HUD REACHES AGREEMENT WITH MICHIGAN LENDER IN DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION CASE

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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a Conciliation Agreement with Mortgage One, Inc., of Sterling Heights, Michigan, resolving allegations of lending discrimination againstan applicant with disabilities.  HUD claimed Mortgage One and loan officer Nancy Doody required the mortgage applicant to provide intrusive and unnecessary documentation regarding his disabilities before approving his FHA-insured mortgage. Read the agreement.

The Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to discriminate in the terms and conditions of a loan to an individual based on a disability, including imposing different application or qualification criteria.

“A person’s qualifications to purchase a home should be the only criteria used to evaluate his or her loan application, not whether they are living with a disability,” said Gustavo Velasquez, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “This agreement reaffirms HUD’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that mortgage lenders treat all applicants fairly.”