HUD issues new guidelines for People with Limited English Proficiency #homeownership #realestate

Source:  National Mortgage News

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is taking a harder look at how mortgage lenders treat borrowers with limited English language skills.  The agency issued new guidance  emphasizing that the Fair Housing Act also protects home buyers with limited English proficiency, or LEP.

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- The Fair Housing Act prohibits both intentional housing discrimination and housing practices that have an unjustified discriminatory effect.  People with limited English proficiency are not a protected class under the Fair Housing Act.  However, the Fair Housing Act Prohibits discrimination on seven protected bases, including national origin, which is closely linked to the ability to communicate proficiently in English.

- Housing providers are therefore prohibited from using limited English proficiency selectively or as an excuse for intentional housing discrimination.  The law also prohibits landlords from using limited English proficiency in a way that causes an unjustified discriminatory effect.

- Nearly 9 percent of the U.S. population is limited in English proficiency.  Approximately 16,350,000 (or 65 percent) of these individuals speak Spanish, while 1,660,000 (7 percent) speak Chinese, 850,000 (3 percent) speak Vietnamese, 620,000 (2 percent) speak Korean and 530,00 (2 percent) speak Tagalog.  Housing decisions that are based on limited English proficiency may have a greater impact on these and other groups because of their nationality.

- The guidance addresses how various legal approaches, such as discriminatory effects and disparate treatment, apply in Fair Housing Act cases in which a housing-related decision - such as a landlord's refusal to rent or renew a lease - involves a person's limited ability to speak, read, write, or understand English.

- Discriminatory practices, for example, could include applying a language-related requirement to people of certain races or nationalities; posting advertisements that contain blanket statements, such as "all tenants must speak English," or immediately turning away applicants who are not fluent in English.  Targeting racial or national origin groups for scams related to housing also constitutes intentional discrimination.

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