[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4905 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4905

To amend the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to authorize 
  a homeowner to recover treble damages from the homeowner's mortgage 
  escrow servicer for failure by the servicer to make timely payments 
   from the escrow account for homeowners insurance, taxes, or other 
                                charges.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 20, 2000

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Banking and Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 to authorize 
  a homeowner to recover treble damages from the homeowner's mortgage 
  escrow servicer for failure by the servicer to make timely payments 
   from the escrow account for homeowners insurance, taxes, or other 
                                charges.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Homeowners' Escrow Payments 
Assurance Act''.

SEC. 2. TREBLE DAMAGES FOR FAILURE TO MAKE PAYMENTS FROM ESCROW 
              ACCOUNT.

    Section 6(f) of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 
(12 U.S.C. 2605(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraph (A) and 
        inserting the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(A)(i) except as provided in clause (ii), any 
                actual damages to the borrower as a result of the 
                failure; or
                    ``(ii) in the case of an action for a failure to 
                comply with the requirements of subsection (g), 3 times 
                any such actual damages; and''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph (A) and 
        inserting the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(A)(i) except as provided in clause (ii), any 
                actual damages to each of the borrowers in the class as 
                a result of the failure; or
                    ``(ii) in the case of an action for a failure to 
                comply with the requirements of subsection (g), 3 times 
                any such actual damages; and''.
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