Our Work
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
Expanding Opportunity for All
Congress’ passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968 was a promise to end discrimination in housing based on race, national origin and certain other characteristics, and to eliminate racial segregation — which government itself had done so much to create and sustain — and undo the lasting harms it caused. Congress gave the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the job of carrying out this promise. It made HUD responsible for protecting the rights of individuals seeking homes. It also told HUD to make sure that the cities, counties, states, public housing authorities, and other entities it funds do not discriminate and instead take active steps to tackle segregation and housing inequality. This important protection is known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH).
Since 1995, HUD has had regulations implementing AFFH, which have been amended over time (See the timeline below for more details). Currently, HUD has in place a temporary regulation (called an Interim Final Rule) that includes the definition of AFFH and requirements for its grantees (called “program participants”) to certify that they are in compliance with their AFFH obligations. 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. Unfortunately, the movement was devastated in 2020 when the Trump administration gutted this vital framework.
HUD has a proposed new AFFH rule, which was published in the Federal Register on February 9, 2023. The public comment period has ended. Below are resources that fair housing groups and others can use to understand the proposed rule and inform any comments they submit.
Stay Informed About AFFH
AFFH in the News
Quick Facts
AFFH is a provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act directing HUD to make sure neither it nor the cities, counties, states, and public housing agencies it funds, discriminate in their housing and community development programs and that those programs actively work to eliminate the barriers and disparities caused by residential segregation. It also requires any federal entity involved in housing or urban development activities to affirmatively further fair housing. Here is how HUD defines AFFH:
Affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. The duty to affirmatively further fair housing extends to all of a program participant’s activities and programs relating to housing and urban development.
Since 1995, HUD has had regulations implementing AFFH, which have been amended over time (See the timeline below for more details). Currently, HUD has in place a temporary regulation (called an Interim Final Rule) that includes the definition of AFFH and requirements for its grantees (called “program participants”) to certify that they are in compliance with their AFFH obligations.
The Fair Housing Act, passed in 1968, just seven days after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., seeks to end housing discrimination and promote diverse, inclusive communities by prohibiting discrimination against people seeking to rent or buy a home, obtain a mortgage, or seek housing assistance.
To learn more about the Fair Housing Act, its passage, and connection to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., click below to watch the award-winning short film “Seven Days.”
Background
Congress’ passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968 was a promise to end discrimination in housing based on race, national origin and certain other characteristics, and to eliminate racial segregation — which government itself had done so much to create and sustain — and undo the lasting harms it caused. Congress gave the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) the job of carrying out this promise. It made HUD responsible for protecting the rights of individuals seeking homes. It also told HUD to make sure that the cities, counties, states, public housing authorities, and other entities it funds do not discriminate and instead take active steps to tackle segregation and housing inequality. This important protection is known as Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH).
It is important to note that while HUD plays a primary role in fostering AFFH throughout the nation, it is not the only federal agency that carries this obligation. The law expressly states that all federal executive departments and agencies that handle funds, rulemaking, enforcement actions, or other activities related to housing and urban development must administer their programs and activities in a way that affirmatively furthers fair housing. For this reason, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Department of Transportation, and other federal agencies have entered into Memorandums of Understanding with HUD and committed to working collaboratively with HUD to fulfill their AFFH requirements.
Key AFFH Milestones
Since the Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968, HUD has taken a variety of approaches to implementing the Act’s AFFH mandate. The timeline linked here highlights the major developments in AFFH implementation over the last 50 or so years.
Read NFHA’s timeline of major developments in AFFH implementation.
Click here