On July 29, 2016 the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it has reached a Conciliation Agreement with Philadelphia-based Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania and Providence, Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank, collectively known as Citizens Bank, settling allegations that the bank violated the Fair Housing Act when it told a female applicant that she would need to return to work before her application for a home equity line of credit could be approved. […]
Category: HUD
SCRA: 90 DAY PERIOD EXTENDED TO ONE YEAR
The Foreclosure Relief and Extension for Servicemembers Act of 2015 was enacted on March 31, 2016. It amends the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 by extending the one-year period after a service member’s military service during which certain protections apply. Those protections include: 1) a court may stay proceedings to enforce an obligation on real or personal property owned by the service member before such military service; and […]
SCOTUS DISPARATE IMPACT RULING
With rulings on Affordable Care and gay marriage attracting most of the attention, a ruling on Fair Lending almost got lost in the shuffle. On June 25 the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) rendered a decision in the case of Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs et al. vs. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. The case involved the disparate impact theory of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. The issue to be decided was whether […]
SCRA NOTICE REVISED
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released an updated Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) Notice, form HUD-92070, in late December 2014 to replace the SCRA Notice which expired on November 30, 2014. The updated SCRA Notice issued in December included information contradictory to the timeframe of protections afforded to servicemembers in the SCRA, as amended. The SCRA Notice, form HUD-92070, provides information on the following: 1) legal rights and protections under SCRA; 2) […]
DISABILITIES DISCRIMINATION CASE
Recently the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it has entered into an Initial Decision and Consent Order with American Bank, resolving HUD’s charge that the Rockville, Maryland-based lender discriminated against applicants with disabilities when it allegedly required applicants to provide documentation regarding their disabilities and attempted to obtain information about the nature and extent of those disabilities. Cases similar to this are being common. HUD charged the lender with unlawful […]