The Regulatory Review, November 17, Preserving Community and Neighborhood Choice?
A new rule, recently adopted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), narrowly interprets a mandate that local and state housing authorities “affirmatively further fair housing.” Under the new rule, grantees will receive funding if they take any steps that HUD finds “rationally related to promoting fair housing.” Fair housing means that all people can rent or buy a home, secure a mortgage, and seek housing assistance free from discrimination due to race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability.
Advocates raise concerns about the lack of requirements in the new rule. Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, explains that because the new rule imposes no requirements to further fair housing, local governments can “do nothing but talk … and claim they furthered fair housing.” As a result, Van Tol argues that the rule will not address the “persistent patterns of racial segregation that continue to create unfair and unjust life outcomes for people based on their zip codes.” Heather Abraham, professor at University of Buffalo School of Law, similarly argues that the new rule is “profoundly inadequate to meaningfully reduce segregation” because there are no compliance and accountability tools.
