H.R. 1499 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1499 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 11, 2013 Mr. Jeffries (for himself, Mr. Grimm, and Mr. Crowley) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To ensure that homeowners who have mortgages insured by the FHA, or owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and whose homes are located in major disaster areas are notified of any forbearance relief in connection with such disaster that is offered or recommended by the FHA, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal National Mortgage Association, or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Disaster-Affected Homeowners Notification Act of 2013. 2. Requirement to notify affected homeowners of mortgage relief (a) Requirement If, in connection with any major disaster declared pursuant to section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal National Mortgage Association, or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation makes available forbearance relief with respect to any covered mortgage, or any such agency head or enterprise issues any notice or guidelines to mortgagees or servicers recommending or requiring such relief, the applicable agency head shall— (1) provide, to each mortgagor under a covered mortgage, direct notification in accordance with subsection (b) of such relief made available, required, or recommended; and (2) provide, for areas subject to such disaster declaration, community-wide notification in accordance with the guidelines issued under subsection (c) of such relief made available, required, or recommended. (b) Direct notification Direct notification in accordance with this subsection is notification to the mortgagor under a covered mortgage— (1) (A) made by a telephone call to the mortgagor or by mail to the residence subject to the mortgage; and (B) by such other method of direct contact as may be provided in the guidelines issued pursuant to subsection (e); and (2) that clearly informs the mortgagor— (A) that the mortgage is a covered mortgage; (B) of the forbearance relief made available, required, or recommended; (C) of any moratorium on foreclosure with respect to covered mortgages; and (D) of how to obtain more information regarding such relief. (c) Community-Wide notification and awareness measures The applicable agency heads shall, pursuant to subsection (e), issue guidelines regarding measures designed to provide notice and awareness of any forbearance relief made available, required, or recommended in connection with a major disaster throughout the areas subject to such disaster declaration. Such guidelines may include requirements regarding the types of notification measures, such as town hall meetings, public service announcements, public advertisements and the types of media used to convey such advertisements, and flyers and other community notices. (d) Definitions For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) Applicable agency head The term applicable agency head means— (A) the Secretary, with respect to a covered mortgage described in paragraph (2)(B)(i); and (B) the Director, with respect to a covered mortgage described in paragraph (2)(B)(ii). (2) Covered mortgage The term covered mortgage means, with respect to any major disaster declared pursuant to section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), a mortgage— (A) that is secured by a one- to four-family dwelling that— (i) is the principal residence of the mortgagor; and (ii) is located within an area for which such major disaster was declared; and (B) that is— (i) insured under title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.); or (ii) owned or guaranteed by the Federal National Mortgage Association or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Any delinquency or default under a mortgage shall not affect the status of such mortgage as a covered mortgage. (3) Director The term Director means the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. (4) Forbearance relief The term forbearance relief means, with respect to a mortgage, any suspension or reduction of payments due under the mortgage, in any form and to any extent. (5) Mortgagee The term mortgagee means, with respect to a covered mortgage, the original lender under the mortgage and any affiliates, agents, subsidiaries, successors, or assignees of such lender, any subsequent purchaser, trustee, or transferee of the mortgage or credit instrument issued by such lender. (6) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. (e) Guidelines Not later than the expiration of the 30-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Director shall jointly issue guidelines to carry out this section. (f) Applicability This Act shall apply with respect to any major disaster declared pursuant to section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in connection with Hurricane Sandy and any major disaster declared thereafter.