Not in any newsletter issue of Poverty & Race
On July 19, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued an important draft rule to clarify the Fair Housing Act’s 1968 legal mandate to address segregated housing patterns and promote diverse, inclusive communities. The purpose of the rule is to provide clearer guidance to state and local governments receiving HUD funds about how to incorporate fair housing planning and fair housing goals into their programs. HUD’s existing rules have been criticized by the GAO and others for failing to provide clear standards for HUD grantees to follow.
The proposed rule has generated a huge outpouring of comments from fair housing and civil rights groups, housing industry groups, public housing agencies, as well as from the financial services industry, and across state and local government. HUD has been working on this rule for over three years, and it is a centerpiece of the agency’s effort to pursue a more balanced housing policy – although as our comments indicate, we are concerned that the proposed rule falls short of this goal at several key points. However, the proposed rule, with its strong community engagement elements, will also involve many communities in a conversation about fair housing that is long overdue. Here are some highlights from the comments submitted to HUD:
Comments of PRRAC
Other Must-Read Comments
- Comments of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
- Comments of the Anti-Discrimination Center of New York (the group behind the Westchester litigation)
- Comments of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities et al (on Public Housing Agency compliance with the AFFH rule)
- Comments of 35 academic researchers
- Letter of support from 49 House members to Secretary Donovan (May 2014)
Additional Notable Comments:
- The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and others
- National Fair Housing Alliance
- Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
- NAACP
- National Urban League
- ACLU
- Building One America
- National Low Income Housing Coalition
- National Housing Conference
- Enterprise Community Partners, LISC, NHT
- National Council of La Raza
- Housing Partnership Network
- National Housing Law Project
- Public Advocates, Inc.
- Western Center on Law & Poverty and other California advocates
- Kirwan Institute
- Equal Rights Center (ERC)
- Demos
- PolicyLink
- Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance
- Comments of Dan Lauber and colleagues
- Applied Research Center
- California Rural Legal Assistance
- Comments of the National Council of State Housing Agencies
- Comments of the National Association for County Community and Economic Development and National Community Development Association
Selected Comments Critical of the Proposed Rule
- Comments of the Ballard Spahr
- Comments of the City of New York
- Comments of Kevin J. Plunkett, Westchester County, NY
- Comments of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
- Comments of the Financial Services Roundtable
- Comments of the High-Cost Cities Housing Forum
- Comments of the NAHRO
- Comments of the National_Association_of_Home_Builders
- Comments of the National_Association_of_Realtors
- Comments of the National_Multi_Housing_Council
- Comments of PHADA
Summaries of Selected Comment Letters (Prepared by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights)
- Summary of AFFH Comments from Civil Rights Groups
- Summary of AFFH Comments from Housing and Community Development Organizations
- Summary of AFFH Critical Comments
