groundbreaking regulations on the Home Loan and Mortgage Disclosure Act of
2000
13 December 2006
In a groundbreaking move to support the Financial Sector Charter and the
Government strategy to broaden access to home loans, the Minister of Housing,
Lindiwe Sisulu, has published regulations which require all banks to disclose
details of who they grant and decline home loans, and their reasons for not
granting.
The regulations require financial institutions to report on a regular basis,
(60 days of each financial year end), detailed lending practices. Information
required is the total rand amount of applications received, approved, declined
or disbursed. Also required would be a race group (African, White, Indian and
Coloured) and provincial breakdown of applications.
"With these regulations we will monitor and limit discriminatory practices
against applicants in situations that are beyond their control. It is also our
view that this will broaden access to home loans to middle income earners," the
Minister said.
To support the implementation of the legislation and verify the lending
patterns and practices of financial institutions, a Government Information
System will constantly monitor lending patterns of the individual financial
institutions in the housing market, per geographical area. The electronic
system would also pinpoint geographical areas not being granted loans by
financial institutions.
Currently financial institutions are not legally required to report to the
disclosure office on a regular basis; although many financial institutions have
annual quarterly barometer reports, specifically in the property market.
The deadline for submissions is 29 December 2006. Stakeholders can visit the
Department of Housing website for access to the regulations on http://www.housing.gov.za or visit their
nearest Government Printer offices.
Enquiries:
Monwabisi MacLean
Cell: 082 882 2962
Issued by: Department of Housing
13 December 2006
Source: Department of Housing (http://www.housing.gov.za)
