Key Definitions

Module 8.1: Introduction to Implementing a Fair Housing Plan

Once a Program Participant has conducted Fair Housing Planning and set fair housing goals, the Program Participant should move toward the implementation of those goals, which involves taking meaningful actions to affirmatively further fair housing. Program Participants that submit a Consolidated Plan should incorporate the goals set in the Fair Housing Plan into their Consolidated Plans, and PHAs should incorporate the goals set in the Fair Housing Plan into their PHA Plans. In addition to incorporating the fair housing goals into subsequent HUD planning processes, meaningful action should be taken that is designed to achieve a material positive change that affirmatively furthers fair housing.

HUD encourages Program Participants to collaborate on Fair Housing Planning. Specifically, a PHA that conducts and submits its own Fair Housing Plan is encouraged to coordinate with the local government responsible for preparing a Consolidated Plan, as well as states and other PHAs as relevant. Effective coordination may increase the likelihood that the local government’s Strategic Plan and Annual Action Plan will include actions needed to address the fair housing goals identified in the PHA’s Fair Housing Plan. Similarly, Consolidated Plan Program Participants are encouraged to coordinate with PHAs and states to address the fair housing goals identified in their Fair Housing Plan.

Program Participants are encouraged to update their Fair Housing Plans every 3-5 years consistent with their Consolidated Planning or PHA Planning cycle. Updates may include:

• Evaluating the completion of previous goals
• Updating data and evaluating the current fair housing landscape
• Revising previous goals and/or setting new goals based on that updated analysis

Module 8.2: Incorporating Goals from a Fair Housing Plan into Consolidated Plans and PHA Plans

The goals set in the Fair Housing Plan should be incorporated into subsequent Consolidated Plans and PHA Plans. This ensures that Consolidated Plans and PHA Plans reflect and implement the Program Participant’s fair housing priorities and goals in addition to other programmatic goals.

Consolidated Plan Program Participants

Program Participants that submit a Consolidated Plan should incorporate the fair housing goals identified in the Fair Housing Plan in both their Strategic Plan and Annual Action Plan. Program Participants should incorporate meaningful fair housing actions into subsequent plans:

• Consolidated Plans. Identify strategies to achieve the fair housing goals set in the Fair Housing Plan.
• Annual Action Plans. Commit to actions and allocating funds, as needed, to follow through on the strategies set in the Consolidated Plan in order to achieve fair housing goals set in the Fair Housing Plan.
• Consolidated Annual Performance Evaluation Reports (CAPER). This approach enables planned, measurable outcomes so as to allow for more efficient reporting of achievement and tracking in the CAPER.

Public Housing Agency Program Participants

PHAs should incorporate the fair housing priorities and goals identified in their Fair Housing Plan into their PHA Plans, including:

• 5-Year Plans. Identify strategies to achieve the fair housing goals set in the Fair Housing Plan.
• Annual Plans. Commit to actions and allocating funds, as needed, to follow through on the strategies set in the 5-Year Plan in order to achieve fair housing goals set in the Fair Housing Plan.

Outside of the Consolidated Plan or PHA Plan, Program Participants are encouraged to maintain thorough records of their efforts to affirmatively further fair housing. This documentation can help support Program Participants’ AFFH certifications under the Interim Final Rule and can also help Program Participants build upon their previous AFFH activities. Program Participants are encouraged to maintain records on the following:

• Information and records relating to the Program Participant’s Fair Housing Plan and any significant revisions to the Fair Housing Plan, including, but not limited to, statistical data, studies, diagnostic tools, policies, and procedures, or other documents relating to the preparation of the Fair Housing Plan.
• Records demonstrating Community Participation, including a list of the organizations involved in the development of the Fair Housing Plan, summaries or transcripts of public meeting or hearings, written public comments, public notices and other correspondence, distribution lists, surveys, and interviews, as applicable.
• Records demonstrating the actions the Program Participant has taken to affirmatively further fair housing, including activities carried out in furtherance of the goals set in the Fair Housing Plan and reporting in the Consolidated Plan and PHA Plan.
• Where courts or an agency of the United States government or of a state government has found that the Program Participant has violated any applicable nondiscrimination and equal opportunity requirement or any applicable civil rights-related program requirement, documentation related to the underlying judicial or administrative finding and affirmative measures that the Program Participant has taken in response.
• Documentation relating to the Program Participant’s efforts to ensure that housing and community development activities (including those assisted under programs administered by HUD) are in compliance with applicable nondiscrimination and applicable civil rights-related program requirements.
• Any other evidence relied upon by the Program Participant to support its affirmatively furthering fair housing certification.

