text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Consumer Protection Home Inspection 
  Counseling Act of 2012''.
  
  SEC. 2. HOME INSPECTION COUNSELING.
  
      Section 1451 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
  Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 1701x-1) is amended--
              (1) in subsection (b)--
                      (A) by striking the subsection designation and all 
                  that follows through ``Each'' and inserting the 
                  following:
      ``(b) Requirement for FHA-Approved Lenders.--
              ``(1) Requirement.--Each''; and
                      (B) by adding at the end the following new 
                  paragraph:
              ``(2) Effective date; mortgagee letter.--Not later than the 
          expiration of the 90-day period beginning upon the date of the 
          enactment of the Consumer Protection Home Inspection Counseling 
          Act of 2012, the Secretary shall publish a Mortgagee Letter 
          informing mortgagees of their obligation under paragraph 
          (1).'';
              (2) in subsection (c)--
                      (A) by striking the subsection designation and all 
                  that follows through ``Each'' and inserting the 
                  following:
      ``(c) Requirements for HUD-Approved Counseling Agencies.--
              ``(1) Provision of materials.--Each'';
                      (B) by striking ``subparagraphs (C) and (D) of''; 
                  and
                      (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                  paragraphs:
              ``(2) Requirements for housing counselors.--Each person 
          providing counseling for a housing counseling entity 
          authorized, certified, or funded in whole or in part under 
          section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 
          (12 U.S.C. 1701x) shall be trained through the voluntary home 
          inspection training module established pursuant to subsection 
          (d), shall distribute the counseling aids to be developed under 
          this section, and shall explain the materials specified in 
          subsection (a)(1) and other aids and materials set forth in 
          this section.
              ``(3) Requirements for homeownership counseling programs.--
          Any homeownership counseling program required under, or 
          provided in connection with, any program administered by the 
          Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be provided 
          only by organizations or counselors certified by the Secretary 
          pursuant to this section as competent to provide voluntary home 
          inspection counseling.
              ``(4) Sanctions.--The Secretary may withhold, withdraw, or 
          suspend housing counseling certifications for any housing 
          counselor or counseling entity that fails to meet the 
          requirements of this section.'';
              (3) in subsection (d)--
                      (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ``and'' at the 
                  end;
                      (B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the 
                  end and inserting ``; and'';
                      (C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (4) (as 
                  so amended) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), 
                  respectively, and realigning such subparagraphs (as so 
                  redesignated) so as to be indented 4 ems from the left 
                  margin;
                      (D) by striking the subsection designation and all 
                  that follows through ``shall include--'' and inserting 
                  the following:
      ``(d) Training.--
              ``(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a 
          comprehensive program to train staff of the Department, 
          contractors, individuals, and entities that provide housing 
          counseling under programs authorized, certified, or funded 
          under section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 
          1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x) to also provide counseling to consumers 
          on voluntary home inspection.
              ``(2) Requirements.--The training program established 
          pursuant to this subsection shall include development of a 
          training module to train counselors as well as counseling aids 
          to be used by housing counselors and suitable for distribution 
          to consumers. The training materials shall be written in plain 
          language and shall be comprehensible to untrained consumers 
          with or without ongoing assistance from housing counselors. 
          Training provided under the program shall include--'';
                      (E) in paragraph (2), as added by the amendment 
                  made by subparagraph (D) of this paragraph, by adding 
                  at the end the following new subparagraph:
                      ``(E) Internet website references and information 
                  sufficient for counselors and homebuyers to locate and 
                  select a local professional home inspector.''; and
                      (F) by adding at the end the following new 
                  paragraphs:
              ``(3) Content.--At a minimum, the home inspection 
          counseling program established under this subsection, and the 
          training module and counseling aids developed under this 
          subsection, shall convey the following information:
                      ``(A) That a home inspection in connection with 
                  purchase of a home is voluntary, but not mandatory, 
                  which means that the homebuyer must make a personal 
                  choice whether to obtain a home inspection.
                      ``(B) That the Department of Housing and Urban 
                  Development recommends that homebuyers obtain a 
                  voluntary home inspection.
                      ``(C) That a home inspection is an in-depth 
                  technical and objective examination of the physical 
                  structure and internal systems of the home, from the 
                  foundation to the roof, and should be performed by a 
                  trained and experienced professional home inspector.
                      ``(D) That a home inspection is not required in the 
                  case of an FHA loan insured under title II of the 
                  National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.) and that 
                  a home inspection is not performed by FHA.
                      ``(E) That in most cases, no home inspection will 
                  be performed unless the homebuyer requests one.
                      ``(F) That it is the burden of the homebuyer to 
                  arrange for a home inspection if one is requested.
                      ``(G) That an appraisal is not equivalent to a home 
                  inspection.
                      ``(H) That if the homebuyer chooses to obtain a 
                  home inspection, it is generally to the homebuyer's 
                  benefit to do so as early as possible.
                      ``(I) That the homebuyer may ask to make the 
                  transaction contingent on the outcome of the home 
                  inspection and that the homebuyer may realize 
                  substantial financial benefits from the home 
                  inspection, including from identifying possible repairs 
                  that could be performed and paid for by the seller 
                  prior to the closing.
                      ``(J) That the homebuyer should consider requesting 
                  a voluntary home inspection.
              ``(4) Additional guidance materials.--The Secretary shall 
          develop, in consultation with national professional home 
          inspector associations, additional guidance materials to 
          educate housing counselors on how to advise consumers how to 
          locate, interview, and select a professional home inspector, 
          and on how consumers may independently locate, interview, and 
          select a professional home inspector. The Secretary shall 
          require that these materials be made available to counselors 
          providing housing counseling under the programs referred to in 
          this section.''; and
              (4) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
      ``(e) Certification of Counselors.--
              ``(1) Protocol.--The Secretary shall, in the discretion of 
          the Secretary, develop a new independent protocol, or amend 
          existing protocols, to certify that housing counselors whose 
          activities are authorized, certified, or funded in whole or in 
          part under section 106 of the Housing and Urban Development Act 
          of 1968 (12 U.S.C. 1701x) have successfully completed training 
          using the voluntary home inspection training module and 
          counseling aids established and developed pursuant to this 
          section.
              ``(2) Standards for materials and forms.--The Secretary 
          shall establish standards and requirements for voluntary home 
          inspection counseling materials and forms to be used, as 
          appropriate, by organizations providing voluntary home 
          inspection counseling. Such standards shall conform with the 
          content requirements under this section.
      ``(f) Report.--Not later than the expiration of the 12-month period 
  beginning upon the date of the enactment of the Consumer Protection 
  Home Inspection Counseling Act of 2012, the Secretary shall submit a 
  report to the Congress describing the actions that have been undertaken 
  to comply with this section, disclosing the actions that are required 
  under this section but have not at such time been addressed, assessing 
  the results of this section that have been achieved at such time, 
  identifying areas for improvement in the implementation of this 
  section, and making recommendations to enhance implementation of this 
  section.''.
target: Consumer Protection Home Inspection Counseling Act of 2012 - Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to direct the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to publish a Mortgagee Letter informing mortgagees of their obligation to provide prospective homebuyers with specified HUD public outreach publications concerning the importance of obtaining independent home inspections.
  
  Requires persons providing housing counseling for HUD-approved counseling agencies to: (1) be trained through a certain voluntary home inspection training module, and (2) distribute and explain certain counseling aids. Requires any homeownership counseling program under HUD auspices or administration to be provided only by organizations or counselors HUD-certified as competent to provide voluntary home inspection counseling. Authorizes HUD to withhold, withdraw, or suspend housing counseling certifications for any non-compliant housing counselor or counseling entity. Requires HUD to establish a comprehensive program to train HUD staff, contractors, individuals, and entities that provide housing counseling under specified HUD-funded programs also to provide counseling to consumers on voluntary home inspection. Requires such training program to include development of a training module to: (1) train counselors as well as counseling aids for use by housing counselors and suitable for distribution to consumers; and (2) be comprehensible to untrained consumers with or without ongoing assistance from housing counselors.
  
  Requires HUD, at the Secretary's discretion, to develop a new independent protocol, or amend existing protocols, to certify that such housing counselors have successfully completed training using the voluntary home inspection training module and counseling aids established under this Act.
feat_title: To amend section 1451 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to establish programs to provide counseling to homebuyers regarding voluntary home inspections and to train counselors to provide such counseling, and for other purposes.