Mortgage One in Sterling Heights, Mich., has signed a conciliation agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development regarding alleged disability discrimination.
The agreement resolves a complaint from a disabled mortgage applicant, who notified HUD that the lender allegedly delayed his application because of his disabilities. He claimed that a Mortgage One loan officer requested that he provide a doctor's verification of his disabilities or a letter from the Social Security Administration.
Mortgage One did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
"A person's qualifications to purchase a home should be the only criteria used to evaluate his or her loan application, not whether they are living with a disability," said Gustavo Velasquez, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, in a Nov. 17 news release. "This agreement reaffirms HUD's ongoing commitment to ensuring that mortgage lenders treat all applicants fairly."
Per the agreement, Mortgage One will provide the applicant in question with monetary relief. The Michigan company will also notify loan officers, underwriters and processors that they cannot discriminate against would-be FHA borrowers because they receive income from public assistance programs including Social Security Disability Insurance. Additionally, the loan officer involved in the complaint will attend a Fair Housing Act course.
