Tag Archives: Fair Housing Act

HUD announced Wednesday that it is issuing a proposed rule to protect consumers being harassed in housing. The newly proposed rule would formalize standards to bring about claims under the Fair Housing Act. The rule, also known as "Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices under the Fair Housing Act,” was published in the Federal Register today for public comment.

HUD will award $38,366,909 million to over 100 housing groups across the nation to fight housing discrimination under their Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

Members of the U.S. Supreme Court convened Wednesday to spar with attorneys—and each other—in a case that could narrow long-held interpretations of a federal law barring housing discrimination.

The case scheduled to be heard later this month centers on claims that the Texas state housing department's fixed criteria for approving tax credits for low-income housing developers resulted in the approval of such credits for a larger percentage of developers in areas more heavily populated by minorities than in areas more populated by whites.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled this week that only claims of direct, intentional discrimination could be made under the Fair Housing Act, which was passed in 1968. While the Fair Housing Act does not specifically state it allows disparate claims lawsuits, courts have allowed them for years.

Midland States Bancorp, headquartered in Effingham, Illinois, will originate $8 million in mortgage loans in minority neighborhoods over the next three years to resolve charges that it previously avoided doing business or establishing branches in predominantly black and Hispanic neighborhoods in St. Louis and northern Illinois, according to an announcement from HUD.

U.S. Bank has reached a settlement with a housing regulator over allegations the bank discriminated against a Native American couple in denying them a refinance. Under the settlement's terms, U.S. Bank agreed to pay the couple's U.S. Bank credit card balance, amounting to nearly $11,500. The bank also agreed to approve their refinance application at the same interest rate and terms under which they originally applied in May 2013.

Five federal agencies issued Tuesday a statement assuring creditors that they do not run the risk of being found in violation of fair lending laws should they choose to only originate qualified mortgages (QM) as defined earlier in the year. With creditors having to consider a balance of secondary market opportunities, capital requirements, and credit and liability risk, regulators say they expect there will be a need for most businesses to fine-tune their products in response--something they should be used to.

HUD unveiled on Thursday an app for iPhone and iPad devices designed to provide the public and the housing industry with a quick and easy way to learn about the Fair Housing Act and to file discrimination complaints.

HUD announced Friday the issuing of a final rule to formalize a national standard for determining whether a practice violates the Fair Housing law based on an unjustified discriminatory effect. According to the agency, the rule establishes a three-part test that shifts burden of proof in a discriminatory housing case back and forth between the plaintiff and defendant. It is designed to address recent debates over whether or not a housing practice can be considered discriminatory if it seems neutral on the surface.