Fostering Access to Opportunity HUD’s Proposed Affirmatively Furthering Housing Rule

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Overview

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 requires HUD to conduct programs in such a manner that “affirmatively furthers fair housing” – a term that has never been defined. Responding to concerns raised by the Government Accountability Office and stakeholders, the proposed Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule does three key things:
 
  1. Clarifies the definition of AFFH to include actions that expand mobility for all households in opportunity-rich communities, reducing segregation and concentrated poverty – as well as actions that invest in high-poverty communities, expanding opportunity for existing residents.
  2. Improves the process that local jurisdictions undertake to ensure that HUD funds are being used to further fair housing by aligning it with Consolidated Plans for CDBG and HOME allocations and with Public Housing Plans for public housing dollars.
  3. Provides local jurisdictions with consistent data to ensure that grantees can measure their progress on reducing segregation and racially concentrated