Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 12, March 23, 2024
(a)
Information request. A servicer shall comply with the
requirements of this section for any written request for information from a
borrower that includes the name of the borrower, information that enables the
servicer to identify the borrower's mortgage loan account, and states the
information the borrower is requesting with respect to the borrower's mortgage
loan. A request on a payment coupon or other payment form supplied by the
servicer need not be treated by the servicer as a request for information. A
request for a payoff balance need not be treated by the servicer as a request
for information. A qualified written request that requests information relating
to the servicing of the mortgage loan is a request for information for purposes
of this section, and a servicer must comply with all requirements applicable to
a request for information with respect to such qualified written
request.
(b)
Contact
information for borrowers to request information. A servicer may, by
written notice provided to a borrower, establish an address that a borrower
must use to request information in accordance with the procedures in this
section. The notice shall include a statement that the borrower must use the
established address to request information. If a servicer designates a specific
address for receiving information requests, a servicer shall designate the same
address for receiving notices of error pursuant to §
59.7(c) (relating
to error resolution procedures). A servicer shall provide a written notice to a
borrower before any change in the address used for receiving an information
request. A servicer that designates an address for receipt of information
requests must post the designated address on any Web site maintained by the
servicer if the Web site lists any contact address for the servicer.
(c)
Acknowledgment of receipt.
Within five days (excluding legal public holidays, Saturdays, and
Sundays) of a servicer receiving an information request from a borrower, the
servicer shall provide to the borrower a written response acknowledging receipt
of the information request.
(d)
Response to information request.
(1)
Investigation and response
requirements. Except as provided in paragraphs (e) and (f) of this
section, a servicer must respond to an information request by either:
(i) Providing the borrower with the requested
information and contact information, including a telephone number, for further
assistance in writing; or
(ii)
Conducting a reasonable search for the requested information and providing the
borrower with a written notification that states that the servicer has
determined that the requested information is not available to the servicer,
provides the basis for the servicer's determination, and provides contact
information, including a telephone number, for further assistance.
(2)
Time limits.
(i)
In general. A servicer
must comply with the requirements of paragraph (d)(1) of this section:
(A) Not later than 10 days (excluding legal
public holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays) after the servicer receives an
information request for the identity of, and address or other relevant contact
information for, the owner or assignee of a mortgage loan; and
(B) For all other requests for information,
not later than 30 days (excluding legal public holidays, Saturdays, and
Sundays) after the servicer receives the information request.
(ii)
Extension of time
limit. For requests for information governed by the time limit set
forth in paragraph (d)(2)(i)(B) of this section, a servicer may extend the time
period for responding by an additional 15 days (excluding legal public
holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays) if, before the end of the 30-day period, the
servicer notifies the borrower of the extension and the reasons for the
extension in writing. A servicer may not extend the time period for requests
for information governed by paragraph (d)(2)(i)(A) of this section.
(3)
Omissions in responses
to requests. In its response to a request for information, a servicer
may omit location and contact information and personal financial information
(other than information about the terms, status, and payment history of the
mortgage loan) if:
(i) The information
pertains to a potential or confirmed successor in interest who is not the
requester; or
(ii) The requester is
a confirmed successor and the information pertains to any borrower who is not
the requester.
(e)
Alternative compliance.
A servicer is not required to comply with paragraphs (c) and (d) of this
section if the servicer provides the borrower with the information requested
and contact information, including a telephone number, for further assistance
in writing within five days (excluding legal public holidays, Saturdays, and
Sundays) of receiving an information request.
(f)
Requirements not
applicable.
(1)
In general.
A servicer is not required to comply with the requirements of
paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section if the servicer reasonably determines
that any of the following apply:
(i)
Duplicative information. The information requested is
substantially the same as information previously requested by the borrower for
which the servicer has previously complied with its obligation to respond
pursuant to paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section.
(ii)
Confidential, proprietary or
privileged information. The information requested is confidential,
proprietary or privileged.
(iii)
Irrelevant information. The information requested is not
directly related to the borrower's mortgage loan account.
