II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4265 

To amend the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to establish language access requirements for creditors 

and servicers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 7, 2024 

Ms. BUTLER (for herself, Ms. WARREN, and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate 

Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to establish language 

access requirements for creditors and servicers, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Improving Language 

5 Access in Mortgage Servicing Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) Housing is the largest portion of most 

2 household budgets in the United States and there3 fore a foundational component of financial access 

4 and opportunity. 

5 (2) Due in part to a legacy of discrimination in 

6 the United States, people of color are disproportion7 ately experiencing homelessness, disproportionately 

8 renting, and disproportionately paying unaffordable 

9 rents, which acts as a barrier to homeownership. 

10 (3) Access to fair and affordable housing, both 

11 rental and homeownership opportunities, is critical 

12 to upward economic mobility. This includes address13 ing language barriers in mortgage servicing to en14 sure borrowers have culturally sensitive, in-language 

15 access to critical lending information, can enter into 

16 fair and sustainable homeownership, and preserve 

17 their home equity. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) CREDITOR.—The term ‘‘creditor’’— 

21 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec22 tion 103 of the Truth in Lending Act (15 

23 U.S.C. 1602); and 

24 (B) includes any assignee of a creditor. 


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1 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

2 the Director of the Bureau of Consumer Financial 

3 Protection. 

4 (3) FEDERALLY RELATED MORTGAGE LOAN.— 

5 The term ‘‘federally related mortgage loan’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Real Es7 tate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 U.S.C. 

8 2602). 

9 (4) RESIDENTIAL MORTGAGE LOAN.—The term 

10 ‘‘residential mortgage loan’’ has the meaning given 

11 the term in section 103 of the Truth in Lending Act 

12 (15 U.S.C. 1602). 

13 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

15 (6) SERVICER.—The term ‘‘servicer’’ has the 

16 meaning given the term in section 6(i) of the Real 

17 Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 

18 U.S.C. 2605(i)). 

19 SEC. 4. LANGUAGE ACCESS REQUIREMENTS AND RE20 SOURCES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 2 of title I of the Truth 

22 in Lending Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq.) is amended by 

23 inserting after section 129H the following: 


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1 ‘‘§ 129I. Language access requirements 

2 ‘‘(a) STANDARD LANGUAGE PREFERENCE FORM.— 

3 Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

4 of this section, the Director of the Bureau shall, after con5 sulting with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Director of 

6 the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Secretary of 

7 Veterans Affairs, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

8 Development, by rule, establish a standard language pref9 erence form that includes a standard language preference 

10 question asked in each of the 8 languages most commonly 

11 spoken by individuals with limited English proficiency, as 

12 determined by the Director of the Bureau using informa13 tion published by the Director of the Bureau of the Cen14 sus. 

15 ‘‘(b) DESIGNATION AND TRANSLATION OF VITAL

16 DOCUMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

19 days after the date of the enactment of this sec20 tion, the Director of the Bureau shall, after 

21 consulting with the Secretary of Agriculture, 

22 the Director of the Federal Housing Finance 

23 Agency, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, and 

24 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop25 ment, by rule, establish a list of vital documents 


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1 associated with the origination and servicing of 

2 residential mortgage loans. 

3 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

4 which documents are vital documents under 

5 paragraph (1), the Director of the Bureau shall 

6 consider the document conveys information— 

7 ‘‘(i) about credit terms and condi8 tions; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) relating to borrower rights, obli10 gations, or entitlements under the terms of 

11 the loan or applicable laws. 

12 ‘‘(2) TRANSLATION.—The Director of the Bu13 reau, the Director of the Federal Housing Finance 

14 Agency, the Secretary of the Department of Housing 

15 and Urban Development, the Secretary of Veterans 

16 Affairs, and the Secretary of the Department of Ag17 riculture shall jointly— 

18 ‘‘(A) not later than 180 days after the date 

19 of enactment of this section, publish model 

20 translations of each document designated as a 

21 vital document under this subsection in each of 

22 the 8 languages most commonly spoken by indi23 viduals with limited English proficiency, as de24 termined by the Director using information 


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1 published by the Director of the Bureau of the 

2 Census; and 

3 ‘‘(B) not later than 3 years after the date 

4 of enactment of this section, publish versions of 

5 the vital documents described in subparagraph 

6 (A) translated into not fewer than 4 language 

7 other than those languages described in such 

8 subparagraph spoken by individuals with lim9 ited English proficiency that are regionally 

10 prevalent in the United States, as determined 

11 by the Director using information published by 

12 the Director of the Bureau of the Census. 

