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**Equal Housing Opportunities inNew York: An Evaluation of  Section 8 Housing Programs in Buffalo, Rochester, andSyracuse**

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**Chapter 3**

**Oversight of Local Housing Authorities** 

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Local housingauthorities (HAs) are monitored by the U.S. Department of Housing and UrbanDevelopment (HUD) Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, which is underthe supervision of HUD�s Office of Program Standards and Evaluation. Both ofthese offices provide checks and balances to the local HA�s authority anddiscretion in administering the Section 8 program. In order to gain a betterunderstanding of the extent to which HUD requires public housing administratorsto affirmatively further fair housing, the Committee heard presentations by HUDofficials from the Washington, D.C., headquarters and the Buffalo RegionalOffice.

**Larry Pearl,Director, Office of Program Standards and Evaluation, HUD, Washington**

Every municipalityreceiving Section 8 housing funds must prepare an �action plan� that will bemonitored by HUD. These action plans must lay out ways to address theimpediments identified in an �Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing,�which must also be prepared by each community receiving HUD funds. The analysisof impediments document itself is not submitted to HUD, although the document isused if there is a complaint raised and for routine monitoring.1

If planned actions areinappropriate to meet the stated impediments, HUD will question the HA.2Mr. Pearl noted that the action might be appropriate, but its implementationtime-consuming and said HUD does not expect all actions to be taken immediately.�Some are easier to take than others, but if, after a certain period of time,an action has been identified but not taken, then it seems that the Departmentwould have to say, okay, what�s going on here?�3

On the other hand, theaction might not successfully remove the impediment and the Department will thenconsider alternative or additional steps. HUD is currently reviewing regulationsto strengthen its authority to question communities in such situations.

HUD has challenged thefair housing certifications of two communities outside of New York State and hasheld up money in those communities until they completed their impedimentstudies. According to Mr. Pearl, �That�s two out of a thousand, admittedly avery small percentage, but we feel that it�s a start, and we are looking at anumber of other situations, and are telling communities in advance of submittingtheir action plans that we believe they may have a problem.�4

In response to a queryabout HUD�s affirmative efforts on desegregation in the Section 8 program, Mr.Pearl stressed the need for mobility programs to address residentialsegregation. First, he referred to a study HUD commissioned in May  1996identifying where Section 8 recipients live nationwide. The study found thatAfrican American and Hispanic Section 8 recipients are much more likely to livein high-poverty neighborhoods than are white recipients. Twenty-five percent ofblacks and 18 percent of Hispanics live in neighborhoods that are more than 30percent poor, compared with only 8 percent of whites. Correspondingly, 53percent of white Section 8 recipients live in low-poverty neighborhoods,compared with only 28 percent of blacks and 40 percent of Hispanics.

In addition, 15 percentof African American recipients live in tracts that are more than 85 percentblack, while no white or Hispanic recipients live in such predominantly blacktracks. Mr. Pearl said, �[HUD] didn�t find these findings surprising, but itsuggests the dimension of the problem in terms of dealing with thosedisparities.�5  

Secondly, he stressed the importance of mobility programs, also known asmobility counseling or opportunity counseling, which provide Section 8recipients a full range of housing counseling on topics such as where thecertificate can be used, surrounding neighborhoods and how to get to them, andinformation about schools, churches, and public transportation. In addition, theprogram provides followup after they have moved. Mr. Pearl praised theseprograms as �giving people an idea of what�s out there,� and added: � wedo know that many people who have lived in the cities all their lives, to them,suburban jurisdictions are just names. They have no meaning. They don�t knowwhere they are. They wouldn�t know how to get to them.�6Mr. Pearl gave an example of how comprehensive and effective mobility counselingcan be and how important followup counseling is:

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In the L.A.    program, for example, a woman�a Latino woman moved into the suburbs, into    the San Fernando Valley, and had some trouble registering her child in    school . . . I believe it was kindergarten, and she shared that with her    counselor, and the counselor took it upon herself to go out and in effect,    test the school. The counselor, who happened to be white Anglo, went out and    said, �I need to register my child� and had absolutely no problem at    all...and finding that disparity then went to the principal and said, �I    think you have a problem.� Not every counselor would take the time or    effort to do that kind of thing, but that�s the kind of committed work    they do for their clients.7

The other goal ofmobility programs is to get more landlords to participate in the Section 8program. Mr. Pearl said, �You really have to deal with both the demand and thesupply, and since the supply is limited to low-poverty areas, that�s anotherdifficulty.8 Therefore recruiting landlords in a variety ofareas, including areas with low-poverty and low-minority concentration isnecessary. He said:  

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One of the things    that made the administering agency for the *Gautreaux*program in    Chicago so successful was the credibility that they built up with landlords    over time. The idea was that when they referred tenants that the landlords    would know that the tenants had been screened to a degree, and that they    were getting tenants who would have good credit�and could meet the    requirements of tenancy. Credibility, of course, takes time to build up.9

