I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1499 
To ensure that homeowners who have mortgages insured by the FHA, or 
owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and whose homes 
are located in major disaster areas are notified of any forbearance relief 
in connection with such disaster that is offered or recommended by 
the FHA, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal National 
Mortgage Association, or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 11, 2013 
Mr. JEFFRIES (for himself, Mr. GRIMM, and Mr. CROWLEY) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To ensure that homeowners who have mortgages insured 
by the FHA, or owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae 
or Freddie Mac, and whose homes are located in major 
disaster areas are notified of any forbearance relief in 
connection with such disaster that is offered or rec-
ommended by the FHA, the Federal Housing Finance 
Agency, the Federal National Mortgage Association, or 
the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Disaster-Affected 
Homeowners Notification Act of 2013’’. 
SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT TO NOTIFY AFFECTED HOME-
OWNERS OF MORTGAGE RELIEF. 
(a) REQUIREMENT.—If, in connection with any major 
disaster declared pursuant to section 401 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5170), the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development, the Director of the Federal Housing Fi-
nance Agency, the Federal National Mortgage Association, 
or the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation makes 
available forbearance relief with respect to any covered 
mortgage, or any such agency head or enterprise issues 
any notice or guidelines to mortgagees or servicers recom-
mending or requiring such relief, the applicable agency 
head shall— 
(1) provide, to each mortgagor under a covered 
mortgage, direct notification in accordance with sub-
section (b) of such relief made available, required, or 
recommended; and 
(2) provide, for areas subject to such disaster 
declaration, community-wide notification in accord-
ance with the guidelines issued under subsection (c) 
of such relief made available, required, or rec-
ommended. 
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(b) DIRECT NOTIFICATION.—Direct notification in 
accordance with this subsection is notification to the mort-
gagor under a covered mortgage— 
(1)(A) made by a telephone call to the mort-
gagor or by mail to the residence subject to the 
mortgage; and 
(B) by such other method of direct contact as 
may be provided in the guidelines issued pursuant to 
subsection (e); and 
(2) that clearly informs the mortgagor— 
(A) that the mortgage is a covered mort-
gage; 
(B) of the forbearance relief made avail-
able, required, or recommended; 
(C) of any moratorium on foreclosure with 
respect to covered mortgages; and 
(D) of how to obtain more information re-
garding such relief. 
(c) COMMUNITY-WIDE NOTIFICATION AND AWARE-
NESS MEASURES.—The applicable agency heads shall, 
pursuant to subsection (e), issue guidelines regarding 
measures designed to provide notice and awareness of any 
forbearance relief made available, required, or rec-
ommended in connection with a major disaster throughout 
the areas subject to such disaster declaration. Such guide-
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lines may include requirements regarding the types of no-
tification measures, such as town hall meetings, public 
service announcements, public advertisements and the 
types of media used to convey such advertisements, and 
flyers and other community notices. 
(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 
following definitions shall apply: 
(1) APPLICABLE
AGENCY
HEAD.—The term 
‘‘applicable agency head’’ means— 
(A) the Secretary, with respect to a cov-
ered mortgage described in paragraph (2)(B)(i); 
and 
(B) the Director, with respect to a covered 
mortgage described in paragraph (2)(B)(ii). 
(2) COVERED MORTGAGE.—The term ‘‘covered 
mortgage’’ means, with respect to any major dis-
aster declared pursuant to section 401 of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170), a mortgage— 
(A) that is secured by a one- to four-family 
dwelling that— 
(i) is the principal residence of the 
mortgagor; and 
(ii) is located within an area for which 
such major disaster was declared; and 
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(B) that is— 
(i) insured under title II of the Na-
tional Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et 
seq.); or 
(ii) owned or guaranteed by the Fed-
eral National Mortgage Association or the 
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corpora-
tion. 
Any delinquency or default under a mortgage 
shall not affect the status of such mortgage as 
a covered mortgage. 
(3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 
the Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agen-
cy. 
(4) FORBEARANCE
RELIEF.—The term ‘‘for-
bearance relief’’ means, with respect to a mortgage, 
any suspension or reduction of payments due under 
the mortgage, in any form and to any extent. 
(5) 
MORTGAGEE.—The 
term 
‘‘mortgagee’’ 
means, with respect to a covered mortgage, the 
original lender under the mortgage and any affili-
ates, agents, subsidiaries, successors, or assignees of 
such lender, any subsequent purchaser, trustee, or 
transferee of the mortgage or credit instrument 
issued by such lender. 
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(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 
(e) GUIDELINES.—Not later than the expiration of 
the 30-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary and the Director shall jointly 
issue guidelines to carry out this section. 
(f) APPLICABILITY.—This Act shall apply with re-
spect to any major disaster declared pursuant to section 
401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act in connection with Hurricane Sandy 
and any major disaster declared thereafter. 
Æ 
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