Housing Counseling List Web Page

Request for Non-Material Change to an Existing Approved Information Collection
(OMB Control No. 3170-0025)

Introduction
This non-material change request is to provide additional detail to an existing approved
Information Collection Request (ICR), OMB# 3170-0025. This change request does not change
burdens described in OMB# 3170-0025. The changes described in this request are nonsubstantive because OMB has already approved them in the rule-related ICR package under
OMB Control No. 3170-0025.
Background
In January 2013, pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, Public Law 111-203, 124 Stat. 1375 (2010),
the Bureau issued the High-Cost Mortgage and Homeownership Counseling Amendments to the
Truth in Lending Act (Regulation Z) and Homeownership Counseling Amendments to the Real
Estate Settlement Procedures Act (Regulation X) Final Rule (2013 HOEPA Final Rule). The
2013 HOEPA Final Rule implemented numerous Dodd-Frank Act requirements. Section 1450
of the Dodd-Frank Act amended section 5(c) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
(RESPA) to require lenders to provide federally related mortgage loan applicants with a
“reasonably complete or updated list of homeownership counselors who are certified pursuant to
section 106(e) of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x(e)) and
located in the area of the lender.” The 2013 HOEPA Final Rule implements this section 1450
amendment in Regulation X § 1024.20(a). Section 1024.20(a)(1) requires lenders to provide the
loan applicant with a written list of homeownership counseling organizations that provide
relevant services in the loan applicant’s location. In the 2013 Final HOEPA Rule, the Bureau
specified two compliance methods for obtaining this list: 1) using a tool developed and
maintained by the Bureau on its website, and 2) using data made available by the Bureau or
HUD, provided that the data is used in accordance with instructions provided with the data. This
non-material, non-substantive request describes the details of this tool referenced in the first
compliance pathway.
The Bureau committed to creating a website in both the 2013 Final HOEPA Rule, and the
HOEPA Regulation X Information Collection Request Supporting Statement (HOEPA
Supporting Statement). The website, following discussion in the 2013 HOEPA Final Rule, and
HOEPA Supporting Statement, will allow lenders to generate lists for the purpose of complying
with § 1024.20(a)(1) requirements. Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, lists must contain
homeownership counseling agencies approved by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD). RESPA and § 1024.20(a)(1) refer to counseling entities as
Homeownership Counseling Organizations. HUD refers to them as HUD-Approved Housing
Counseling Agencies. Homeownership Counseling Organizations as referred to in §
1024.20(a)(1) and the website are considered HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agencies.

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Description of Change
The tool will be located on the Bureau’s website at www.consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housingcounselor/. As discussed in § 1024.20(a)(1), the tool will rely on a free and publicly available
application programming interface (API) containing data on HUD-approved housing counseling
agencies (HUD API). The tool will generate results based on an inputted five-digit zip code.
After users input a five-digit zip code, the ten closest HUD-approved housing counseling
agencies to the centroid of that zip code, and their respective contact information will display on
the screen. Finally, it will allow users to print custom generated lists or to save them as a
Portable Document Format (.pdf). This website creates no additional burden, as burden
calculations were included in the Bureau’s HOEPA Supporting Statement.

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The Bureau’s tool, located on the Bureau’s website, www.consumerfinance.gov/find-a-housingcounselor The PRA statement is linked at the bottom of the page, and users can click to view the
entire statement.
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