The Fair Lending Notice is a document which accompanies a loan application, and discloses to an applicant their legal right to fair consideration towards a loan for the purchase, rehabilitation, improvement, renovation or construction of a home. The notice reinforces financial institutions' legally obligated to consider loan applications fairly, unequivocally excluding race, gender, ethnicity, or national origin as criteria. The fair lending laws which this notice upholds are part of the Fair Housing Act which is administered through the United States Department of Justice as well as the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/topics/fair_lending

Recent years have seen fair lending notice issues, and fair lending has come under fire as there have been numerous violation of the civil liberties which it protects. These violations have come in the form of discrimination, primarily against African Americans, with regard to loan eligibility, loan amounts, and interest rates.http://www.urban.org/publications/309090.html

The Fair Lending Notice is one of the documents included in a formal loan application. It indicates to the borrower and buyer that no information in the loan application or any investigation connected to it, with regard to race, gender, ethnicity, national origin, religion or the ethnic characteristics of any given neighborhood where a borrower chooses to live, can not be used for grounds of discrimination in the loan process. In the event that a borrower feels their rights have been violated in connection with the Fair Lending Notice and Fair Housing Act, they should contact the US Justice Department or the US Department for Housing and Development for guidance and assistance with their matter.http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/portal/HUD/topics/housing_discrimination

The content in this page is not a substitute for professional financial advice. Please contact a finance professional before using the information presented here.