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Title 12 — Banks and BankingRelease 119-73not60

§1735b Expenditures to Correct or Reimburse for Structural or Other Major Defects in Mortgaged Homes

Title 12 › Chapter 13— NATIONAL HOUSING › Subchapter V— MISCELLANEOUS › § 1735b

Last updated Apr 3, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development can pay to fix big structural problems in certain homes, pay owners’ claims about those problems, or take ownership of the property. This help applies to condominium units and one- to four-family homes that were approved for federal mortgage insurance before construction or were under one year old when the mortgage was insured and had an acceptable warranty. The owner must ask for help in time: usually within four years after the mortgage was insured (or a shorter time the Secretary sets). The mortgage must have been insured after September 2, 1964. For older special mortgage programs and time periods, different shorter deadlines apply: mortgages insured on or after August 1, 1968 but before January 1, 1973 require claims within one year after insurance (or in some cases no more than four months after August 3, 1976), and mortgages insured on or after January 1, 1973 but before August 3, 1976 require requests no more than one year after August 3, 1976. The defect must have existed when the mortgage commitment was issued and be something a proper inspection could have found. The Secretary may require the seller to repay any payments, will take money from the mortgage’s insurance fund, will make rules for how payments work, and the Secretary’s decisions are final and not reviewable in court. The Secretary must also study and report to Congress by March 1, 1977 on ways to protect buyers from hidden defects in existing homes with insured mortgages. The report must include ideas and costs for a national home inspection and warranty program run by the federal government and paid by buyer fees amortized over two years, plus other federal program options and steps to tell buyers about likely repairs or replacements (for example, furnace, roof, or major appliances) for the next two years based on age and expected life.

Full Legal Text

Title 12, §1735b

Banks and Banking — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)The Secretary is authorized to make expenditures under this subsection with respect to any property that—
(A)is a condominium unit (including common areas) or is improved by a one-to-four family dwelling;
(B)was approved, before the beginning of construction, for mortgage insurance under this chapter or for guaranty, insurance, or direct loan under chapter 37 of title 38 or was less than a year old at the time of insurance of the mortgage and was covered by a consumer protection or warranty plan acceptable to the Secretary; and
(C)the Secretary finds to have structural defects.
(2)Expenditures under this subsection may be made for (A) correcting such defects, (B) paying the claims of the owner of the property arising from such defects, or (C) acquiring title to the property: Provided, That such authority of the Secretary shall exist only (A) if the owner has requested assistance from the Secretary not later than four years (or such shorter time as the Secretary may prescribe) after insurance of the mortgage, and (B) if the property is encumbered by a mortgage which is insured under this chapter after September 2, 1964.
(b)The Secretary is authorized to make expenditures to correct, or to reimburse the owner for the correction of, structural or other major defects which so seriously affect use and livability as to create a serious danger to the life or safety of inhabitants of any one, two, three, or four family dwelling which is covered by a mortgage insured under section 1715z of this title or which is located in an older, declining urban area and is covered by a mortgage insured under section 1709 or 1715l of this title on or after August 1, 1968, but prior to January 1, 1973, and which is more than one year old on the date of the issuance of the insurance commitment, if (1) the owner requests assistance from the Secretary not later than one year after the insurance of the mortgage, or, in the case of a dwelling covered by a mortgage insured under section 1709 or 1715l of this title the insurance commitment for which was issued on or after August 1, 1968, but prior to January 1, 1973, not more than four months after August 3, 1976, and (2) the defect is one that existed on the date of the issuance of the insurance commitment and is one that a proper inspection could reasonably be expected to disclose. The Secretary may require from the seller of any such dwelling an agreement to reimburse him for any payments made pursuant to this subsection with respect to such dwelling. Expenditures pursuant to this subsection shall be made from the insurance fund chargeable for insurance benefits on the mortgage covering the structure to which the expenditures relate. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to cover the costs of such expenditures not otherwise provided for.
(c)The Secretary shall by regulations prescribe the terms and conditions under which expenditures and payments may be made under the provisions of this section, and his decisions regarding such expenditures or payments, and the terms and conditions under which the same are approved or disapproved, shall be final and conclusive and shall not be subject to judicial review.
(d)The Secretary is authorized to make expenditures to correct or to reimburse the owner for the correction of structural or other major defects which so seriously affect use and liveabil­ity as to create a serious danger to the life or safety of inhabitants of any one-, two-, three-, or four-family dwelling which is more than one year old on the date of issuance of the insurance commitment, is located in an older, declining urban area, and is covered by a mortgage insured under section 1709 or 1715l of this title on or after January 1, 1973, but prior to August 3, 1976, if (1) the owner requests assistance from the Secretary not more than one year after August 3, 1976, and (2) the defect is one that existed on the date of the issuance of the insurance commitment and is one that a proper inspection could reasonably have been expected to have disclosed. The Secretary may require from the seller of any such dwelling an agreement to reimburse him for any payments made pursuant to this subsection with respect to such dwelling. Expenditures pursuant to this subsection shall be made from the insurance fund chargeable for insurance benefits on the mortgage covering the structure to which the expenditures relate. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to cover the costs of such expenditures not otherwise provided for.
(e)The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development is authorized and directed to conduct a full and complete investigation and study and report to Congress, with recommendations, not later than March 1, 1977, with respect to an effective program for protecting home buyers from hidden or undisclosed defects seriously affecting the use and livability of the home, which would be applicable to existing homes financed with mortgages insured under this chapter. In the study and report the Secretary shall particularly investigate the need for, cost and feasible structure of, a national home inspection and warranty program, with respect to such homes, to be operated by the Federal Government out of fees assessed on the home buyer and amortized over a period of two years. The Secretary’s report shall also present an analysis of alternative Federal programs to meet these needs, and the cost and means of financing such programs. In the report the Secretary shall also outline administrative steps which can be taken to provide disclosure to purchasers of existing homes financed with mortgages insured under this chapter of the actual condition of the home and the types of repairs or replacements likely to be needed within a period of two years, such as repairs or replacement of furnace, roof or major appliances, based on age and useful life expectancy of such appurtenances.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1992—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–550 substituted par. (1) and “(2) Expenditures under this subsection may be made for” for “The Secretary is authorized, with respect to any property improved by a one- to four-family dwelling that, before the beginning of

