Treasury Dept. to reduce paperwork burden for mortgage relief plan as participation lags

Gov’t readies changes to mortgage relief plan

WASHINGTON — The Treasury Department plans on Thursday to unveil changes designed to streamline the burdensome paperwork for its foreclosure relief plan, according to people briefed on the matter.

The tweaks to the problem-plagued program could help more borrowers complete loan modifications. But they are unlikely to placate critics who have been calling for far more dramatic changes to the program.

Lenders will now be required to collect two pay stubs at the start of the process, and borrowers will have to give the Internal Revenue Service permission to provide their most recent tax returns, according to the people who declined to be identified because the details were not yet final.

A Treasury spokeswoman declined to comment.