On January 14th, HUD proposed drastic changes to the Affirmative Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Rule. The purpose of the 2015 AFFH rule was to assist localities in meeting their long standing requirement to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing set forth in the Fair Housing Act of 1968 by providing them with guidance and resources to support their planning success. It should be seen as a useful and powerful tool to overcome historic patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, and foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination. Instead of protecting it, HUD has proposed changes to significantly diminish it. The proposed changes fail to address and would not effectively mitigate this nation’s historic and ongoing patterns of racial segregation and housing discrimination, which was the intent behind the creation of the AFFH rule. NYHC urges HUD to abandon its proposed changes to the AFFH Rule and immediately reinstate and implement the 2015 version of the regulation.
We encourage everyone to submit comments! You can review NYHC’s submitted comments here. Comments are due on Monday, 3/16.