District of Columbia Enacts Emergency Foreclosure Amendment Act of 2013
by: Margaret Wright, Esq.
On May 22, 2013 the Council of the District of Columbia enacted the “Saving D.C. Homes from Foreclosure Enhanced Emergency Amendment Act of 2013.” The Act is effective immediately land serves to extend the emergency amendments to the D.C. Official Code Right to Cure Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Default, Foreclosure Mediation and Establishment of Foreclosure Mediation Fund regulations.
Right to Cure Residential Mortgage Foreclosure Default, D.C. Official Code § 42-815.01(a)
The definition of Residential Mortgage under § 42-815.01(a) has been amended to read: “a loan secured by a deed of trust or mortgage, used to acquire or refinance real property which is improved by 4 or fewer single family dwellings, including condominium or cooperative units” . Previously this definition had included a designation of principal place of residence; however regulation did not provide the framework to allow the lender to make a determination of owner occupancy.
Foreclosure Mediation, D.C. Official Code § 42-815.02
The Foreclosure Mediation section (h) had been repealed by the emergency amendment act and replaced with sections (h-1) through (h-4). These sections outline the requirements concerning mediation certificates.
- Foreclosure will be void if a lender files a notice of intention to foreclosure without a mediation certificate.
- A borrower’s claim for a defective notice of default will be subject to the same rights as provided for a defective notice of intention to foreclose.
- A mediation certificate “shall service as conclusive evidence that all other provisions of this act and implementing regulations have been complied with”
- Paying fees related to mortgage or foreclosure counseling;
- Legal assistance fees related to mortgages or foreclosure;
- Mortgage or foreclosure mediation fees;
- Assistance or outreach programs related to benefits for current and former homeowners under mortgage or foreclosure related judgments or settlements; or
- Financial fraud or consumer protection enforcement work.
Margaret Wright, JD, is regulatory compliance director with CLA. She is a graduate of Stonehill College and earned her juris doctor at Suffolk University Law School. She is admitted to the Massachusetts Bar.
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