Promoting Access to Credit for Homebuyers Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 618 To promote access to mortgage credit during the COVID–19 pandemic by preventing restrictions on providing Federal backing for single-family mortgage loans in forbearance, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 28, 2021 Mr. VARGAS (for himself, Ms. WATERS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. EVANS, and Ms. BARRAGA´N) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan- cial Services A BILL To promote access to mortgage credit during the COVID– 19 pandemic by preventing restrictions on providing Fed- eral backing for single-family mortgage loans in forbear- ance, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Access to 4 Credit for Homebuyers Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 618 IH SEC. 2. FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC. 1 (a) PURCHASE REQUIREMENTS.—During the period 2 that begins 5 days after the date of the enactment of this 3 Act and ends 60 days after the covered period with respect 4 to the mortgage, notwithstanding any other provision of 5 law, an enterprise may not refuse to purchase any single- 6 family mortgage originated on or after February 1, 2020, 7 that otherwise would have been eligible for purchase by 8 such enterprise, solely due to the fact that the borrower 9 has, for the borrower’s previous mortgage or on the mort- 10 gage being purchased— 11 (1) entered into forbearance as a result of a fi- 12 nancial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the 13 COVID-19 emergency; 14 (2) requested forbearance as a result of a finan- 15 cial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the 16 COVID-19 emergency; or 17 (3) inquired as to options related to forbearance 18 as a result of a financial hardship due, directly or 19 indirectly, to the COVID-19 emergency. 20 (b) PROHIBITION ON RESTRICTIONS.—With respect 21 to purchase of single-family mortgages described in sub- 22 section (a) and specified in any of paragraphs (1) through 23 (3) of such subsection, an enterprise may not— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 618 IH (1) establish additional restrictions that are not 1 applicable to similarly situated mortgages under 2 which the borrower is not in forbearance; 3 (2) charge a higher guarantee fee (within the 4 meaning provided such term in section 1327 of the 5 Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 6 (12 U.S.C. 4547)), or loan level pricing adjustment, 7 or otherwise alter pricing for such mortgages, rel- 8 ative to similarly situated mortgages under which 9 the borrower is not in forbearance; 10 (3) apply repurchase requirements to such 11 mortgages that are more restrictive than repurchase 12 requirements applicable to similarly situated mort- 13 gages under which the borrower is not in forbear- 14 ance; or 15 (4) require lender indemnification of such mort- 16 gages, solely due to the fact that the borrower is in 17 forbearance. 18 (c) FRAUD DETECTION.—This section may not be 19 construed to prevent an enterprise from conducting over- 20 sight and review of single-family mortgages purchased 21 when a borrower is in forbearance on the borrower’s pre- 22 vious mortgage, or on the mortgage being purchased, for 23 purposes of detecting fraud. An enterprise shall report any 24 fraud detected to the Director. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 618 IH (d) ENTERPRISE CAPITAL.—During the period that 1 begins 5 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 2 and ends 60 days after the covered period with respect 3 to a mortgage, notwithstanding any other provision of law, 4 a forbearance on such mortgage shall not be considered 5 to be a delinquency under such mortgage for purposes of 6 calculating capital of an enterprise for any purpose under 7 title XIII of the Housing and Community Development 8 Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.). 9 (e) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 10 (1) PURCHASE PARAMETERS.—This section 11 may not be construed to require an enterprise to 12 purchase single-family mortgages that do not meet 13 existing or amended purchase parameters, other 14 than parameters related to borrower forbearance, es- 15 tablished by such enterprise. 16 (2) EMPLOYMENT; INCOME.—This section may 17 not be construed to prevent an enterprise from es- 18 tablishing additional requirements to ensure that a 19 borrower has not lost their job or income prior to a 20 mortgage closing. 21 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Director may issue any 22 guidance, orders, and regulations necessary to carry out 23 this section. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 618 IH SEC. 3. FHA. 1 (a) PROHIBITION ON RESTRICTIONS.—During the 2 period that begins 5 days after the date of the enactment 3 of this Act and ends 60 days after the covered period with 4 respect to the mortgage, notwithstanding any other provi- 5 sion of law, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop- 6 ment may not deny the provision of mortgage insurance 7 for a single-family mortgage originated on or after Feb- 8 ruary 1, 2020, may not implement additional premiums 9 or otherwise alter pricing for such a mortgage, may not 10 require mortgagee indemnification, and may not establish 11 additional restrictions on such a mortgagor, solely due to 12 the fact that the borrower has— 13 (1) entered into forbearance as a result of a fi- 14 nancial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the 15 COVID-19 emergency; 16 (2) requested forbearance as a result of a finan- 17 cial hardship due, directly or indirectly, to the 18 COVID-19 emergency; or 19 (3) inquired as to options related to forbearance 20 as a result of a financial hardship due, directly or 21 indirectly, to the COVID-19 emergency. 22 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.— 23 (1) INSURANCE.—This section may not be con- 24 strued to require the Secretary of Housing and 25 Urban Development to provide insurance on single- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 618 IH family mortgages that do not meet existing or 1 amended insurance parameters, other than param- 2 eters related to borrower forbearance, established by 3 the Secretary. 4 (2) EMPLOYMENT; INCOME.—This section may 5 not be construed to prevent the Secretary of Hous- 6 ing and Urban Development from establishing addi- 7 tional requirements regarding insurance on single- 8 family mortgages to ensure that a borrower has not 9 lost their job or income prior to a mortgage closing. 10 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 11 (a) FHFA ACTIONS.