April 25, 2016
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced a settlement in a case involving Fidelity Bank and allegations of Fair Housing Act violations. According to HUDNo.16-054, “The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today a $1 million agreement between the Fair Housing Project of North Carolina Legal Aid and North Carolina-based Fidelity Bank to resolve allegations the mortgage lender engaged in unfair lending practices against minority applicants”.
Federal law makes it illegal to “make housing unavailable or to discriminate in the terms, conditions, or privileges of the sale of a dwelling because of race” according to the press release on the FHA/HUD official site. “The Fair Housing Act also makes it unlawful for any person or entity whose business includes residential real estate-related transactions to discriminate in these transactions, or terms or conditions, because of race. Banks and other lenders are prohibited from discriminating with respect to home mortgage loans.”
HUD began investigating the case following a complaint filed by the Fair Housing Project, Legal Aid of North Carolina, Inc. alleging that the lender “denied or made housing and home mortgage loans unavailable because of race” according to the HUD official site.
Under the terms of the agreement between the government and the financial institution, “Fidelity will make investments and community development loans in predominantly minority census tracts where at least 40 percent of these loans will specifically promote affordable housing. For this purpose, the Bank has committed to earmarking at least $500,000 each year for two years, for a total of $1 million.”
Whether intentional or not, stark disparities exist in lending patterns and access to credit along racial and ethnic lines, said HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez, who was quoted in the press release. He adds, HUD remains committed to not only enforcing the law, but also facilitating productive relationships between lenders and advocacy groups that help make lenders more aware of their obligations under the Fair Housing Act.
Borrowers who feel their rights have been violated should report discriminatory lending or renting practices to the HUD Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at (800) 669-9777 (voice) or (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed online at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
Do you work in residential real estate? You should know about the free tool offered by FHA.com. It is designed especially for real estate websites; a widget that displays FHA loan limits for the counties serviced by those sites. It is simple to spend a few seconds customizing the state, counties, and widget size for the tool; you can copy the code and paste it into your website with ease. Get yours today:
http://www.fha.com/fha_loan_limits_widget
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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