February 11, 2015
The FHA and HUD have issued a new mortgagee letter updating the FHA/HUD policy of equal access for all FHA/HUD programs.
FHA Mortgagee Letter 2015-05, “Notice of Program Eligibility for HUD Insured Housing Programs for All People Regardless of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Marital Status as Required by HUD’s Equal Access Rule” contains some very important updates since the original equal access guidelines were published back in 2012.
According to the Mortgagee Letter, “On February 3, 2012, HUD published a final rule entitled Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (77 FR5662) (“Equal Access Rule or “rule”). The final rule ensures that housing across HUD programs are open to all eligible individuals regardless of actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.”
The latest updates to that include the following:
“(a) A determination of eligibility for housing that is assisted by HUD or subject to a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration shall be made in
accordance with the eligibility requirements provided for such program by HUD, and such housing shall be made available without regard to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status, and
(b) No owner or administrator of HUD-assisted or HUD-insured housing, approved lender in an FHA mortgage insurance program, or any other recipient or sub-
recipient of HUD funds may inquire about the sexual orientation or gender identity of an applicant for, or occupant of, HUD-assisted or HUD-insured housing for
purposes of determining eligibility or otherwise making such housing available.
However, permissible inquiries into sex are permissible for temporary, emergency shelter with shared sleeping areas or bathrooms, or to determine the number of
bedrooms to which a household may be entitled.”
There are additional changes that address the definition of family, family status, and the family unit which we will cover in an upcoming blog post.
Do you have questions about FHA loans? Ask us in the comments section.
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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