Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 12, March 23, 2024
(a)
Live
contact. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a servicer
shall establish or make good faith efforts to establish a live single point of
contact with a delinquent borrower no later than the 36th day of a borrower's
delinquency and again no later than 36 days after each payment due date so long
as the borrower remains delinquent. Promptly after establishing live contact
with a borrower, the servicer shall inform the borrower about the availability
of loss mitigation options, if appropriate, and take the actions described in
subsection (e), if applicable.
(b)
Written notice.
(1)
Notice required. Except as otherwise provided in this
section, a servicer shall provide to a delinquent borrower a written notice
with the information set forth in paragraph (b)(2) of this section no later
than the 45th day of the borrower's delinquency and again no later than 45 days
after each payment due date so long as the borrower remains delinquent. A
servicer is not required to provide the written notice, however, more than once
during any 180-day period. If a borrower is 45 days or more delinquent at the
end of any 180-day period after the servicer has provided the written notice, a
servicer must provide the written notice again no later than 180 days after the
provision of the prior written notice. If a borrower is less than 45 days
delinquent at the end of any 180-day period after the servicer has provided the
written notice, a servicer must provide the written notice again no later than
45 days after the payment due date for which the borrower remains
delinquent.
(2)
Content of
the written notice. The notice required by paragraph (b)(1) of this
section shall include:
(i) A statement
encouraging the borrower to contact the servicer;
(ii) The telephone number to access servicer
personnel assigned pursuant to §
59.12(a)
(relating to continuity of contact) and the servicer's mailing
address;
(iii) If applicable, a
statement providing a brief description of examples of loss mitigation options
that may be available from the servicer;
(iv) If applicable, either application
instructions or a statement informing the borrower how to obtain more
information about loss mitigation options from the servicer; and
(v) The Web site to access either the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau list or the HUD list of homeownership
counselors or counseling organizations, and the HUD toll-free telephone number
to access homeownership counselors or counseling
organizations.
(3)
Model clauses. Model clauses MS-4(A), MS-4(B), and MS-4(C),
in appendix MS-4 to 12 CFR Part 1024 , Subpart C (relating to mortgage
servicing) may be used to comply with the requirements of this paragraph
(b).
(c)
Borrowers in bankruptcy.
(1)
Partial exemption. While any borrower on a mortgage loan is a
debtor in bankruptcy under title 11 of the
United States Code
, a servicer, with regard to that mortgage loan:
(i) Is exempt from the requirements of
paragraph (a) of this section;
(ii)
Is exempt from the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section if no loss
mitigation option is available, or if any borrower on the mortgage loan has
provided a notification pursuant to section 805(c) of the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act (FDCPA) (15
U.S.C.A. §
1692c(c))
with respect to that mortgage loan as referenced in paragraph (d) of this
section; and
(iii) If the
conditions of paragraph (c)(1)(ii) of this section are not met, must comply
with the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section, as modified by this
paragraph (c)(1)(iii):
(A) If a borrower is
delinquent when the borrower becomes a debtor in bankruptcy, a servicer must
provide the written notice required by paragraph (b) of this section not later
than the 45th day after the borrower files a bankruptcy petition under title 11
of the United States Code. If the borrower is not delinquent
when the borrower files a bankruptcy petition, but subsequently becomes
delinquent while a debtor in bankruptcy, the servicer must provide the written
notice not later than the 45th day of the borrower's delinquency. A servicer
must comply with these timing requirements regardless of whether the servicer
provided the written notice in the preceding 180-day period.
(B) The written notice required by paragraph
(b) of this section may not contain a request for payment.
(C) A servicer is not required to provide the
written notice required by paragraph (b) of this section more than once during
a single bankruptcy case.
(2)
Resuming compliance.
(i) Except as provided in paragraph
(c)(2)(ii) of this section, a servicer that was exempt from paragraphs (a) and
(b) of this section pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this section must resume
compliance with paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section after the next payment
due date that follows the earliest of the following events:
(A) The bankruptcy case is
dismissed;
(B) The bankruptcy case
is closed; and
(C) The borrower
reaffirms personal liability for the mortgage loan.
