More than 14,000 comments have been submitted in response to the Trump administration’s proposed changes to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. The proposed AFFH rule removes key civil rights protections and retreats from national efforts to enforce housing desegregation. To help advocates draft unique comments opposing this proposal, the Fight for Housing Justice campaign has three comment templates, including one for legal aid advocates, another focused on disability rights, and a general sample letter from NLIHC. NLIHC and other partners in the Fight for Housing Justice campaign will also be hosting a national “Week of Action” to encourage organizations and individuals to submit comments opposing the proposed rule before the March 16 deadline.
Partners in the Fight for Housing Justice campaign have created new resources to help organizations and individuals write and submit comments opposing HUD’s proposal to radically alter the 2015 AFFH rule. The National Housing Law Project created a template designed for legal aid advocates, and the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) created a sample letter focused on the potential negative impacts of the proposal on people with disabilities. CCD also created a one-page fact sheet explaining the basics of AFFH. The document is unbranded so organizations can use it in their own advocacy efforts.
Save the date for a national “Week of Action” March 9-13 to push back on the proposed rule before the March 16 comment deadline. Rally with other advocates from around the country for a series of events/activities such as comment parties, tweetstorms, and a Facebook-Live event, as a last collective effort before the comment period closes to let HUD know that we oppose the changes to the AFFH rule. More information about the Week of Action is available on the Fight for Housing Justice website. Begin planning an event/activity of your own now!
Comment templates and sample letters, fact sheets, news, and additional resources are at: www.fightforhousingjustice.org/affh
You can also submit comments at: www.fightforhousingjustice.org/affh
More about AFFH under the Trump/Carson administration is on NLIHC’s website at: https://bit.ly/2Snb2Ax
Information about the 2015 AFFH rule, Secretary Carson’s suspension of the 2015 rule, and the AI process that jurisdictions must follow until a final rule is on pages 7-14, 7-21, and 7-26 of NLIHC’s 2019 Advocates’ Guide.