CFPB Issues Interim Final Rule Regarding Foreclosure Communications; Seeks Comment on Proposed Rule About Periodic Statements During Bankruptcy

Agency Rule-Making & Guidance CFPB Mortgages FDCPA Regulation Z Regulation X Mortgage Servicing Federal Register

On October 4, the CFPB announced one change and one proposed change to the amendments to its mortgage servicing rules under Regulations X and Z. These amendments, which were previously covered by a Buckley Sandler Special Alert, are scheduled to take effect in two phases on October 19, 2017 and April 19, 2018.

First, the CFPB amended the amendments to Regulation X’s provision regarding early intervention notices in order to address timing issues that result when a borrower has invoked his or her cease in communication rights under the FDCPA. Had the most recent amendment not been made, a mortgage servicer subject to a cease in communication request would have been required to provide a modified early intervention notice to the borrower every 180 days but not more than once during any 180-day period, leaving no margin for error and creating operational challenges if the 180^th day fell on a weekend or holiday. Based on concerns from the mortgage industry the CFPB issued an interim final rule without advance public comment to give servicers a 10-day window to provide the modified notices at the end of the 180-day period. The interim final rule becomes effective on October 19, 2017, at the same time the broader amendments to the early intervention requirements take effect.

Second, the CFPB proposed to update technical aspects of the upcoming periodic statement requirements for borrowers in bankruptcy. Specifically, the CFPB is seeking public comment on changes to the transition rules for borrowers who enter or leave bankruptcy, including replacing the single-billing-cycle exemption with a single-statement exemption for the next periodic statement the servicer would have to provide regardless of when in the billing cycle a triggering event occurs. The Bureau proposed that these amendments take effect on April 19, 2018, at the same time as the new periodic statement requirements for borrowers in bankruptcy. 

The comment period on both the interview final rule and the proposed rule will close 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.