“America is contending with a variety of housing issues – including surging rents, increasing homelessness, and roadblocks to the American dream of homeownership. It is more important than ever to provide environments for every community to have quality housing within affordable reach,” wrote the Members. “Thankfully, HUD’s proposed AFFH rule would aid local government in creating a true fair housing environment. By forming goals for addressing fair housing concerns, in conjunction with the public that they serve, they will be empowered to take significant steps towards accountability, transparency, and oversight.”
This proposed rule was published in February of 2023 and remains a critical tool to address the country’s history of discriminatory housing policies. Although the Fair Housing Act was passed with the goal of prohibiting direct discrimination by landlords and real estate companies, patterns of segregation still exist.
The proposed AFFH rule would serve to close gaps in the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and ensure through Equity Plans that the law is being upheld to its full extent. These plans will help communities receiving housing funds, like local governments and housing non-profits, measure the impacts of housing discrimination and outline strategies to alleviate those issues. As working families contend with an affordability crisis, finalizing this rule would help to curb inequity, end homelessness, and create opportunity for historically disadvantaged communities.
The letter was signed by Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Becca Balint (VT-AL), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Greg Casar (TX-35), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Danny K. Dennis (IL-07), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Maxwell Frost (FL-10), Daniel S. Goldman (NY-10), Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Barbara Lee (CA-12), Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Scott H. Peters (CA-50), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Janice D. Schakowsky (IL-09), Adam B. Schiff (CA-30), Melanie A. Stansbury (NM-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and the full text can be read here.
