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50 COVID-19 | Special Report HUD SUSPENDS FACE-TO-FACE REQUIREMENT IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19 e U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a partial waiver of 24 CFR 203.604, a servicing policy requiring mortgagees to establish in-person contact with borrowers during early default intervention. is suspension was issued in response to public concerns over the spread of COVID-19. In the partial waiver, e Hon. Brian D. Montgomery, Assistant Secretary for Housing - Federal Housing Commissioner states that the policy "is not practical given the public health recommendations being disseminated by local, state, and federal government agencies to limit contact between individuals, in order to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus." In place of the face-to-face requirement, the partial waiver outlines that mortgagees must establish contact via alternate methods, such as phone interviews, email, or video conferencing technology such as skype. is partial waiver is limited to a 12-month period and does not apply to face-to-face requirements in place for the Section 248 insurance program. Montgomery went on to write that without this measure there would be a risk of "noncompliance by mortgagees as well as borrowers ... [that] could hinder the servicing of FHA-insured loans." HUD also affirmed uninterrupted operations for its partners, stating, "the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) wants to assure its mortgagees and other interested stakeholders of its continued business operations in this evolving environment. Should FHA Single-Family be required to close some or all its offices, our business operations will continue as usual; however, with some possible delays." To address additional concerns stemming from COVID-19, the office released a "COVID-19 Questions and Answers" document. In it, FHA outlines loss-mitigation options available to borrowers who may be negatively impacted by the coronavirus, stating: As with any other event that negatively impacts a borrower's ability to pay their monthly mortgage payment, FHA's suite of loss mitigation options provides solutions that mortgagees should offer to distressed borrowers–including those that could be impacted by the coronavirus–to help prevent them from going into foreclosure. An example of one of these options is our Special Forbearance for unemployed borrowers. e SFB-Unemployment Option is a Home Retention Option available when one or more of the Borrowers has become unemployed and this loss of employment has negatively affected the Borrower's ability to continue to make their monthly Mortgage Payment.