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HUD Announces It will enforce the Fair Housing Act to Prohibit Housing Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity

HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) issued a memorandum stating that (1) HUD now interprets the Fair Housing Act to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and (2) directs HUD offices and recipients of HUD funds to enforce the Act accordingly. The memorandum begins implementation of the policy announced in President Biden’s Executive Order 13988 on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (Executive Order), which directed executive branch agencies to develop further actions that could be taken to combat such discrimination.

The memorandum directs the following:

(1) HUD will accept and investigate all jurisdictional complaints of sex discrimination, including discrimination because of gender identity or sexual orientation, and enforce the Fair Housing Act where it finds such discrimination occurred.

(2) HUD will conduct all activities involving the application, interpretation, and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination consistent with its conclusion that such discrimination includes discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

(3) State and local jurisdictions funded by HUD’s Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) that enforce the Fair Housing Act through their HUD-certified substantially equivalent laws will be required to administer those laws to prohibit discrimination because of gender identity and sexual orientation.

(4) Organizations and agencies that receive grants through the Department’s Fair Housing Initiative Program (FHIP) must carry out their funded activities to also prevent and combat discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

(5) FHEO Regional Offices, FHAP agencies, and FHIP grantees are instructed to review, within 30 days, all records of allegations (inquiries, complaints, phone logs, etc.) received since January 20, 2020, and notify persons who alleged discrimination because of gender identity or sexual orientation that their claims may be timely and jurisdictional for filing under this memorandum.

In response, Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), issued the following statement:

“We are glad to see that HUD is moving forward to implement President Biden’s executive orders without delay, and taking strong action to prohibit housing discrimination, which is so often faced by the LGTBQ+ community. This community faces some of the highest rates of homelessness, which stems in large part from discrimination. They also face discrimination at many homeless shelters. Full enforcement of the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation was long overdue, and we applaud HUD for moving quickly.”

Some relevant resources regarding this subject are:

Same-Sex Couples And Mortgage Lending - https://ncrc.org/same-sex-couples-and-mortgage-lending/.

Lending Discrimination against Same-Sex Couples in Mortgage Applications - https://ncrc.org/same-sex-couples-and-mortgage-lending/.

Read the February 11, 2021 HUD press release.

Read the February 11, 2021 NCRC statement.

Amtrak Fund Compensates People with Disabilities Facing Barriers at Stations

People with mobility disabilities who encountered inaccessible Amtrak stations can begin submitting claims for monetary compensation. Amtrak created the compensation fund as part of a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) which found the railroad had engaged in disability discrimination violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Amtrak was given twenty years after the ADA was passed in 1990 to make stations accessible, but by 2010 had failed to make progress. An investigation in 2013 by the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) found numerous barriers at stations all over the country. NDRN then submitted a complaint to the DOJ which spurred their investigation and eventual settlement with Amtrak.

Read more here and find out if you qualify for compensation. Claims must be submitted by May 29, 2021.

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Source: National Disability Rights Network, February 11, 2021.

Three Baltimore Insurance Brokers file Complaint Accusing Erie Insurance of Discriminating Against Black Customers

Three Baltimore-area insurance brokers have filed complaints with the Maryland Insurance Administration accusing Erie Insurance of racially discriminating by engaging in insurance redlining of predominantly Black neighborhoods in the city.

Two of the three brokerage firms are Black-owned small businesses. They filed separate complaints this week with the Maryland Insurance Administration, the state regulator. The companies included Baltimore Insurance Network LLC of Bowie, Ross Insurance Agency of Windsor Mill, and Welsch Insurance Group of Baltimore, which all contract or had contracted with Erie as agents to sell policies.

The brokers accuse Erie, which underwrites policies sold by the firms, of redlining - the practice of denying services to residents of certain neighborhoods based on race or ethnicity. The complaints say Erie refused to underwrite policies based on a potential client’s race, ethnic origin, neighborhood, and/or socioeconomic status.

“Erie Insurance brokerages that serve Baltimore, and in particular that serve the poor areas of Baltimore which are predominately African American, are being told that even when customers meet their underwriting standards and when they would otherwise qualify, Erie is not interested in certain customers,” said Cary J. Hansel, an attorney for Baltimore Insurance.

Both Baltimore Insurance and Welsch said in their complaints that Erie urged them to not sell policies to people in Baltimore with “city sounding names.” Baltimore Insurance Network said it was told by an Erie branch manager to “place those people elsewhere, I don’t care where, just not with Erie. They don’t fit Erie’s appetite. Find better people.”

