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Yesterday, a federal judge ruled in favor of Hurricane Katrina victims who claimed much of the worst flood damage was a result of negligence by the Army Corps of Engineers, an important victory for many of those impacted by the storm. The case was the first to find the government responsible for damages from the storm. 

Lawyers representing the victims argued that the Army Corps not only failed to properly maintain the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet, a navigation canal that connects New Orleans' inner harbor with the Gulf of Mexico, but actually made matters worse with what actions it did take.  In particular, they argued that the Army Corps' actions were responsible for killing off marshes, eroding the banks, and doubling the channel width, all of which provided a way for the waters from Katrina to flood the city.

The court's ruling may have a significant impact on many people impacted by the storm.  Eighty thousand people lived in the area covered by the ruling, many of whom may be able to join a class action lawsuit based upon the verdict.  The Army Corps has estimated that such cases could lead to up to $500 billion in damages being awarded to people who lost their homes in the storm. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently proposed new regulations to ensure that its housing programs are open to all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The regulations clarify that the term "family" as HUD uses it includes LGBT individuals and couples and requires HUD grantees and participants in HUD programs to comply with local and state non-discrimination laws that include sexual orientation and gender identity. The regulations specify that any mortgage loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration must be based only on credit-worthiness and not on unrelated identity factors.

The department also plans to authorize the first national study of discrimination of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing.  Although there have been no national studies of housing discrimination against LGBT people, state and local studies show significant evidence of discrimination.

"The evidence is clear that some are denied the opportunity to make housing choices in our nation based on who they are and that must end. President Obama and I are determined that a qualified individual and family will not be denied housing choice based on sexual orientation or gender identity," HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said.

A new study released by the University of North Carolina's Center for Community Capital shows states that had adopted tougher anti-predatory lending laws had lower foreclosure and delinquency rates than those that did not enact such legislation.

The mortgage loans created in these states were also less risky, and average credit scores were higher, while average debt-to-income ratios and loan-to-value ratios were lower. 

Center Director Roberto G. Quercia noted that, "State laws can only provide patchy protection if different types of lenders within a state are subject to different rules.  Based on these results, we recommend that federal regulators set minimum standards – a floor, rather than a ceiling – and allow states to enact and enforce higher standards if they choose."

Full study (PDF)

Four years after Hurricane Katrina destroyed hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast homes, a lack of affordable housing, thousands of unihabitable residences, and a stagnant real estate market continue to vex New Orleans residents and evacuees looking to return to the city.

The Road Home, a federally funded program that provides compensation to homeowners affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, has distributed $7.95 billion to help Gulf Coast residents return to their homes. But while the number of unoccupied homes in St. Bernard and Orleans parishes has increased in the past year, 53 percent and 31 percent of homes are still vacant, respectively.

According to a June 2009 report by the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, the average rent for a studio apartment is $733 per month, which is 40 percent more expensive than pre-Katrina rates.  Few service workers can afford a New Orleans area apartment without paying more than 30 percent of their income.

Like many metropolitan areas dealing with the economic crisis, the New Orleans housing market has suffered in the past year. Home sales are down 23 percent since May 2008, but housing prices have not fallen as steeply as the national average, making homeownership a relative expensive proposition in the city. 

Rep. Barney Frank, D. Mass., chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services, is taking a hard line with the lending industry for failing to take action to prevent more foreclosures. In a statement issued last week, Frank said his committee would not support the industry's legislative agenda until lenders do far more to modify troubled mortgage loans.

In 2008, Congress passed a law designed to encourage, but not require, mortgage lenders to refinance loans in order to prevent foreclosures.  Another bill that would have given bankruptcy judges the ability to rework defaulted home mortgages passed in the House of Representatives earlier this year but was stripped from the Senate bill after intense lobbying by the banking industry.

The industry argued that allowing courts to modify loans would force lenders to raise interest rates and discourage them from voluntarily modifying mortgage terms.  However, data released today by the Obama administration shows that only 9 percent of eligible homeowners have had their mortgage terms restructured since the program began in February.

"I can assure all concerned that no legislation which we are asked to pass to facilitate the full return of the lending industry to the role it should be playing in the economy will pass out of the Financial Services Committee unless we see a significant increase in mortgage modifications and foreclosure-avoidance, or the legislation includes a bankruptcy provision for primary residences," said Frank.