June 15, 2012
There are federal laws in place to prevent housing discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, and any number of other factors which have nothing to do with a borrower’s financial qualifications for credit.
The Fair Housing Act is one such law, but many other rules apply. No matter if a borrower is applying for a conventional home loan, a VA guaranteed mortgage or an FHA mortgage loan, lenders, brokers, agents, landlords and other parties cannot discriminate in any aspect of the housing process.
That said, one important set of protections has been, until recently, missing from the rulebooks for those in need of FHA/HUD services and programs.
But in recent times, the Department of Housing and Urban Development has finalized a new set of rules known as Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity–also known as the HUD LGBT Rule.
This new set of protections forbids discriminating against anyone using an FHA/HUD program on the basis of their sexual orientation, preference, gender identity or related factors. It went into effect on March 12, 2012, and a recently updated HUD video explains the new rule, and what FHA borrowers and HUD program participants can go to report violations of the new rule.
Equal access for all is a critical part of the FHA and HUD mission–the final rule preventing discrimination against LGBT participants in FHA/HUD programs is an important part of that equal access. The video below fully explains the new rule, who it applies to, and how it works.
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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