National Fair Housing Powerhouse Backs Housing Policy Playbook for Biden-Harris Administration

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 25, 2021

Media Contact: Izzy Woodruff | 202-898-1661 | IWoodruff@nationalfairhousing.org

National Fair Housing Powerhouse Backs Housing Policy Playbook for Biden-Harris Administration

The policy Playbook includes 11 sections designed to pursue policy changes centered on racial equity during the Administration’s first 200 days 

Washington, D.C. — Today, Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), released the following statement in support of a comprehensive policy document — New Deal for Housing Justice: A Housing Playbook for the New Administration. The 158-page document was created to help guide the Biden-Harris administration as it embarks on a national conversation about housing and begins work to ensure that everyone has housing stability and equity. 

“As a national organization leading the fight for fair and equitable housing for all, we encourage the Biden-Harris administration to adopt key recommendations outlined in the Housing Playbook. The document should serve as a launching pad for building strong and robust strategies to help achieve housing and racial equity in the U.S.

“In addition to providing a host of meaningful recommendations to advance fair housing, the Housing Playbook importantly urges strong enforcement of fair housing laws to drive positive policy changes and reverse the Trump administration’s attacks over the past four years on the longstanding Fair Housing Act of 1968. 

“With an eye toward eliminating racial wealth and homeownership gaps, the Playbook provides a creative section on reforming the marketplace that governs housing finance systems. Section 7 of the Playbook specifically outlines a number of proposals to help dismantle a housing finance system that has produced a ‘legacy of structural barriers that have disadvantaged people of color and fed a long history of housing inequality and persistent housing and wealth gaps.’  

“In the coming weeks and months, NFHA stands ready to work with our civil rights colleagues and  housing policy experts to push the Biden-Harris administration toward implementing recommendations outlined in the Housing Playbook. Over the next 200 days of the new administration, we believe that transformational changes to our nation’s housing policies must happen to drastically reduce racial barriers to fair housing and promote a more equitable society for all.”

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About The National Fair Housing Alliance

Founded in 1988, NFHA is a consortium of more than 200 private, nonprofit fair housing organizations and state and local civil rights agencies from throughout the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., NFHA works to eliminate housing discrimination and ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through leadership, education, outreach, membership services, public policy initiatives, community development, advocacy, and enforcement. In December, NFHA issued its own policy roadmap for the Biden-Harris administration and the 117th Congress to reverse damage caused by the Trump administration and ensure communities of color can bounce back stronger from the COVID-19 pandemic. The plan is centered around four key goals and corresponding actions to be taken on day one, in the first 100 days, and during the first year in office.

The roadmap includes recommendations to unwind the damage done to the nation’s fair housing infrastructure in the past four years and enable the Biden-Harris administration to effectively respond to the national call for racial equality. It also includes forward-looking recommendations to advance a fair housing agenda and ensure everyone has access to safe, affordable housing in thriving, well-resourced neighborhoods. The main policy goals include:

• Dismantling residential segregation, offering real choice in housing, and creating thriving communities; 
• Eliminating the dual credit market and creating access to sustainable and affordable credit for all; 
• Strengthening the nation’s fair housing and fair lending enforcement infrastructure; and
• Creating greater fairness in the housing and financial services industries.

About The Housing Playbook Project
The Housing Playbook Project, an effort led by Community Change with support from the Ford Foundation, aims to reassert the federal role in housing in ways that fundamentally reframe and reimagine that role to be centered on racial equity and opportunity. The project will continue to engage a broader set of stakeholders to amplify the housing justice narrative and the importance of bolder federal action to address the housing crisis through print and digital media stories.