13 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS FOR CREDITORS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) USE OF STANDARD LANGUAGE PREF15 ERENCE FORM BY CREDITORS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) INCLUSION IN APPLICATION.—Each 

17 creditor shall include, in any written application 

18 used in connection with a residential mortgage 

19 loan, the standard language preference form es20 tablished by the Director of the Bureau under 

21 subsection (a). 

22 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION OF DISCLOSURE.—Each 

23 creditor may include with the form required 

24 under subparagraph (A) a disclosure stating 

25 that documents and services may not be availVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:15 Jun 07, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4265.IS S4265

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1 able in the preferred language indicated by the 

2 consumer on the form. 

3 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTATION AND TRANSFER OF

4 PREFERRED LANGUAGE INFORMATION.—If a 

5 creditor, or assignee of a creditor receives infor6 mation about a language preference of a con7 sumer through the standard language pref8 erence form, orally or in writing in connection 

9 with a residential mortgage loan, as determined 

10 by the Director of the Bureau, including from 

11 another creditor or a servicer, the creditor or 

12 assignee shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) document the language preference 

14 in each file or electronic file of information 

15 associated with the consumer; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) shall transfer the information 

17 and the form to— 

18 ‘‘(I) any servicer of the loan; and 

19 ‘‘(II) any creditor that may own 

20 the loan in the future. 

21 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF TRANSLATED VITAL DOCU22 MENTS.—If a Federal agency or a State or local 

23 agency in the State or locality in which the residen24 tial property subject to the residential mortgage loan 

25 is located has produced a model translation for a 


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1 document designated as a vital document under sub2 section (b), in the preferred language of a consumer, 

3 as documented by a creditor pursuant to paragraph 

4 (1)(C), the creditor shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) provide to the consumer the trans6 lation in addition to any English version of the 

7 vital document that would have been provided 

8 to the consumer who indicated the preferred 

9 language; and 

10 ‘‘(B) include a notice in the English and 

11 translated versions indicating that the English 

12 version is the official and operative document 

13 and the translated version is for informational 

14 purposes only. 

15 ‘‘(3) ORAL INTERPRETATION SERVICES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a creditor receives 

17 information about a language preference of a 

18 consumer through the form established under 

19 subsection (a), orally or in writing in connection 

20 with a residential mortgage loan, as determined 

21 by the Director of the Bureau, including from 

22 another creditor or a servicer, the creditor shall 

23 provide oral interpretation services to the con24 sumer. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ORAL INTERPRETATION SERVICES.— 

2 If a creditor is required under subparagraph 

3 (A) to provide oral interpretation services to a 

4 consumer, the creditor— 

5 ‘‘(i) shall ensure qualified oral inter6 pretation services, as defined by the Direc7 tor of the Bureau are made available in 

8 the preferred language of the consumer for 

9 all oral communications between the cred10 itor and the consumer; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) may provide provide the services 

12 described in clause (i) through qualified 

13 staff of the creditor or a qualified third 

14 party. 

15 ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF AVAILABLE LANGUAGE SERV16 ICES.—If a creditor receives information about a 

17 language preference of a consumer through the form 

18 established under subsection (a), orally or in writing 

19 in connection with a residential mortgage loan, as 

20 determined by the Director of the Bureau, including 

21 from another creditor or a servicer, the creditor 

22 shall, not later than 10 business days after receiving 

23 the information, notify the consumer in writing, in 

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1 guage services available, including the services re2 quired under paragraphs (2) and (3). 

3 ‘‘(5) TRANSFER OF LANGUAGE PREFERENCE

4 INFORMATION.—If a creditor transfers the servicing 

5 associated with a residential mortgage loan, the 

6 creditor shall notify the transferee servicer of any 

7 known language preference of the consumer associ8 ated with the residential mortgage loan. 

9 ‘‘(6) INFORMATION ON WEBSITE.—Each cred10 itor shall publish on the website of the creditor— 

11 ‘‘(A) links to and explanatory information 

12 about the websites maintained by the Secretary 

13 of Housing and Urban Development and the 

14 Director of the Bureau that identify housing 

15 counselors approved by the Department of 

16 Housing and Urban Development; and 

17 ‘‘(B) a link to and explanatory information 

18 about the language resources website estab19 lished by the Director of the Bureau, the Sec20 retary of Housing and Urban Development, the 

21 Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agen22 cy, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Sec23 retary of Veterans Affairs under section 4(e) of 

24 the Improving Language Access in Mortgage 

25 Servicing Act of 2024. 


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1 ‘‘(d) RULEMAKING.—The Director may issue such 

2 rules as the Director determines necessary to implement 

3 this section.’’. 

