Treatment of Certain COVID-19 Related Loss Mitigation Options Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) (Regulation X)

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is issuing this interim final rule to amend Regulation X. The amendments temporarily permit mortgage servicers to offer certain loss mitigation options based on the evaluation of an incomplete loss mitigation application. Eligible loss mitigation options, among other things, must permit borrowers to delay paying certain amounts until the mortgage loan is refinanced, the mortgaged property is sold, the term of the mortgage loan ends, or, for a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the mortgage insurance terminates. These amounts include, without limitation, all principal and interest payments forborne through payment forbearance programs made available to borrowers experiencing financial hardships due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID-19 emergency, including a payment forbearance program offered pursuant to section 4022 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. These amounts also include principal and interest payments that are due and unpaid by borrowers experiencing financial hardships due, directly or indirectly, to the COVID-19 emergency.