# Presentation: 775732

## FAIR HOUSING PLANNING IN YOUR COMMUNITY

**Presenter: Robert C. Allen**
**Public Trust Officer**
**Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity**

**Notes:**
My presentation is entitled “Fair Housing Planning in Your Community.

## Fair Housing Planning   in Your Community	

**“****Ensure Equal Opportunity and Access to Housing” means:**
**Reducing Housing is discrimination**
**Promote public awareness of fair       housing laws**
**Improving the accessibility of housing to persons with disabilities**

**Notes:**
This morning I plan to discuss Fair Housing Planning, what it is and how it has been a crucial part of HUD’s goal to  “Ensure Equal Opportunity and Access to Housing.”   I’ll show how Fair Housing Planning is a comprehensive strategy for reducing housing discrimination.  I’ll follow with a discussion on the objectives of  Fair Housing Planning, what it takes to conduct and implement a complete Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, and comply with the Certification to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing or AFFH.

## Fair Housing Planning in Your Community

**Fair Housing Planning  (FHP)-  A Comprehensive Strategy to ”Ensure Equal Opportunity and Access to Housing”**** **
**FHP contributes to “Ensure Equal Opportunity and Access to Housing”**
**    **

**Notes:**
One of HUD’s strategic goals is to Ensure Equal Opportunity and Access to Housing.  What do we mean to “Ensure Equal Opportunity and Access to Housing?”  What does HUD hope to accomplish through this Goal and how is it accomplished?  First and foremost, Ensure Equal Opportunity and Access to Housing means enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws, conducting education and outreach on the FH Act, and working with housing partners to create housing opportunities for minority families and persons with disabilities.  

## Fair Housing Planning in Your Community

**Fair Housing Planning is part of the Consolidated Plan**
**Section 808 (e) (5) of the Fair Housing Act...“The Secretary shall administer the programs and activities relating to housing and urban development in a manner to affirmatively further the policies of the Act.”**

**Notes:**
Fair Housing Planning is one of many methods that HUD uses to ensure equal opportunity and access to housing through HUD’s programs.  It is a method of administering Section 808(e)(5) of the Fair Housing Act.  It was initiated in 1995 as part of CPD’s Consolidated Planning process as a way of integrating fair housing into it. 

## FAIR HOUSING PLANNING IN YOUR COMMUNITY	

**Objectives of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH)**
**Eliminate housing discrimination**
**Promote fair housing choice**
**Provide opportunity for racially and ethnically inclusive occupancy patterns**
**Promote accessibility for persons with disabilities**

**Notes:**
Now that you know the statutory basis of the requirement to affirmatively further fair housing through HUD programs, what does HUD want to achieve through it?  First it wants to eliminate housing discrimination.  Secondly, it wants to promote fair housing choice, i.e., the right of all persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability to  have the same housing choices and opportunities.  Third, HUD wants to provide opportunities for minority families and persons with disabilities to live where they choose.  

## Fair Housing Planning in Your Community

**  ****What is Fair Housing Choice?**
**  ****The ability of persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin to have available to them the same housing choices.**

**Notes:**
What does the term “fair housing choice” mean?  The Fair Housing Planning Guide, which is the source document on Fair Housing Planning, defines Fair Housing Choice as follows:

The ability of persons regardless of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or national origin to have available to them the same housing choices.

## Fair Housing Planning in Your Community - AFFH Certification 

**Conducting an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice**
**Taking Actions to Address the Impediments Identified in the Analysis of Impediments (AI)**
**Maintaining Records; Sources:****24 CFR 91.225(a) [Localities]; 91.325(a)[States];****91.425[Consortia].**

**Notes:**
What do we mean by AFFH and what are the requirement to AFFH.  The Consolidated Plan Regulations (24 CFR 91) contains a certification that requires all recipients to affirmatively further fair housing.  This certification has been implemented since 1995 and under the certification all recipients must conduct an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice (AI), take actions to address the impediments identified in the AI and maintain records pertaining to the AI and its implementation.  

## Fair Housing Planning in Your Community - What is an AI?

**Comprehensive Review of:**
**Laws, Regulations and Administrative Procedures Affecting the:**
**Location****	**
**Availability**
**Accessibility of housing**
**Assessment of conditions affecting fair housing choice**

**Notes:**
What is an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice?  The AI is a comprehensive review of  laws, regulations and administrative procedures affecting the location, availability and accessibility of housing, as well as an assessment of conditions affecting fair housing choice for all persons.  

## What Do We Mean By Impediments to Fair Housing Choice?

**   ****Any actions, omissions or decisions taken because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status that **_**restrict **_**housing choice or the availability of housing choice.****  **
**   ****(Source:  Fair Housing Planning Guide, Volume I, Page 2-17)**

**Notes:**
-Of all the words in the title the word “Impediments” is the key word.  The regulation requires you to identify impediments or barriers to fair housing choice.  The Fair Housing Planning Guide defines an impediment as (Any Actions, omissions or decisions taken because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability or familial status that RESTRICTS housing choice or the availability of housing choice.)  Examples of impediments to fair housing choice include:  

## Fair Housing Planning Examples of Impediments

**Racial segregations/steering**
**Lack of Affordable Housing/Financing**
**Lack of support for facilities serving persons with disabilities**
**Lack of local fair housing enforcement, focus, or support**
**Lack of financial support for fair housing enforcement and education and outreach activities**