A spokesperson for Erie said Wednesday that the company has not yet been formally notified of the filings but will address any complaints with the Insurance Administration. The company said it does not comment publicly on specific customers, agents, claims, or regulatory filings.

Previously, Erie has been sued for redlining in New York State as well as found to have higher auto insurance premiums not associated with risk for Illinois minority zip codes in a 2017 study by Pro Publica. 

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Source: Baltimore Sun, January 13, 2021.

COVID Relief Loans Loans Flowed Mostly To Businesses In Wealthy White Communities

Businesses in upper-income mostly White neighborhoods dominated the government’s Payment Protection Program (PPP), according to the analysis of government data by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC). The findings confirms evidence that business owners of color and businesses in lower-income communities faced many obstacles that cut them off from the government’s COVID relief program for small businesses.

The NCRC analysis was based on records of 5 million PPP loans released by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The data was only made available after a federal judge ordered the data released after several news organizations sued the agency under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

After adjusting for total businesses in each neighborhood, NCRC found that, on average, neighborhoods in low-income areas received less than a quarter as many PPP loans (.387 loans per census tract in low-income tracts, compared to 1.787 loans per census tract in upper-income census tracts), and only about one-third of the PPP loan amount ($36,481 per business in low- and $100,539 in upper-income census tracts). Also, the analysis evidenced that neighborhoods with higher percentages of people of color got significantly fewer loans and lower amounts.

The NCRC study is more evidence that Fair Lending laws must be better enforced.

Read the December 11, 2020 NCRC release.

To read more on NCRC’s preliminary analysis, visit: NCRC Paycheck Protection Plan Preliminary Analysis.

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Source: NCRC, December 11, 2020.

Nationstar Mortgage Order to Pay Fine for Flawed Mortgage Loan Reporting, Including Victimizing Over 1,000 Maryland Borrowers

Nationstar Mortgage, which recently rebranded as “Mr. Cooper,” agreed to a $91 million fine by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for allegedly violating consumer protection laws after the Great Recession. The case could serve as a warning to companies that prey on borrowers during the pandemic.

“More than 1,000 borrowers in Maryland were harmed by Nationstar’s misconduct,” Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) said in a statement. “The settlement requires Nationstar to change its practices and to pay millions of dollars to those it hurt.”

The federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) worked with attorneys general from all states and mortgage regulators in 53 jurisdictions in the case against Nationstar, which is the largest non-bank home loan servicer in the nation.

This settlement regards allegations that Nationstar violated consumer protection laws during its servicing of mortgage loans between 2012 and the end of 2015. The proposed CFPB agreement, if approved by the court, will bring $85 million in payments to consumers and over $6 million in fees and penalties.

Nationstar also entered into a separate settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice to address past mortgage servicing issues affecting homeowners under bankruptcy protection. Under that settlement, the Justice Department said U.S. Bank, PNC, and Nationstar will pay over $74 million in redress payments to homeowners. “Most of the remediation and corrective actions have already been taken by the servicers,” the Justice Department commented.

The CFPB complaint said Nationstar failed to identify requests for loan modifications, which are supposed to help borrowers with their payments. The company foreclosed while some homeowners were waiting for their loan modification applications to be processed - even though Nationstar had promised it would not do so.

Allegations against Nationstar included improperly increasing borrowers’ payments and misrepresenting when homeowners would be eligible to have their private mortgage insurance premiums canceled. The claim alleged that Nationstar also failed to forward real estate tax payments from escrow accounts in a timely manner.

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Read the December 8, 2020 Washington Post article.

 

ACTION ALERT CALL or EMAIL  Mayor Young TODAY!  The Baltimore City bill (CB 20-0592) creating a Local Voucher Program Awaits Mayor Young's Signature -- TODAY is the last day for Mayor Young  to sign the bill or it will fail! Call/Email Mayor Young and ask him to help Baltimore end homelessness by signing CB 20-0592! Mayor Young contact information: 410-396-4900, mayor@baltimorecity.gov The bill is a major step forward in the City's efforts to end homelessness. The bill creates a new Office to End Homelessness and a locally funded housing voucher program   for formerly homeless households with incomes at or below 30% area median income. Read about the bill in this WYPR piece  For more information about CB 20-0592 contact  Carolyn Johnson at cjohnson@hprplaw.org ***** Homeless Persons Representation Project, November 7, 2020