Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing

Course Details

Since 1968, the Fair Housing Act has been implemented by:

• Enforcing anti-discrimination requirements through legal actions brought by HUD or the Department of Justice; and

• Requiring that local governments that accept money from the federal government agree to take additional steps to remove or change public actions that contribute to concentrations of poor quality housing, especially along disproportionate and inequitable racial, ethnic, and other protected population lines. This second obligation is referred to as the duty to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH).

Find out how those requirements have been applied and implemented, what steps different presidential administrations have taken to strengthen (or weaken) legal enforcement over time, and what local government strategies appear to be effective in actually reducing the government’s contribution to concentrations of poverty, poor housing, and disadvantaged households. Learn to identify specific, practical, and legal actions — upheld by the courts — that can achieve housing quality, availability, and equity.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand differences between legal obligations applicable to all local governments under the Fair Housing Act and additional obligations to AFFH that are applicable to governments that accept federal money.
• Explore the sources of planning data available to identify where communities have poor quality housing and face other equity concerns that should be targeted by AFFH strategies.
• Learn the many ways in which local governments can proactively remove barriers to fair housing and which approaches seem to be most effective in achieving equity goals.