Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today, as part of a coalition of 21 attorneys general, sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) opposing a proposed rule that would end critical fair housing regulations that prohibit discrimination in the marketing of affordable housing. The Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing (AFHM) regulations require owners of federally assisted housing to target advertising and outreach regarding their properties to communities that otherwise might not have learned about the opportunity to live there. The proposed rule would repeal these regulations, which are designed to ensure that federally assisted housing providers do not market available housing to only certain groups as had been done in the past to maintain racially segregated neighborhoods.
“The legacy of discrimination and segregation in housing continues to negatively affect the overall health of communities and limits the potential of neighborhoods throughout the United States,” Raoul said. “HUD’s proposed rule change is a step backward and runs counter to the agency’s guiding principles and legal requirements that it should actively seek to combat segregation and work for fair housing for all.”
Historically, government at all levels throughout the United States, along with private developers and mortgage lending institutions, played an active role in creating segregated living patterns, which perpetuated inequalities in access to opportunity. The highest disparities are experienced by Black households — a byproduct of systemic racism and policies that targeted Black people and neighborhoods home to primarily Black people. Data on fair housing complaints confirm that proactive fair housing measures, including in advertising, are as vital as ever. In 2023, record high levels of fair housing complaints were submitted to HUD, the U.S. Department of Justice, and other fair housing organizations; the annual number of complaints has consistently risen.
The Fair Housing Act, through AFHM regulations, requires HUD and recipients of federal funds from HUD to administer their programs in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing by ensuring that the agency and its program participants take meaningful actions to overcome patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, eliminate disparities in opportunities and foster inclusive communities. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, including gender and sexual orientation, familial status, and disability.
AFHM regulations require that owners and developers of HUD-subsidized housing have marketing programs in place to reach groups that are protected from discrimination by the Fair Housing Act and are not as likely to apply for such housing. Housing providers must then select methods of outreach and advertising that are designed to reach those communities. The AFHM regulations do not dictate which tenants an owner must select for a unit, and nothing prohibits landlords from advertising through other media that reach different populations as well.
In the letter, the attorneys general argue that the proposed repeal of these longstanding regulations is in direct contradiction with the mandate of the Fair Housing Act — to affirmatively further fair housing through ensuring non-discriminatory marketing practices. The letter notes that HUD has not provided a proposed replacement rule, an explanation of how HUD will affirmatively ensure that covered program participants are not engaging in discriminatory and unlawful housing marketing practices in violation of federal law, or legally sufficient or evidence-based justifications for this total reversal of over 50 years of federal housing policy and law.
Attorney General Raoul was joined in sending the letter by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.