(iv)
Overbroad or unduly burdensome
information request. The information request is overbroad or unduly
burdensome. An information request is overbroad if a borrower requests that the
servicer provide an unreasonable volume of documents or information to a
borrower. An information request is unduly burdensome if a diligent servicer
could not respond to the information request without either exceeding the
maximum time limit permitted by paragraph (d)(2) of this section or incurring
costs (or dedicating resources) that would be unreasonable in light of the
circumstances. To the extent a servicer can reasonably identify a valid
information request in a submission that is otherwise overbroad or unduly
burdensome, the servicer shall comply with the requirements of paragraphs (c)
and (d) of this section with respect to that requested information.
(v)
Untimely information request.
The information request is delivered to a servicer more than one year
after:
(A) Servicing for the mortgage loan
that is the subject of the information request was transferred from the
servicer receiving the request for information to a transferee servicer;
or
(B) The mortgage loan is
discharged.
(2)
Notice to borrower. If a servicer determines that, pursuant to
this paragraph (f), the servicer is not required to comply with the
requirements of paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, the servicer shall
notify the borrower of its determination in writing not later than five days
(excluding legal public holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays) after making such
determination. The notice to the borrower shall set forth the basis under
paragraph (f)(1) of this section upon which the servicer has made such
determination.
(g)
Payment requirement limitations.
(1)
Fees prohibited. Except
as set forth in paragraph (g)(2) of this section, a servicer shall not charge a
fee, or require a borrower to make any payment that may be owed on a borrower's
account, as a condition of responding to an information request.
(2)
Fee permitted. Nothing
in this section shall prohibit a servicer from charging a fee for providing a
beneficiary notice under applicable State law, if such a fee is not otherwise
prohibited by applicable law.
(h)
Servicer remedies.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a servicer from furnishing adverse
information to any consumer reporting agency or pursuing any of its remedies,
including initiating foreclosure or proceeding with a foreclosure sale, allowed
by the underlying mortgage loan instruments, during the time period that
response to an information request notice is outstanding.
(i)
Potential successors in
interest.
(1) With respect to any
written request from a person that indicates that the person may be a successor
in interest and that includes the name of the transferor borrower from whom the
person received an ownership interest and information that enables the servicer
to identify the mortgage loan account, a servicer shall respond by providing
the potential successor in interest with a written description of the documents
the servicer reasonably requires to confirm the person's identity and ownership
interest in the property and contact information, including a telephone number,
for further assistance. With respect to the written request, a servicer shall
treat the potential successor in interest as a borrower for purposes of the
requirements of paragraphs (c) through (g) of this section.
(2) If a written request under paragraph
(i)(1) of this section does not provide sufficient information to enable the
servicer to identify the documents the servicer reasonably requires to confirm
the person's identity and ownership interest in the property, the servicer may
provide a response that includes examples of documents typically accepted to
establish identity and ownership interest in a property; indicates that the
person may obtain a more individualized description of required documents by
providing additional information; specifies what additional information is
required to enable the servicer to identify the required documents; and
provides contact information, including a telephone number, for further
assistance. A servicer's response under this paragraph (i)(2) must otherwise
comply with the requirements of paragraph (i)(1). Notwithstanding paragraph
(f)(1)(i) of this section, if a potential successor in interest subsequently
provides orally or in writing the required information specified by the
servicer pursuant to this paragraph (i)(2), the servicer must treat the new
information, together with the original request, as a new, non-duplicative
request under paragraph (i)(1), received as of the date the required
information was received, and must respond accordingly.
(3) In responding to a request under
paragraph (i)(1) of this section prior to confirmation, the servicer is not
required to provide any information other than the information specified in
paragraphs (i)(1) and (2) of this section. In responding to a written request
under paragraph (i)(1) that requests other information, the servicer must
indicate that the potential successor in interest may resubmit any request for
information once confirmed as a successor in interest.
(4) If a servicer has established an address
that a borrower must use to request information pursuant to paragraph (b) of
this section, a servicer must comply with the requirements of paragraph (i)(1)
of this section only for requests received at the established
address.
This section cited in 10 Pa. Code §
59.4 (relating to general
disclosure requirements); 10 Pa. Code §
59.7 (relating to error resolution
procedures); 10 Pa. Code §
59.10 (relating to general
servicing policies, procedures, and requirements); and 10 Pa. Code §
59.12 (relating to continuity of
contact).