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICERS.—Section 6 of 

5 the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 (12 

6 U.S.C. 2605) is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(n) LANGUAGE ACCESS REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

10 ‘standard language preference form’ means the 

11 standard language preference form established by 

12 the Director of the Bureau under section 129I of the 

13 Truth in Lending Act. 

14 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) INCLUSION IN NOTICES.—Each 

16 servicer shall include the standard language 

17 preference form with— 

18 ‘‘(i) any notice required under section 

19 1024.39(b) of title 12, Code of Federal 

20 Regulations; 

21 ‘‘(ii) any information required under 

22 subsection (c); 

23 ‘‘(iii) any notice required under sec24 tion 1024.41(b)(2) of title 12, Code of 

25 Federal Regulations; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) any notice required under sec2 tion 1024.41(c)(2)(iii) of title 12, Code of 

3 Federal Regulations; and 

4 ‘‘(v) any other additional notice as the 

5 Director of the Bureau determines is nec6 essary. 

7 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION OF DISCLOSURES.—A 

8 servicer may include with the standard lan9 guage preference form a disclosure stating that 

10 documents and services may not be available in 

11 the preferred language of the borrower indi12 cated by the consumer on the form. 

13 ‘‘(C) DOCUMENTATION AND TRANSFER OF

14 PREFERRED LANGUAGE INFORMATION.—If a 

15 servicer or an assignee of a servicer receives in16 formation about a language preference of a bor17 rower through the standard language preference 

18 form, orally or in writing in connection with a 

19 federally related mortgage, as determined by 

20 the Director of the Bureau, including from an21 other servicer or creditor, the servicer or as22 signee shall document the language preference 

23 in each file or electronic file of information as24 sociated with the borrower and shall transfer 

25 the information and the standard language 


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1 preference form to any other servicer that may 

2 service the loan in the future. 

3 ‘‘(3) REQUIRED LANGUAGE SERVICES FOR

4 SERVICERS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) PROVISION OF TRANSLATED VITAL

6 DOCUMENTS.—If a Federal agency or a State 

7 or local agency in the State or locality in which 

8 the property subject to the federally related 

9 mortgage loan is to be located has produced a 

10 model translation for a document designated as 

11 a vital document under section 129I(b) of the 

12 Truth in Lending Act in the preferred language 

13 of a borrower documented by the servicer pur14 suant to paragraph (2)(C) of this subsection, 

15 the servicer shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) provide to the consumer the 

17 translation in addition to any English 

18 version of the document that would have 

19 been provided to the borrower; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) include in the English and trans21 lated versions a notice, in the preferred 

22 language of the borrower, indicating that 

23 the English version is the official and oper24 ative document and the translated version 

25 is for informational purposes only. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ORAL INTERPRETATION SERVICES.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a servicer re3 ceives information about a language pref4 erence of a borrower through the standard 

5 language preference form, orally or in writ6 ing in connection with a federally related 

7 mortgage, as determined by the Director of 

8 the Bureau, including from another cred9 itor or a servicer, the servicer shall provide 

10 oral interpretation services to the bor11 rower. 

12 ‘‘(ii) ORAL INTERPRETATION SERV13 ICES.—If a servicer is required to provide 

14 oral interpretation services under clause 

15 (i), the servicer— 

16 ‘‘(I) shall ensure qualified oral 

17 interpretation services, as defined by 

18 the Director of the Bureau, are made 

19 available in the preferred language of 

20 the borrower for all oral communica21 tions between the servicer and the 

22 borrower; and 

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1 fied staff of the borrower or a quali2 fied third party. 

3 ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF AVAILABLE LANGUAGE SERV4 ICES.—If a servicer receives information about a 

5 language preference of a borrower through the 

6 standard language preference form, orally or in writ7 ing in connection with a federally related mortgage, 

8 as determined by the Director of the Bureau, includ9 ing from another creditor or a servicer, the servicer 

10 shall, not later than 10 business days after receiving 

11 the information, notify the borrower in writing, in 

12 the preferred language of the borrower, of any lan13 guage services available, including the services re14 quired under paragraph (3). 

15 ‘‘(5) TRANSFER OF LANGUAGE PREFERENCE

16 INFORMATION.—If a servicer transfers the servicing 

17 associated with a federally related mortgage loan, 

18 the servicer shall notify the transferee servicer of 

19 any known language preference of the borrower as20 sociated with the federally related mortgage loan. 

