Fairness in Foreclosures Act of 2011
Latest action. Referred to the subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law.
Fairness in Foreclosures Act of 2011 - Declares that no action for a deficiency judgment arising from an obligation under a residential mortgage may be brought except in accordance with this Act.
Declares that no such deficiency judgment may be issued unless the court has determined that the foreclosure sale for the property securing repayment was conducted in accordance with specified requirements.
Specifies a formula for determining the total amount a plaintiff may recover in such a deficiency judgment.
Declares that no action for a deficiency judgment may be brought if the (nonrecourse) mortgage terms prohibit recovery after: (1) the residential property securing repayment of such obligation is sold at foreclosure sale, or (2) the mortgage is foreclosed in the manner provided under the law of the state in which the property is located.
Declares that if the mortgagor is a member of a low-income family: (1) no action may be brought for a deficiency judgment; and (2) a deficiency in recovery, from a foreclosure sale, of the full amount of the mortgage obligation may not be reported to any consumer reporting agency or disclosed to any person other than the mortgagor or the mortgagor's personal representative, unless such disclosure is otherwise required by law.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on December 6, 2011. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on December 14, 2011: Referred to the Subcommittee on Courts, Commercial and Administrative Law.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 112th Congress (2011-12), 283 of the 10,618 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
EDOLPHUS TOWNS (D-NY) introduced it on December 6, 2011, and 2 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 2 Democrats.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on December 6, 2011, 5392 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 5384 days ago, on December 14, 2011.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 112th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2013 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers