HUD, Freedom Mortgage Settlement


The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has reached a settlement with a New Jersey mortgage lender over allegations the lender discriminated against loan applicants with disabilities by requiring them to provide additional information about their disability.

“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. “We are pleased that this national mortgage lender is making a commitment to comply with its obligation to treat persons with disabilities the same way they treat those who are not disabled.”

In 2013, HUD filed a complaint against the Freedom Mortgage Corp., alleging the company subjected people with disabilities to different terms than nondisabled applicants by requiring they provide doctor’s notes or letters from the Social Security Administration that their disability income would continue for at least three years.

Under the terms of the settlement, Freedom Mortgage will pay $104,000 to 69 applicants. The company must also abolish disability-related income verification requirements for applicants who receive disability income and employees must attend training on the Fair Housing Act.

Under the Fair Housing Act, it’s illegal to discriminate in the financing of a home on the basis of disability. This includes requiring people with disabilities to provide information not required of nondisabled mortgage applicants.

 


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