The Federal Housing Administration today announced that it will require lenders to submit information about borrowers’ preferred language and any housing education they have received when originating mortgages for FHA insurance. A supplemental consumer information form, or SCIF, will be needed for loan applications starting August 28, according to the agency.
The SCIF collects information about borrowers’ language preferences as well as any homeownership education and housing counseling they have received. Collecting that information will enable a better aggregate view of language preferences for the borrowers the FHA serves, which in turn will influence its future actions to continue breaking down language and other barriers to homeownership, the agency said.
“The SCIF has already been adopted for conventional mortgages and we believe that its use is even more important for FHA-insured mortgages, given FHA’s outsized role in providing access to mortgage financing for underserved populations,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary for Single Family Housing Sarah Edelman. “This announcement complements the work we recently completed to provide translated versions of mortgage documents and homebuyer education resources.”