Construction

, was approved for mortgage insurance under this chapter or for guaranty, insurance, or a direct loan under chapter 37 of title 38 and that the Secretary finds to have structural defects, to make expenditures for” and redesignated former cls. (1) to (3) appearing before proviso as cls. (A) to (C), respectively, of par. (2). 1983—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–181 substituted “that, before the beginning of

Construction

, was approved for mortgage insurance under this chapter or for guaranty, insurance, or a direct loan under chapter 37 of title 38 and that the Secretary finds” for “approved for mortgage insurance prior to the beginning of

Construction

which he finds”. 1976—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–375, § 9(a), substituted “not more than four months after
August 3, 1976” for “not more than 19 months after
August 22, 1974”, and provision requiring expenditures be made from the insurance fund chargeable for insurance benefits on the mortgage covering the structure and appropriating sums for expenditures not otherwise covered for provision requiring expenditures be made from the Special Risk Insurance Fund. Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 94–375, § 9(b), added subsecs. (d) and (e). 1975—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 94–50 substituted “one, two, three, or four” for “one or two”, and “not more than 19 months” for “not more than one year”. 1974—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93–383 substituted provisions relating to authorization of the Secretary to make expenditures to correct, or to reimburse the owner for the correction of structural or other major defects of covered one or two family dwellings, for provisions relating to the authorization of the Secretary to make expenditures to correct, or to compensate the owner for, structural or other defects of covered single-family dwellings. 1970—Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 91–609 added subsec. (b) and redesignated former subsec. (b) as (c). 1967—Subsecs. (a), (b). Pub. L. 90–19 substituted “Secretary” for “Commissioner” wherever appearing.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

12 U.S.C. § 1735b

Title 12 — Banks and Banking

Last Updated

Apr 3, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60