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9/12/12
Through its own advocacy and leadership of the national fair housing coalition, LDF is urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development to issue regulations in several different areas of fair housing. These regulations would significantly improve enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, which is designed to promote racial integration in our communities and provide equal housing for all.
LDF continues to press the Department of Housing and Urban Development to issue final regulations on the use of the disparate impact theory under the Fair Housing Act. Since the 1970s, courts have embraced the principle that housing discrimination may be shown through proof that the housing practice in question disproportionately impacted a class of persons protected under the Fair Housing Act. However, HUD has never issued a regulation to formalize this longstanding interpretation. Last November, HUD issued a proposed regulation implementing the discriminatory impact standard. We are eagerly awaiting adoption of the final rule. Read LDF’s comments on this proposed regulation.
LDF has urged the Department of Housing and Urban Development to issue regulations clarifying the obligations of public housing programs and grantees of federal housing funds to “affirmatively further fair housing” Section 808(e)(5) of the Fair Housing Act requires HUD to administer its programs and activities in a manner “affirmatively to further fair housing.” These regulations would greatly assist communities in identifying and implementing local policies and practices for promoting racial integration and providing access to affordable housing and better opportunities in education, employment and transportation.
LDF joined over 35 national organizations in urging HUD to issue proposed regulations to clarify that all forms of harassment, including racial harassment, violate the Fair Housing Act. Harassment in the housing context remains a huge problem. Racial and sexual harassment is rampant, particularly in the rental market and in public housing. While court decisions have established that harassment violates the Fair Housing Act’s ban on discrimination on the basis of race and sex, HUD has never issued regulations to establish its position on this issue. Read the letter to Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan.