TheHomeowners Refinancing Act (also known as theHome Owners' Loan Act of 1933 and theHome Owners' Loan Corporation Act) was anAct of Congress of theUnited States passed as part ofFranklin Delano Roosevelt'sNew Deal during theGreat Depression to help those in danger of losing their homes.[1] The act, which went into effect on June 13, 1933, provided mortgage assistance to homeowners or would-be homeowners by providing them money or refinancing mortgages.[2][3][4]
Sponsored by Senate Majority LeaderJoe T. Robinson of Arkansas, it also created theHome Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC), building onHerbert Hoover'sFederal Loan Bank Board. The Corporation lent low-interest money to families in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure. By the mid-1930s, the HOLC had refinanced nearly 20% of urban homes in the country.[5][6]
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Having won a decisive victory in theUnited States presidential election of 1932, and with his party having decisively swept Congressional elections across the nation, Roosevelt entered office with unprecedentedpolitical capital. Americans of all political persuasions were demanding immediate action, and Roosevelt responded with a remarkable series of new programs in the "first hundred days" of the administration, in which he met with Congress for 100 days. During those 100 days of lawmaking, Congress granted Roosevelt's every request.
The originalHome Owners' Loan Act of 1933,Pub. L. 73–43, 48 Stat. 128, was enacted June 13, 1933. The1st Annual Report of theFederal Home Loan Bank Board refers to this act as theHome Owners' Loan Corporation Act.[7] An unnamed act,Pub. L. 73–178, 48 Stat. 643, enactedApril 27, 1934, further amended this act to guarantee the bonds of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation.