NAR- Guidance for Fair Housing Compliance During the COVID-19 Pandemic May 5, 2020 During the COVID-19 pa Guidance for Fair Housing Compliance During the COVID-19 Pandemic
May 5, 2020
During the COVID-19 pandemic, REALTORS® continue to play an important role in assisting people to find homes.
On March 4, NAR published Coronavirus: A Guide for REALTORS®, which is continually updated based on evolving guidance from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the White House, among others. These frequently asked questions about complying with the Fair Housing Act during the COVID-19 pandemic supplement our previous guidance.
What anti-discrimination laws apply to housing during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Federal and state fair housing laws remain intact during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those laws make it unlawful to discriminate on several protected bases, including disability and national origin. The pandemic provides a unique set of circumstances for navigating federal antidiscrimination provisions.
First, each real estate professional must determine whether they will provide services during this time. To the extent they continue to make services available, the Fair Housing Act applies. Such services should be provided on an equal basis while recognizing that no one is required to engage in any transactions that put their health or safety, or the health and safety of others, at risk. If reasonable accommodations can be made to provide housing or services to individuals with COVID-19, without threatening the health or safety of others, the federal Fair Housing Act calls for such accommodations to be made.
Are individuals who have COVID-19 covered under the national origin protections of the federal Fair
Housing Act?
Yes. When an infectious disease, such as COVID-19, is associated with a specific population or nationality, fear and anxiety may lead to social stigma and discrimination. REALTORS® may not discriminate against individuals on the basis of their national origin, even if they are from other countries that have also been hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Are individuals who have COVID-19 covered under the disability protections of the federal
Fair Housing Act?
SBA Funding Availability
Available Monday, April 27, 2020 10:30 AM
www.sba.gov/disaster-assistance/...
Notice: Additional Economic Injury Disaster Loan Funding
With the additional funding provided by the new COVID-19 relief package, SBA will resume processing EIDL Loan and Advance applications that are already in the queue on a first come, first-served basis.
We will provide further information on the availability of the EIDL portal to receive new applications (including those from agricultural enterprises) as soon as possible.
The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering designated states and territories low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Upon a request received from a state's or territory's Governor, the SBA will issue under its own authority, as provided by the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act that was recently signed by the President, an Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.
PPP Update and EIDL Funding Update 04272020
OVERVIEW:
Phase 3.5 Legislation Enacted, New Tranche of $310B Provided for PPP. On April 24, President Trump signed a $483B package which is generally referred to as the Phase 3.5 coronavirus package. The bill includes $310B in additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), $60B in funding EIDL small business grant/loan programs, $75B for hospitals, and $25B for testing efforts. Notably, of the $310B PPP funding, $30B is for mid-sized depositories (i.e., $10B to $50B in assets) and $30B is for community financial institutions and smaller depositories (i.e., <$10B in assets).
Effectively, the statute creates three separate funding pools and it is unclear at this stage how the SBA will police those volumes. The initial tranche of PPP funding was exhausted in roughly two weeks and it is expect this tranche to be disbursed in a relatively similar time period, which suggests that Congress will be forced to consider a third tranche of PPP funding as part of the forthcoming Phase 4 negotiations.