HUD
NEWS
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary
Office
of Public Affairs, Washington, DC 20410
HUD No. 23-013
FOR RELEASE
HUD Public Affairs Thursday
202-708-0685 January 19, 2023
HUD.gov/Press
HUD
Announces New Proposed “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” Rule,
Taking a Major Step Towards Rooting Out Longstanding Inequities in
Housing
and Fostering Inclusive Communities
Rule
expands upon HUD’s previous policy, implementing opportunities for
transparency and accountability while bolstering economic equity for
American
families
WASHINGTON –The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will imminently publish a
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register to fulfill the
promise of the 1968 Fair Housing Act. The proposed rule aims to remedy
the effects of the long history of discrimination in housing, will help
to foster opportunity in communities across
the country where every resident can thrive. In addition, this proposed
rule meets President Biden’s call in his first days in office to fully
enforce the Fair Housing Act, outlined in
Memorandum on Redressing Our Nation’s and the Federal Government’s History of Discriminatory Housing Practices and Policies.
This
proposed rule implements the Fair Housing Act’s affirmatively
furthering fair housing mandate, which directs the government to promote
fair housing choice, eliminate disparities in
housing, and foster inclusive communities. While building avenues for
greater accountability, this proposed rule streamlines the required fair
housing analysis for local communities, states, and public housing
agencies and requires them to set ambitious goals
to address fair housing issues facing their communities, among other
landmark changes.
“This
proposed rule is a major step towards fulfilling the law’s full promise
and advancing our legal, ethical, and moral charge to provide equitable
access to opportunity for all,” said
Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
“Affirmatively furthering fair housing means more than merely steering clear of housing discrimination violations”
said Demetria L. McCain, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
“Today, HUD is taking new, bold action to eliminate the historic
patterns of segregation that continue to harm American families. This
action will help
make the purpose of the Fair Housing Act reality by making it easier
for local communities to identify inequities and make concrete
commitments to address them.”
This
proposed rule, a significant step in addressing the country’s history
of discriminatory housing policies and practices, responds to both
President Biden’s directive, the
Memorandum on Redressing Our Nation’s and the Federal Government’s History of Discriminatory Housing Practices and Policies,
to HUD and Secretary Fudge’s call to weave equity throughout HUD’s
work. Specifically, it would spur HUD program participants to
take action in order to ensure members of protected classes have
equitable access to affordable housing opportunities, which can be a
crucial lifeline for underserved communities that have long been denied
equal access to opportunity. The proposed rule incorporates
much of the framework of the 2015 AFFH rule, which was effective for
only a short time before the previous Administration dismantled it, and
includes several refinements based on feedback HUD received from a
variety of stakeholders.
In
particular, the proposed rule is designed to simplify the required fair
housing analysis, emphasize goal-setting, increase transparency for
public review and comment, foster local commitment
to addressing fair housing issues, enhance HUD technical assistance to
local communities, and provide mechanisms for regular program evaluation
and greater accountability, among other changes.
Under
the proposed rule, program participants every five years would submit
to HUD for review and acceptance an Equity Plan. That plan, which must
be developed following robust community
engagement, would contain their analysis of fair housing issues
confronting their communities, goals, and strategies to remedy those
issues in concrete ways, and a description of community engagement. The
proposed rule would then require program participants
to incorporate goals and strategies from their accepted Equity Plans
into subsequent planning documents (e.g., Consolidated Plans, Annual
Action Plans, and Public Housing Agency Plans).
In
addition, program participants would be required to conduct and submit
to HUD annual progress evaluations that describe progress toward and/or
any needed modifications of each goal in
the Equity Plan. Both the Equity Plans and the annual progress
evaluations would be posted online. The proposed rule includes
provisions that permit members of the public to file complaints with HUD
if program participants are not living up to their AFFH commitments
and various other provisions that enable HUD to ensure that program
participants are held accountable for complying with this rule.
HUD seeks
public comment on this proposed rule and invites all interested
parties and members of the public to submit their views, comments, and
recommendations for improvement for this proposal. Comments may be
submitted electronically through
www.regulations.gov, or through the methods described in the proposed rule.
Read HUD’s
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing.
For further information, please reference this
fact sheet,
quick reference guide, and public comment how to guide.
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