Fair and Responsible Lending Act HR 4471

This legislation also seeks to increase the availability and use of housing counseling for families seeking to rent or purchase a home. It establishes an Office of Housing Counseling within HUD and requires that lenders offering a high cost home loan make the prospective purchaser aware of counseling resources. The new office within HUD would create a toll-free number and website to provide consumers with housing counseling information and an annual $75 million grant program would be created to award funds to local, nonprofit, and state entities engaging in housing counseling activities.