August 15, 2014
The FHA and HUD have announced a settlement in a case involving a New Jersey mortgage corporation that allegedly discriminated against home loan applicants based on disability.
According to the press release HUDNo.14-098, ” The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced today that Freedom Mortgage Corporation, a national residential mortgage lender based in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, will pay $104,000 to settle allegations that it discriminated against loan applicants with disabilities by requiring them to provide medical or other documentation regarding their disability.”
The Fair Housing act makes it illegal to discrminated against those who seek housing (buying OR renting) based on such criteria. “This includes requiring persons with disabilities to provide medical or other documentation not required of mortgage applicants who are not disabled.” according to the HUD press release.
“Applicants who are otherwise qualified for a home loan may not have additional requirements placed on them because of a disability,” said Gustavo Velasquez, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, who was quoted in the HUD release.
Velasquez also states, “We are pleased that this national mortgage lender, through the agreement, is making a commitment to comply with its obligation to treat persons with disabilities the same way they treat those who are not disabled.”
The agreement, as described on the FHA/HUD official site, settles a a complaint lodged by the HUD Secretary back in 2013, “alleging that Freedom Mortgage’s underwriting policies and practices subjected persons with disabilities to different terms and conditions from other applicants by requiring, among other things, that they provide doctor’s notes or letters from the Social Security Administration that their disability income would continue for three years. Freedom and HUD identified 69 applicants with disabilities subjected to such terms and conditions.”
We report on such settlements here to raise awareness of the Fair Housing Act, and the need to report such discrimination whenever and wherever encountered.
If you feel you have been the victim of housing discrimination, contact the FHA/HUD directly for assistance. You can learn more about the Fair Housing Act and how it works at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/FHLaws/yourrights.
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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