NFHA Praises Biden’s Move to Reinstate Key Fair Housing Regulations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2021
Contact: Izzy Woodruff | 202-898-1661 | IWoodruff@nationalfairhousing.org
NFHA Praises Biden’s Move to Reinstate Key Fair Housing Regulations
Washington, D.C. — Today, Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), issued the following statement praising the Biden administration’s move to reinstate two key fair housing regulations:
“By taking steps to reinstate the 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule and the 2013 Disparate Impact rule, President Biden is following through with his early commitment to make racial equity and fair housing advancement a cornerstone of his administration’s policy.
“When Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968, it intended for HUD to take active steps to end housing discrimination, dismantle housing segregation, and tackle systemic racism to expand access to opportunity for everyone. However, an actual framework for fully enforcing these mandates wasn’t put into place until 2015, finally giving local jurisdictions and community stakeholders the process and data needed to identify and redress local barriers to fair housing. NFHA was devastated when the Trump administration gutted this vital framework in 2020 but is very encouraged by President Biden’s move to restore it.
“Similarly in 2020, the Trump administration finalized its harmful reversal of the 2013 Disparate Impact rule, making it almost impossible for victims of discrimination to effectively fight against systemic racism and discriminatory policies by housing providers, financial institutions, and insurance companies. Today, NFHA is hopeful because the Biden administration has signaled that it will also reinstate this vital rule for addressing systemic discrimination in housing.
“As promising as this news is, the restoration of these two rules is frankly the bare minimum of what must be done to adequately address our nation’s centuries-long history of systemic discrimination in housing and other areas of life. Even today, housing segregation remains the primary driver of inequality in the United States, and neighborhoods of color remain disproportionately under-resourced and overpoliced, leading to a lifetime of unequal educational, health, and economic opportunity.
“NFHA is glad that the Biden administration acknowledges these structural barriers to housing and racial equity. NFHA looks forward to working closely with the White House, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and other leadership within the administration to ensure that racial equity and fair housing remain central to the administration’s plans as it tackles COVID-19 economic recovery, infrastructure, and other key issues. NFHA also looks forward to working with Congress to ensure HUD is properly staffed and provided resources to effectively implement and enforce the reinstated AFFH and Disparate Impact rules.”
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Founded in 1988, the National Fair Housing Alliance (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.