Reserve Bank of India (RBI) vide circular dated May 5, 2003 has issued Guidelines on Fair Practices Cod for Lenders which inter-alia provide that lender must not discriminate on grounds of sex, caste and religion in the matter of lending and as such public and private sector banks cannot deny a single woman/unmarried female home loan products, insisting that single women applicants to bring along a co-applicant.

Banks have reported that home loans to individuals need to comply with their respective eligibility criteria irrespective of gender and marital status. Bhartiya Mahila Bank offers single woman home loan products without co-applicant/guarantor, depending on the viability of the proposal.

This was stated by Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha.

Non-discrimination in lending: single women cannot be denied home loans or forced to add co-applicants where eligibility is met. RBI guidelines impose a non-discrimination obligation on lenders so they should not deny home loan products to single or unmarried women or insist on a co-applicant on the sole basis of marital status; banks must nonetheless apply their objective eligibility and underwriting criteria. Certain banks, such as Bhartiya Mahila Bank, offer single-woman home loan products without a co-applicant or guarantor where the proposal's viability meets the lender's assessment.