Under its obligation toadminister all programs in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housingunder title VIII, HUD has used title VIII in its litigation against landlords.But Mr. Pearl said, �Outside the litigation context, we haven�t chosen to dothe same as we have with litigation.� When asked why the Department has chosennot to invoke title VIII to require HAs to affirmatively further fair housing,Mr. Pearl responded, �That�s a dispute within the Department. We have simplynot decided that that is necessary to go forward.�10

**Charles Martin,Director, Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, HUD, Buffalo**

In October 1995, HUDadopted a Conforming Rule to consolidate administratively the Section 8certificate and voucher programs to the maximum extent allowed without newlegislation, and generally to simplify administration of the Section 8 program.11As a result of this change, the Equal Opportunity Housing Plan requirement inthe prior Section 8 regulations was replaced with a new requirement.12

Under the old procedurethe Department would review and approve the HA�s Equal Opportunity HousingPlan and Administrative Plan which contained objectives to ensurenondiscrimination. Now, under the Conforming Rule, only the Administrative Planis submitted. The Equal Opportunity Housing Plan contained four objectives usedby housing agencies to ensure nondiscrimination within the Section 8 program.These four objectives were transferred to the Administrative Plan.13

The first objectivecalled for HAs to identify how they were going to conduct outreach to low-incomefamilies, including what newspaper or other media would be used. The HAs alsohad to identify within that particular objective if there were any groups thatthey considered least likely to participate in the program, and if so, whetherthey had identified some special outreach to make sure that those particulargroups were brought into the program.  

The second objective was to promote greater housing opportunities outside ofthe low-income and minority-concentrated areas. In this particular objective,HAs were again required to identify what media they were using to market Section8 information to the general public, homeowners, and landlords. Also, they wererequired to show how they were encouraging landlords to participate in theprogram.

The methods forencouraging landlords to participate in the Section 8 program included meetingswith landlords, printing information about the Section 8 program, and providingliterature and brochures, etc., as well as explanations regarding theadministrative and civil rights requirements of the program.

The HAs were alsorequired to provide briefing packages to all Section 8 recipients. In thatpackage, the HA provided recipients documentation on civil rights, informationabout available housing, and  a list of the landlords participating in theprogram. If they had problems locating suitable units, the HA was to provideassistance.

The HAs also providedrecipients with information pertaining to the geographic use of thecertificates. If there was a portability application, as with certificates,recipients were to be told that they had a right to go anywhere, and that ifthere were some restrictions on the application, the HA would have to notify therecipient whether it was restricted to a certain area.

The third objectivedealt with ensuring equal opportunity for applicants to participate in theprogram. This objective focused on the administration of the program, i.e., howthe HA actually accepts applications; whether it would accept an application;how it processes applications; how it establishes the waiting list; and how ituses Federal preference or priority categories.

Objective four dealtwith whether or not the HA subcontracted out to a local fair housingorganization or community organization that provided services to disabledindividuals to perform certain services that HAs were not capable of performing.

Under the new rules,HAs are notified by HUD that these four requirements are still part of theircontract. �In fact,� said Mr. Martin, �the regs [regulations] state theresponsibility of the housing authority and specifically list the first threeobjectives that were listed in the old equal opportunity housing plan.�14

The newAdministrative Plan is used by HUD as a tool to determine how well the housingagency is running the program and in monitoring the HAs. The monitoring, knownas recordkeeping, consists of: 

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 looking at    the records to see if they advertised in the *Buffalo Evening News*, if    they advertised in the *West Side Journal*. We will want to see if they    advertised in those journals,     the dates they    advertised, and to see if they had contact to special community    organizations. We would check to see if they contacted those community    organizations. What efforts they did to encourage landlords to come to    participate in the program, if they did any special outreach to them.15

Mr.Martin explained the procedures if they discover objectives that are not beingcarried out:  

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We discuss the    findings at the exit interview with the executive director to let them know    of our concerns. We then come back and write them a letter. We give them X    number of days to take corrective actions to begin either to implement    something that they have said that they were going to do in their    administrative plan or give us some justification as to why not, and then we    will review that information and make a determination whether we feel that    they have met compliance, and if we feel that they are not in compliance,    they are then referred to our compliance division who go out and make a    determination of compliance or noncompliance.16

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**Endnotes **

1 Larry Pearl, statement before the New York Advisory Committee to the U.S.Commission on Civil Rights, factfinding meeting, Buffalo, NY, Dec. 12, 1996,transcript, p.145 (hereafter cited as Buffalo Transcript).

2 �In other words, if the action to address the impediment simplydoesn�t make any sense, such as there�s a problem of getting credit to theminority community, and the solution is let�s have lunch with the bankers.That�s not going to do it.� Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Ibid., p. 146.

5 Ibid., p. 148.

6 Ibid., p. 152.

7 Ibid., p. 157.

8 Ibid., p. 153.

9 Ibid., p. 162.

10 Ibid., p. 167. *See*24 C.F.R. � 982.4 (1997).

11 *See*60 Fed. Reg. 34660�729 (1995).

12 24 C.F.R.� 882.204(b)(1) and � 887.59 (1994).

13 Martin statement, Buffalo Transcript, p. 184.

14 Ibid.

15 Ibid., p. 186.

16 Ibid., p. 187.