Published: August 2017

The FHFA should make mortgages more accessible to people with LEP

In 2014, approximately 25.3 million individuals, roughly 9 percent of the U.S. population, were considered limited English proficient (LEP). Despite this sizable need and opportunity, the language needs of many current and potential homeowners are left unmet in the mortgage marketplace.

Consumer Action joined coalition advocates in urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to improve language access in the mortgage market by taking steps to ensure that:

• language preference is collected, tracked, and transferred throughout the life of the loan;
• borrowers are provided translated disclosures and access to staff or oral interpreters who speak their preferred language;
• non-English or translated documents are accepted from borrowers;
• in-language resources are developed and distributed; and
• further policies and practices are developed in consultation with other stakeholders.

Other Organizations

Americans for Financial Reform | Arizona Housing Coalition | Asian Services In Action, Inc | Asian-American Homeownership Counseling, Inc. | Atlanta Legal Aid Society, Inc. | Baltimore Neighborhoods, Inc. | California Reinvestment Coalition | California Resources and Training | CCCS of Northeastern Iowa | Center for NYC Neighborhoods | Central Ohio Fair Housing Association | Centro De Apoyo Familiar (CAF) | Chinese American Service League | Community Legal Services of Philadelphia (on behalf of its low-income clients) | Connecticut Fair Housing Center | Consumer Action | Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo, Inc. | Cornerstones | Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation | East LA Community Corporation | Empire Justice Center | Empowering and Strengthening Ohio’s People | Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California | Fair Housing Center | Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana | Fair Housing Center of Northern Alabama | Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan | Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan | Fair Housing Council of Northern NJ | Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern Pennsylvania | Family Housing Resources, Inc. | Good Neighbor Foundation | Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center | Haven Neighborhood Services | Hispanic League | HOND, INC | HOPE Fair Housing Center | Housing America Corporation | Housing and Economic Rights Advocates (HERA) | Housing Equality Law Project (HELP) | Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Greater Cincinnati | Housing Opportunities of Northern Delaware, Inc. | Human Development Services of Westchester | Impacct Brooklyn | Integra Home Counseling, Inc. | The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights | Legal Services NYC | Long Island Housing Services, Inc | LUCHA (Latin United Community Housing Association) | Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance | Massachusetts Fair Housing Center | Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council | Miami Valley Fair Housing Center, Inc. | Mobilization for Justice, Inc. | National Association of Consumer Advocates | National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD) | National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) | National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients) | National Fair Housing Alliance | National Housing Resource Center | Nazareth Housing Services | NCCED (National Congress for Community Economic Development) | Neighborhood Housing Services of Staten Island | New Economics for Women | North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence | North Carolina Justice Center | Northwest Side Housing Center | PathStone Corporation | Project Sentinel | Prosperity Now (formerly CFED) | Public Justice Center | PUENTES NEW ORLEANS | Reinvestment Partners | Rensselaer County Housing Resources, Inc. | Residential Resources, Inc. | Rockaway Development & Revitalization Corporation | Rural Community Assistance Corporation | Southwest Fair Housing Council | St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center | Sustainable Together (New Jersey) | The Housing Council at PathStone | The Housing Partnership, Inc. | The Public Interest Law Center | U.S. PIRG | UnidosUS (formerly NCLR) | UNITE HERE | Woodstock Institute

More Information

To read the full coalition letter, please click here.

For more information, please visit AFR's website.

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