## Fair Housing Planning Examples of  Impediments

**Zoning barriers to affordable housing**
**   **
**Intolerance toward minorities moving into non-minority neighborhoods. [NIMBYISM; Hate and Violence Crimes]**

## Examples of Actions to Address Impediments

**Provide cultural sensitive training -- ensure safety of families moving to non-traditional neighborhoods**
**Enact/Enforce substantially equivalent laws**
**Support for fair housing enforcement**
**Equalize conditions between minority/non-minority areas through HUD funds**

**Notes:**
The second leg of the certification requires recipients to take actions to address the impediments identified in the analysis .  Although the regulation does not explicitly require that the actions relate substantively to the impediments, HUD has during its technical assistance stressed the importance of having the affirmative steps relate directly to the impediments.  For example, if a jurisdiction found that the lack of a substantially equivalent fair housing ordinance was an impediment, the appropriate action would be to enact such an ordinance.

Some other actions to overcome impediments include:

## Fair Housing PlanningExamples of Actions

**Promote homeownership through housing counseling**
**Remove barriers to affordable housing**
**Conduct and promote fair housing testing**
**Conduct and promote fair housing education and outreach**

## FAIR HOUSING PLANNINGEXAMPLES OF ACTIONS(cont.)

**Translate crucial information into different languages to better serve the limited English proficient population **
**Create a FH coordinator within your organization**

## FAIR HOUSING PLANNINGEXAMPLES OF ACTIONS (cont.)

**Partner with local organizations that have Fair Housing Initiatives Programs (FHIP) and Fair Housing Assistance Programs (FHAP).**

## Fair Housing Planning  Maintaining Records

**Supporting documentation should include:**
**The AI**
**Actions undertaken to address any identified impediments**
**Records such as transcripts of public hearings and citizen comments**
**Progress reports on implementation**

**Notes:**
The third leg of the certification is the maintenance of records for public and HUD inspection. Examples include:

## FAIR HOUSING PLANNING - HUD’S ROLE

**Technical Assistance**
**Review of AI at many points in Consolidated Plan Life Cycle **
**Action Plan or Five-Year Consolidated Plan**
**Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report**
**Consultation with Local/State Officials**
**Monitoring Visit**

**Notes:**
What is HUD’s role in FH Planning.  HUD has since 1995 conducted intensive and extensive technical assistance to industry groups and recipients.  HUD may review the AI at many points in the Consolidated Plan life cycle.  For example:
Annual Plan or Five-Year Consolidated Plan
Comprehensive Annual Performance and Evaluation Report
Consultation with Local/State Officials
Monitoring Visit

## Fair Housing Planning  Recipients Evaluation

**The AI**
**The milestones and timetables**
**The fair housing actions**
**(Source:  Fair Housing Planning Guide, Part 1, Page 2-24)**

**Notes:**
FH Planning should be evaluated as a whole.  HUD expects recipients to carry out effective FH actions over a long period of time.  Therefore, recipients should be carefully evaluate the results of:
The AI
The milestones and timetables
The fair housing actions
With this information, recipients will be in best possible position to evaluate their FH performance.

## Fair Housing Planning  HUD Evaluation

**SUBSTANTIALLY INCOMPLETE**
**Impediments plainly inconsistent with generally available facts and data**
**Incomplete where facts/data indicate the presence of an impediment not identified in the AI**
**(Source:  Fair Housing Planning Guide, **
**   ****Part 1, Page 2-24)**

**Notes:**
The year-end review is most crucial, since HUD can request submission of the full AI and other documentation.  What is an incomplete AI?  The Fair Housing Planning Guide states two reasons for concluding that an AI was substantially incomplete (impediments plainly inconsistent with generally available facts and data; incomplete where facts/data indicate the presence of an impediment not identified in the AI).

## Fair Housing Planning  HUD Evaluation (cont.)

**ACTIONS PLAINLY INAPPROPRIATE**
**--Examples: **
**Fair housing poster contest addresses           lending discrimination**
**Citizen participation notices in English only when 25% of the population is limited English proficient**
**	****	****  **
**(Source:  Fair Housing Planning Guide, **
**    ****Part 1, Page 2-24)**

**Notes:**
Inappropriate actions include:
Fair housing poster contest to address lending discrimination

Citizen participation notices in English only when 25% of the population is limited English proficient

## Fair Housing Planning  HUD Evaluation (cont.)

**Provide notice and opportunity for comment**
**Working with the jurisdiction on actions to:**
**make the AI complete**
**overcome the effects of the identified impediments**
**Include a timetable for accomplishing the actions**

**Notes:**
HUD is required to provide notice and opportunity to comment on any findings connected with the AI.  HUD also works with the jurisdiction on actions to make the AI complete or overcome the effects of impediments to fair housing choice, taking into the consideration the fact that, in many cases, the existence of the impediments to fair housing choice may in certain instances be beyond the control of the recipient.

## FAIR HOUSING PLANNING CONCLUSION

**Training **
**Technical Assistance**
**Target date for new AIs**

**Notes:**
Today’s presentation is a quick snapshot of FH Planning.  FHEO has 44 local field offices.  Please contact the one serving your jurisdiction and request additional training or technical assistance.  Our FH partners, the FHIPs and FHAPs are also resources that you may use.

As new recipients, you may not have completed an AI in FY 2004.   However, you should note on your Consolidated Plan when the AI will be conducted and completed.  For the FY 2005 funding cycle, HUD expects that you have completed an AI when you sign your certification to AFFH.