUD-approved housing counselors can make all the | more...

May 24, 2019

HUD Announces Minneapolis Housing Discrimination Case Settlement

By Bruce Reichstein

Sexual harassment that occurs in the context of seeking or keeping housing is a violation of federal law. Some house hunters and renters don’t realize this. They also may miss the fact that renters, house hunters, and home owners also have recourse when they are sexually harassed in the context of finding or keeping a rental property or owning a home. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a Fair Housing case brought against David Sheets, a Minneapolis property owner. According to the HUD official site, the agency has approved an agreement “between a Minneapolis property owner and a female tenant who alleged the landlord solicited sex from her in exchange for a reduction in her rent”. The Fair Housing Act makes sexual harassment associated | more...

HUD Announces Important Change To FHA Cash-Out Refinance Loan Program

April 26, 2019

HUD Announces Settlement In San Diego Fair Housing Case

By Joe Wallace

April is Fair Housing Month, a time when the FHA and HUD raise awareness of Fair Housing Act issues and how violations of Fair Housing laws can make it difficult for house hunters of all kinds to find and keep a home. The month of April is not the only time when HUD publicizes its’ Fair Housing cases, but it is a time to pay more attention to these cases and their implications. The latest involves a settlement between HUD and a San Diego-based property management company that had a dispute with a rental tenant. According to a press release on the HUD official site. The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced “a fair housing agreement between a San Diego-area property management company and a family with a child | more...