DSNews delivers stories, ideas, links, companies, people, events, and videos impacting the mortgage default servicing industry.
Issue link: http://digital.dsnews.com/i/1496135
MortgagePoint » Your Trusted Source for Mortgage Banking and Servicing News 66 J O U R N A L April 2023 Treasury Department Chief Recovery Officer Jacob Leibenluft in a recent blog post titled "Emergency Rental Assistance: Supporting Renting Families, Driving Lasting Reform." Eviction can cause tenants to lose posses- sions or face food insecurity. As the pandem- ic destabilized life for many Americans, these risks grew even more serious. But through the Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) program—created as part of the Consolidat- ed Appropriations Act, 2021 and dramatically expanded by the American Rescue Plan—the Biden-Harris administration put forward an unprecedented response to the eviction crisis the pandemic exacerbated. At the same time, ERA has helped lay the groundwork for lasting eviction prevention infrastructure and new investments in affordable housing." The Treasury's ERA program has provid- ed communities with significant resources to support housing stability throughout the pandemic, and studies have shown that the majority of ERA funds have gone to low-income and/or traditionally underserved renters of color. The demographic informa- tion included in the data release also shows that more than 85% of ERA beneficiaries are very low-income families and that funds have reached a diverse range of households. HUD REINSTATES 2013 "DISCRIMINATORY EFFECTS" RULE T he U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) an- nounced that it has submitted to the Federal Register for publication a Final Rule entitled Restoring HUD's Discriminatory Effects Standard. The Final Rule rescinds the Department's 2020 rule governing Fair Hous- ing Act disparate impact claims and restores the 2013 discriminatory effects rule. In the Final Rule, HUD emphasizes that the 2013 rule is more consistent with how the Fair Housing Act has been applied in the courts and in front of the agency for more than 50 years, and that it more effectively im- plements the Act's broad remedial purpose of eliminating unnecessary discriminatory practices from the housing market. "Discrimination in housing continues today and individuals, including people of color and people with disabilities, continue to be denied equal access to rental hous- ing and homeownership," HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said. "Today's rule brings us one step closer to ensuring fair housing is a reality for all in this country." The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrim- ination in housing and housing-related services because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including sexual orien- tation and gender identity), familial status, and disability. The discriminatory effects doctrine (which includes disparate impact and perpetuation of segregation) is a tool for addressing policies that unnecessarily cause systemic inequality in housing, regardless of whether they were adopted with discrimina- tory intent. It has long been used to challenge policies that unnecessarily exclude people from housing opportunities, including zoning requirements, lending and property insurance policies, and criminal records policies. Accordingly, having a workable discriminatory effects standard is vital for the Biden-Harris administration to accomplish its goal of creating a housing market that is free from both intentional discrimination and policies and practices that have unjusti- fied discriminatory effects. HUD's 2013 discriminatory effects rule codified long-standing caselaw for adjudi- cation of Fair Housing Act cases under the discriminatory effects doctrine, for cases filed "Discrimination in housing continues today and individuals, including people of color and people with disabilities, continue to be denied equal access to rental housing and homeownership. Today's rule brings us one step closer to ensuring fair housing is a reality for all in this country." —Marcia L. Fudge, HUD Secretary