HUD Announces Disability Income Fair Housing Conciliation Agreement

HUD Discrimination

On August 13, HUD announced that a nonbank mortgage lender agreed to pay $104,000 to resolve allegations that the lender’s underwriting practices resulted in discrimination against mortgage applicants who rely on disability income. HUD filed a complaint claiming the lender required loan applicants to submit medical and other documentation related to an applicant’s disability income that it did not require from non-disabled applicants, in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Working with HUD, the lender identified 69 applicants whose loan files contained evidence of a request for additional disability documentation or evidence that a loan may have been denied on the failure or inability of the applicant to provide such documentation. The lender agreed to compensate those applicants using a tiered system, under which each applicant will receive $1,000, $2,000, or $5,000 in damages. The lender did not admit to any fault, guilt, or liability, and denied that it discriminated against any loan applicant on the basis of disability. The lender also submitted to a monitoring requirement and implemented a modified fair lending training program for its employees.