Today, we’re proposing changes to our Mortgage Servicing Rules, which took effect on January 10, 2014. These rules provide important protections for consumers with mortgages, including:
Requiring mortgage servicers (people who manage your mortgage loan account) to provide you with periodic mortgage statements or coupon books that give you important information about your mortgage.
Requiring servicers to respond quickly to written inquiries seeking information or requesting that they resolve potential errors about your mortgage.
Requiring servicers to reach out to you and send written information describing how to avoid foreclosure if you fall behind on your mortgage payments.
Requiring servicers to respond quickly to help you complete your application for loss mitigation options to avoid foreclosure. (Here’s more information about loss mitigation options.)
Since the Mortgage Servicing Rules went into effect, we’ve spent a lot of time talking to consumer advocacy groups, housing counselors, mortgage servicers, and trade associations, to better understand how the rules are working and whether we should make any changes to them. As a result, we’re now proposing some changes to the Mortgage Servicing Rules. The changes are intended to smooth the path for companies to better protect consumers and comply with the CFPB’s rules.