Strong Outpouring Of Support For HUD’s New Fair Housing Rule

WASHINGTON DC/PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received overwhelming support in comments regarding its proposed “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing” (AFFH) regulation. The AFFH rule sets more specific guidelines on how state and local governments receiving federal housing funds incorporate fair housing policies.

The long-awaited rule has the potential to improve HUD’s enforcement of the Fair Housing Act’s mandate to address segregated housing patterns and promote diverse, inclusive communities. It implements the section of the Fair Housing Act (42 USC 3608) requiring that HUD and its state and local grantees act “affirmatively to further fair housing.” Recipients of HUD funding and grants already are required to comply with this mandate, but the new rule, if strongly implemented, could clarify state and local obligations and improve the regional planning process.

During the regulatory comment period that ended yesterday, an array of national civil rights and progressive policy organizations responded with strong support of the rule, including the NAACP, National Urban League, National Council of La Raza, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, National Fair Housing Alliance, Building One America, Applied Research Center, Demos, the Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), and many others.  Click on the icon above to see full Press Release.