—During the COVID-19 emer- 12 gency, the Director may not increase guarantee fees, loan 13 level pricing adjustments, or any other fees or implement 14 any restrictions on access to credit unless the Director 15 provides 48-hour advance notice of such increase or re- 16 strictions to the Committee on Financial Services of the 17 House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 18 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate together with 19 a detailed report of the policy rationale for the decision, 20 including any and all data considered in making such deci- 21 sion. 22 (b) QUARTERLY REPORTS BY ENTERPRISES AND 23 FHA.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 618 IH (1) REQUIREMENT.—Each enterprise and the 1 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, with 2 respect to the FHA mortgage insurance programs, 3 shall provide reports to the Congress, and make 4 such reports publicly available, not less frequently 5 than quarterly regarding the impact of COVID-19 6 pandemic on the such enterprises’ and program’s 7 ability to meet their charter requirements, civil 8 rights responsibilities, mandates under the CARES 9 Act (Public Law 116–136), and other laws enacted 10 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and other 11 requirements under law. The first such report shall 12 be submitted not later than the expiration of the 3- 13 month period beginning upon the date of the enact- 14 ment of this Act and the requirement under this 15 paragraph to submit such reports shall terminate 16 upon the expiration of the 2-year period beginning 17 upon the termination of the COVID-19 emergency. 18 (2) CONTENT.—Each report required under 19 paragraph (1) shall include the following information 20 for the most recent quarter for which data is avail- 21 able: 22 (A) ENTERPRISES.—For each report re- 23 quired by an enterprise: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 618 IH (i) The number of single-family and 1 multi-family residential mortgage loans 2 purchased by the enterprise and the un- 3 paid principal balance of such mortgage 4 loans purchased, disaggregated by— 5 (I) mortgage loans made to low- 6 and moderate-income borrowers; 7 (II) mortgage loans made for 8 properties in low- and moderate-in- 9 come census tracts; and 10 (III) mortgage loans made for 11 properties in central cities, rural 12 areas, and underserved areas. 13 (ii) In the single-family residential 14 mortgage market— 15 (I) the total number, unpaid 16 principal balance, and length of 17 forbearances provided to borrowers, 18 including whether or not the forbear- 19 ance was requested by the borrower; 20 (II) a detailed breakdown of the 21 loan modifications offered to bor- 22 rowers and whether the borrowers ac- 23 cepted the offer including the total 24 number and unpaid principal balance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 618 IH of loan modifications ultimately made 1 to borrowers; 2 (III) a detailed breakdown of the 3 home retention options offered to bor- 4 rowers and whether the borrowers ac- 5 cepted the offer including the total 6 number and unpaid principal balance 7 of other home retention options ulti- 8 mately made to borrowers; 9 (IV) the total number of out- 10 comes that included short-sales, deed- 11 in-lieu of foreclosure, and foreclosure 12 sales; and 13 (V) the total number of delin- 14 quent mortgage loans. 15 (iii) A description of any efforts by 16 the enterprise to provide assistance and 17 support to consumers who are not pro- 18 ficient in English. 19 (iv) A description of any other efforts 20 by the enterprise to provide assistance to 21 low- and moderate-income communities, 22 central cities, rural areas, and other under- 23 served areas, such as financial literacy and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 618 IH education or support of fair housing and 1 housing counseling agencies. 2 (v) A description of any other assist- 3 ance provided by the enterprise to con- 4 sumers in response to the COVID-19 pan- 5 demic. 6 (B) FHA.—For each report required with 7 respect to the FHA mortgage insurance pro- 8 grams: 9 (i) The number and unpaid principal 10 balance for all residential mortgage loans, 11 disaggregated by type, insured under such 12 programs. 13 (ii) The total number, unpaid prin- 14 cipal balance, and length of forbearances 15 provided to borrowers, including whether 16 or not the forbearance was requested by 17 the borrower. 18 (iii) A detailed breakdown of the loan 19 modifications offered to borrowers and 20 whether the borrowers accepted the offer 21 including the total number and unpaid 22 principal balance of loan modifications ulti- 23 mately made to borrowers. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 618 IH (iv) A detailed breakdown of the home 1 retention options offered to borrowers and 2 whether the borrowers accepted the offer 3 including the total number and unpaid 4 principal balance of other home retention 5 options ultimately made to borrowers. 6 (v) A description of any efforts under 7 such programs to provide assistance and 8 support to consumers who are not pro- 9 ficient in English. 10 (vi) A description of any other efforts 11 under such programs to provide assistance 12 to low- and moderate-income communities, 13 central cities, rural areas, and other under- 14 served areas, such as financial literacy and 15 education or support of fair housing and 16 housing counseling agencies. 17 (vii) A description of any other assist- 18 ance provided under such programs to con- 19 sumers in response to the COVID-19 pan- 20 demic. 21 (viii) The total number of delinquent 22 mortgage loans. 23 (C) PROVISIONS TO BE INCLUDED IN ALL 24 REPORTS.—Each report required under para- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H618.IH H618 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 618 IH graph (1) shall include, to the degree reason- 1 ably possible, the following information: 2 (i) An analysis of all loan level data 3 required by subparagraphs (A) and (B) 4 disaggregated by race, national origin, gen- 5 der, disability status, whether or not the 6 borrower seeking or obtaining assistance 7 speaks English as a second language, the 8 preferred language of the borrower, debt- 9 to-income level of the borrower, loan-to- 10 value ratio of the loan, and credit score of 11 the borrower. 12 (ii) A geographical analysis at the 13 census tract level, but if information is not 14 available at the census tract level for any 15 of the items required by subparagraphs 16 (A) and (B), the geographical analysis 17 shall be provided at the zip code level for 18 the item for which a census tract analysis 19 was not possible. 20 (iii) A description of any policy 21 changes made by the enterprise or Sec- 22 retary of Housing and Urban Develop- 23 ment, as appropriate, in response to the 24 COVID-19 pandemic and analysis of ac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Feb 20, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 [Text truncated for display. 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