Civil Rights Groups Call for Moratorium on Home Foreclosures
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the National Fair Housing Alliance, National Council of La Raza, the NAACP, and the Center for Responsible Lending are calling for an immediate national moratorium on foreclosures.
“Until lenders demonstrate that they are adhering to all existing laws, regulations, and contractual guidelines related to loss mitigation and foreclosure legal process, lenders in all 50 states should not move forward with any foreclosures,” said the groups, in a statement.
The foreclosure crisis is still wreaking havoc on communities around the country, especially among low-income and minority homeowners who are bearing a disproportionate share of the burden. RealtyTrac, a company that tracks nationwide foreclosure activity, reported that foreclosure filings grew by four percent in August, exceeding 300,000 for the 18th month in a row.
A number of states, including California, Texas, Connecticut, and most recently, North Carolina, have instituted moratoriums after finding evidence that lenders were foreclosing on homes based on fraudulent or incorrect bank data. Groups had previously called for a moratorium in April 2007 when the foreclosure crisis was particularly bad.
“The problem of foreclosure fraud with lenders’ wrongfully manipulating essential data was entirely foreseeable. Several years ago we urged Congress to make a simple change to bankruptcy laws that could have kept countless families in their homes,” said Wade Henderson, president & CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “If we don’t take drastic measures now, we can expect millions of additional foreclosures in the coming years, with a disproportionate number of them involving Latino and African-American families.”