Vacant Homes Act of 2015

Vacant Homes Act of 2015

This bill provides the mortgage owner of a home in foreclosure who receives notice from the homeowner (or from the homeowner's designee) of a qualified offer to buy the home in a short sale 90 days after receiving the notice to respond to the homeowner and the person who made the offer. The same response time requirement shall apply to the owner of a foreclosed home (or a servicer acting on the owner's behalf) who receives a qualified offer to buy it.

A response rejecting an offer shall be sufficient only if, among other things, it makes a counteroffer meeting specified criteria.

Aggrieved homeowners or offerors may bring private civil actions for failure to receive a timely and adequate mandatory response.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may apply to the U.S. district court for the district in which a home in foreclosure or a foreclosed home is located for an order requiring either the mortgage owner of the home in foreclosure or the owner of the foreclosed home (or a servicer acting on the owner's behalf) to comply with the timely and adequate response requirements of this Act.