Thursday, Feb 28 2013 11:41AM
A new mobile app may help educate housing professionals on fair housing laws.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced its new housing discrimination mobile application for iPhones and iPads, which is designed to educate homeowners and buyers of their housing rights.
HUD said the app provides public entities with resources and tools to learn about their housing rights and to file housing discrimination complaints. Further, the app also educates housing industry professionals and groups about their responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act.
The agency said that this app is designed to help housing groups lobby for consumers and better understand affordable housing assistance options and programs under federal law.
"Having this first fair housing mobile application equips people everywhere with the information they need to combat housing discrimination," said John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "We are maximizing the latest technology to make the process for filing fair housing complaints faster and easier and arming our fair housing partners with the information they need to understand their fair housing rights and responsibilities."
HUD has been instrumental in helping homeowners find affordable housing alternatives, as well as securing compensation during unfair treatment. For example, the agency recently announced that $45 billion will be provided to injured homeowners by the nation's top five mortgage servicing organizations as a stipulation of the National Mortgage Settlement.
For more information, check out this resource: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development