April 6, 2012
The FHA and HUD begin Fair Housing Month by announcing settlements with lenders accused of violating the Fair Housing Act. Magna Bank and Home Loan Center have both settled with the FHA in cases where the lenders are accused of discriminating against women on maternity leave who had applied for home loans.
According to a press release from the FHA/HUD, “The settlement agreement signed by Magna Bank requires the bank to pay one woman $14,085 for allegedly requiring her to return to work before her loan application could be approved. In another settlement agreement, Home Loan Center, Inc., agreed to pay a Las Vegas woman $15,000 for denying her application to refinance her mortgage because she was on maternity leave.”
The Fair Housing Act, which went into effect 44 years ago, specifically prohibits denying an FHA loan or any other type of mortgage to an applicant because of issues of race, creed, national origin, pregnancy or family status. “