21 ‘‘(6) INFORMATION ON WEBSITE.—Each 

22 servicer shall publish on the website of the 

23 servicer— 

24 ‘‘(A) links to and information about the 

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1 ing and Urban Development and the Director 

2 of the Bureau that identify housing counselors 

3 approved by the Department of Housing and 

4 Urban Development; and 

5 ‘‘(B) a link to and information about the 

6 language resources website established by the 

7 Director of the Bureau, the Secretary of Hous8 ing and Urban Development, the Director of 

9 the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Sec10 retary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Vet11 erans Affairs under section 4(e) of the Improv12 ing Language Access in Mortgage Servicing Act 

13 of 2024. 

14 ‘‘(7) RULEMAKING.—The Director of the Bu15 reau may issue such rules as the Director deter16 mines necessary to implement this section.’’. 

17 (c) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

18 The table of sections in chapter 2 of the Truth in Lending 

19 Act (15 U.S.C. 1631 et seq) is amended by inserting after 

20 the item relating to section 129H the following: 

‘‘129I. Language access requirements.’’. 

21 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Di23 rector, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 

24 the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the 


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1 Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of Veterans 

2 Affairs shall submit to Congress a report that contains— 

3 (1) regulatory recommendations to enhance 

4 mortgage origination and servicing processes for in5 dividuals with a preferred language that is not 

6 English; 

7 (2) a description of any legislative changes 

8 needed to provide authority necessary to implement 

9 the regulatory recommendations described in para10 graph (1); and 

11 (3) a description of any progress on the imple12 mentation of any legislative change or regulatory 

13 recommendation made in a previous report. 

14 (e) LANGUAGE RESOURCE WEBSITE.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director, the 

17 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the 

18 Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, 

19 the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of 

20 Veterans Affairs shall jointly establish and maintain 

21 a website that provides language resources for credi22 tors, servicers, and consumers. 

23 (2) WEBSITE REQUIREMENTS.—The website de24 veloped pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include— 


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1 (A) the translations of documents pub2 lished pursuant to section 129I(c) of the Truth 

3 in Lending Act, as added by subsection (a) of 

4 this section; 

5 (B) a glossary of terms relating to residen6 tial mortgage loans and federally related mort7 gage loans, provided in each commonly spoken 

8 language; 

9 (C) guidance for creditors and servicers 

10 working with individuals who have a preferred 

11 language that is not English; and 

12 (D) examples of notices that may be used 

13 by creditors and servicers to inform individuals 

14 of available language services provided in ac15 cordance with section 129I of the Truth in 

16 Lending Act, as added by subsection (a) of this 

17 section, and section 6(n)(2) of the Real Estate 

18 Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, as added 

19 by subsection (b) of this section. 

20 (f) ADVISORY GROUP.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

22 an advisory group consisting of stakeholders, includ23 ing industry groups, consumer groups, civil rights 

24 groups, and groups that have experience improving 


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1 language access in housing finance transactions, to 

2 provide advice to the Director about— 

3 (A) issues that arise relating to mortgage 

4 origination and servicing processes for individ5 uals with a preferred language that is not 

6 English; 

7 (B) the development of the standard lan8 guage preference form by the Director under 

9 section 129I(a) of the Truth in Lending Act, as 

10 added by subsection (a) of this section; and 

11 (C) updates to the language resource 

12 website established by the Director, the Sec13 retary of Housing and Urban Development, the 

14 Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agen15 cy, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Sec16 retary of Veterans Affairs under subsection (e). 

17 (2) REQUIRED CONSULTING.—The Director 

18 shall consult with the advisory group established 

19 under paragraph (1) with respect to any issues that 

20 arise relating to mortgage origination and servicing 

21 processes for individuals with a preferred language 

22 that is not English. 

23 (g) HOUSING COUNSELING AGENCY LANGUAGE RE24 SOURCES.— 

25 (1) ENHANCED SEARCH CAPABILITIES.— 


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1 (A) HUD.—Not later than 1 year after 

2 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 of Housing and Urban Development shall up4 date the website maintained by the Secretary 

5 that identifies housing counselors approved by 

6 the Department of Housing and Urban Devel7 opment, to allow for searching for housing 

8 counseling agencies based on the language serv9 ices the agencies provide. 

10 (B) BUREAU.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 

12 shall update the website maintained by the Di13 rector that identifies housing counselors ap14 proved by the Department of Housing and 

15 Urban Development, to allow for searching for 

16 housing counseling agencies based on the lan17 guage services the housing counseling agencies 

18 provide. 

19 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec21 retary such sums as are necessary to support lan22 guage training for housing counselors approved by 

23 the Department of Housing and Urban Develop24 ment, counseling agencies, and staff. 

Æ 


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