On Wednesday, HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced the termination of the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, replacing it with an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that merely requires HUD grantees to self-attest to their commitment to fair housing. In response, House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) and Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) released a statement calling out Secretary Turner for “abandoning HUD’s legal obligation to eliminate housing discrimination in the United States.” NLIHC is coordinating closely with fair housing advocates to fight for full implementation of the “Civil Rights Act of 1968” to promote fair housing and inclusive communities.
The AFFH rule has been a political football under several presidential administrations. The initial legislation in 1968 prohibited housing segregation and required states and localities to take it a step further, affirmatively furthering fair housing with the use of federal housing dollars. Most recently, the Biden Administration removed the first Trump Administration’s harmful 2020 rule but failed to implement a final AFFH rule. The Biden rule, an interim rule called “Restoring Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Definitions and Certifications,” required “program participants” (local and state governments as well as public housing agencies, PHAs) to submit “certifications” (pledges) that they will affirmatively further fair housing (AFFH) in connection with their Consolidated Plans (ConPlans), Annual Action Plans to their ConPlans, and Annual PHA Plans. The IFR did not require a specific planning process such as the Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) created by the Obama Administration’s 2015 AFFH Rule. Instead, it created a voluntary fair housing planning process; program participants could use the AFH, or the previous Analysis of Impediments (AI) to Fair Housing, or some other means to demonstrate compliance with the obligation to affirmatively further fair housing.
The new Trump Administration AFFH rule allows program participants to provide “a general commitment that grantees will take active steps to promote fair housing”. The IFR now requires grantees to simply attest that they have taken any action to promote fair housing. Secretary Turner claims the new rule will cut “costly red tape imposed on localities,” but for decades, advocates have warned that the promise of the “Fair Housing Act” has never been fulfilled, and this failure continues to exacerbate racial disparities in housing and homelessness. In an April 2024 letter to President Biden, nearly 300 organizations emphasized that “a fair housing market cannot be realized without a strong AFFH rule. By investing in interventions that ensure everyone can access fair, affordable, and accessible housing in thriving neighborhoods, we can create communities of opportunity” (see Memo, 4/22/2024).
Members of Congress agree with advocates on the critical importance of a strong AFFH rule. Representative Waters and Senator Warren responded to the new AFFH rule with deep disappointment, stating in full: “Secretary Turner is abandoning HUD’s legal obligation to eliminate housing discrimination in the United States. At a time when America is experiencing a full-blown housing crisis and record levels of housing discrimination complaints, this outright assault on civil rights takes us back to the days when the federal government rubber stamped segregation and discrimination. He is eliminating a key tool that makes housing more affordable and accessible to everyday people, including people of color, older Americans, veterans, people with disabilities, families with children, and so many others. The fight for fair housing is on and Democrats will not back down until we fulfill the promise of equal opportunity in housing for every American.”
Read HUD Secretary Turner’s press statement announcing the termination here.
Read the AFFH Interim Final Rule here.
Read Rep. Waters’ and Sen. Warren’s statement here.