(ii) With respect to a mortgage loan for
which the borrower has discharged personal liability pursuant to
11 U.S.C.A. §§
727,
1141,
1228, or
1328, a servicer:
(A) Is not required to resume compliance with
paragraph (a) of this section; and
(B) Must resume compliance with paragraph (b)
of this section if the borrower has made any partial or periodic payment on the
mortgage loan after the commencement of the borrower's bankruptcy
case.
(d)
Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act-partial exemption. With regard to a mortgage loan for which any
borrower has provided a notification pursuant to section 805(c) of the Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) (15 U.S.C.A. §
1692c(c)), a servicer
subject to the FDCPA with respect to that borrower's loan:
(1) Is exempt from the requirements of
paragraph (a) of this section;
(2)
Is exempt from the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section if no loss
mitigation option is available, or while any borrower on that mortgage loan is
a debtor in bankruptcy under title 11 of the United States
Code as referenced in paragraph (c) of this section; and
(3) If the conditions of paragraph (d)(2) of
this section are not met, must comply with the requirements of paragraph (b) of
this section, as modified by this paragraph (d)(3):
(i) In addition to the information required
pursuant to paragraph (b)(2) of this section, the written notice must include a
statement that the servicer may or intends to invoke its specified remedy of
foreclosure. Model clause MS-4(D) in appendix MS-4 12 CFR Part 1024 , Subpart C
may be used to comply with this requirement.
(ii) The written notice may not contain a
request for payment.
(iii) A
servicer is prohibited from providing the written notice more than once during
any 180-day period. If a borrower is 45 days or more delinquent at the end of
any 180-day period after the servicer has provided the written notice, a
servicer must provide the written notice again no later than 190 days after the
provision of the prior written notice. If a borrower is less than 45 days
delinquent at the end of any 180-day period after the servicer has provided the
written notice, a servicer must provide the written notice again no later than
45 days after the payment due date for which the borrower remains delinquent or
190 days after the provision of the prior written notice, whichever is
later.
(e)
Temporary COVID-19-related live contact. Until October 1,
2022, in complying with the requirements described in subsection (a), promptly
after establishing live contact with a borrower the servicer shall take the
following actions:
(1)
Borrowers not
in forbearance programs at the time of live contact. At the time the
servicer establishes live contact under subsection (a), if the borrower is not
in a forbearance program and the owner or assignee of the borrower's mortgage
loan makes a forbearance program available to borrowers experiencing a
COVID-19-related hardship, the servicer shall inform the borrower of all of the
following information:
(i) That forbearance
programs are available for borrowers experiencing a COVID-19-related hardship
and, unless the borrower states that they are not interested in receiving
information about these programs, the servicer shall list and briefly describe
to the borrower any of these forbearance programs made available at that time
and the actions the borrower must take to be evaluated for these forbearance
programs.
(ii) At least one way
that the borrower can find contact information for homeownership counseling
services, such as referencing the borrower's periodic statement.
(2)
Borrowers in
forbearance programs at the time of live contact. If the borrower is
in a forbearance program made available to borrowers experiencing a
COVID-19-related hardship, during the live contact established under subsection
(a) that occurs at least 10 days and no more than 45 days before the scheduled
end of the forbearance program or, if the scheduled end date of the forbearance
program occurs between August 31, 2021, and September 10, 2021, during the
first live contact made under subsection (a) after August 31, 2021, the
servicer shall inform the borrower of all of the following information:
(i) The date the borrower's current
forbearance program is scheduled to end.
(ii) A list and brief description of each of
the types of forbearance extension, repayment options and other loss mitigation
options made available to the borrower by the owner or assignee of the
borrower's mortgage loan at the time of the live contact, and the actions the
borrower must take to be evaluated for those loss mitigation options.
(iii) At least one way that the borrower can
find contact information for homeownership counseling services, such as
referencing the borrower's periodic statement.
The provisions of this § 59.11 amended under
7
Pa.C.S. §
6141(a)(2).
This section cited in 10 Pa. Code §
59.4 (relating to general
disclosure requirements); 10 Pa. Code §
59.7 (relating to error resolution
procedures); and 10 Pa. Code §
59.12 (relating to continuity of
contact).