Fair Housing Act

Housing experts and advocates disagree on the biggest factor in advancing the Black homeownership rate — and that's part of the problem.

There is a persistent undersupply of moderately-priced homes, which continues to push affordability and the dream of homeownership further into the future for millions of potential first-time minority homeowners, writes the president of mortgage for Radian Group Inc.

The complaint exemplifies the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s focus on “fair servicing” in addition to fair lending.

Given the Biden Administration’s regulatory emphasis on the disparate impact of mortgage lender activity on protected classes, originators need to carefully monitor their loan price concessions, according to industry speakers at the Mortgage Bankers Association's Spring Conference.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development will revive a 2013 rule that makes lenders liable for practices that were unintentionally discriminatory as well as 2015 guidelines for how local jurisdictions comply with the Fair Housing Act.

The complaint alleged the bank discriminated by refusing to make a mortgage loan after learning it would be used to finance a group home for disabled people.

State financial regulators cited Buffalo-based Hunt Mortgage Corp. on Thursday for weakness in lending to minorities and minority neighborhoods, as they released a report finding an overall lack of lending by nonbank mortgage companies in Buffalo despite laws banning the practice of redlining.

After the agency pulled back on fair-lending enforcement in the Trump administration, interim Director Dave Uejio has made clear his intent to use the “disparate impact” standard to launch more anti-discrimination probes.

The president’s executive action looks to assess the impact of the previous administration's alterations to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing and Disparate Impact rules, while reinforcing Biden’s vow to eliminate discriminatory lending practices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's overhaul of its Qualified Mortgage standard is alarming free-market advocates who say it will precipitate a return to easy credit and higher defaults and could disproportionately harm minorities.

The bar to prove discriminatory patterns is so high that plaintiffs would have slim odds of winning lawsuits against housing providers.

The class-action lawsuit claims the company used deceptive contracts, locking low-income Black homebuyers into disadvantageous long-term mortgages without proper lending disclosures.

Senate Democrats asked a watchdog to examine whether the bank regulator failed to investigate claims of discrimination against at least six banks.

While Black homeownership just rose to its highest level in 16 years, it's still the lowest of any racial demographic and 29 percentage points behind white people.

Citing possible exploitation, Bank of America instituted a policy that put limits on loans to persons in guardianship. It later ended the policy.

The Trump administration's executive order to terminate and replace federal enforcement of anti-discrimination policies at the local level, citing the burden it put on municipalities, enraged advocates of equitable housing practices.

The existing framework should not be revised until a consensus has been achieved among stakeholders, including civil rights experts, according to Quicken.

A bevy of housing advocates spoke against President Trump's threat to remove the Affirmatively Further Fair Housing Rule, a regulation that aims to end racial segregation.

How the mortgage and housing industries react to the current civil rights moment could shape policies and bridge the homeownership divide for the Black community.

Though outlawed by the Fair Housing Act in 1968, the racist housing practice perpetuated a wealth gap for Black people still widening today.