Module 8.3: Leveraging Fair Housing Planning in Other Planning Documents

To take meaningful action and achieve material positive change, Program Participants may broaden the impact and effectiveness of their Fair Housing Planning by seeking out opportunities to align their fair housing goals with other local, regional, or state planning documents and policy tools. The following other community planning processes may be beneficial to coordinate with Fair Housing Planning.

Local Comprehensive Plans

Many communities have comprehensive plans that guide their long-term growth, typically across several decades. Comprehensive plans, also known as master, general, vision, or town plans, are broad in scope and cover a wide range of issues that affect how a community grows, including land use, economic and community development, transportation, infrastructure, housing, municipal facilities, and the environment.

Area Plans

In contrast to comprehensive plans, area plans are narrow in scope and geographic reach, such as neighborhood or corridor plans. As with comprehensive plans, area plans can help shape the long-term development of housing, transportation, and businesses.

Zoning and Land Use Ordinances

A community’s zoning and land use ordinances, regulations, and processes play a critical role in determining the amount, type, and location of housing. Program Participants that identify provisions of zoning or land use ordinances, regulations, or processes that create, contribute to, perpetuate, or increase the severity of fair housing issues are encouraged to raise the issue with other staff and elected officials to begin the process of amending or rewriting the relevant ordinances, regulations, or processes. While exclusionary zoning polices can intentionally or unintentionally limit housing choice, inclusionary zoning policies can promote racial integration and equal access to opportunity by requiring a certain percent of housing units developed at an affordable price range.

State Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Qualified Allocation Plans (QAPs)

LIHTC is the principal method used to develop new affordable housing nationwide. LIHTC is administered through state housing finance agencies (which in some cases delegate authority to local housing finance agencies) that are allocated a portion of the total available credits. Annually, state and local administrators of LIHTC develop QAPs that determine how applications for LIHTCs will be prioritized. These plans affect the types and locations of affordable housing that will be financed through the tax credits. To the extent that the location of housing previously developed through LIHTC has contributed to a community’s fair housing issues – or new developments funded through LIHTC could help address a community’s existing fair housing issues – Program Participants are encouraged to meet with LIHTC administrators to ensure they consider the fair housing implications.

Local, Regional, and State Transportation Plans

To the extent that the Fair Housing Plan identifies issues related to public transportation, employment, and education access, Program Participants are encouraged to review local, regional, and state transportation plans to identify opportunities to align fair housing priorities and goals set in the Fair Housing Plan with planned transportation investments.

Education Plans

The location of proficient schools and the methods used for assigning students to those schools has critical implications for families’ housing choices and access to opportunity. In some communities, students are assigned to neighborhood schools, while others may offer families a choice of schools for children to attend. To the extent a Program Participant’s Fair Housing Plan identifies improving the performance of schools attended by members of protected classes under the Fair Housing Act as a fair housing issue, Program Participants are encouraged to consult with the leadership of local school systems to set appropriate goals to improve educational opportunity for all students, particularly those who are members of protected classes.

Emergency Preparedness Plans

State and local emergency management agencies plan to prevent, prepare, mitigate, respond, and recover from emergencies and disasters, working across all sectors of state, local, non-profit, and private industries. Emergency preparedness plans include efforts to rehabilitate or demolish structures and housing, and rebuild following disasters. Program Participants are encouraged to coordinate with emergency managers to ensure fair housing and civil rights are common goals.

Module 8.4: Post-Fair Housing Plan Timelines for Evaluation, Integration and Updating

After the Fair Housing Plan is complete, fair housing responsibilities do not end. Rather, following Fair Housing Planning, Program Participants enact their fair housing goals and take meaningful actions to affirmatively further fair housing. The process for Program Participants after a Fair Housing Plan is complete include the integration of the Fair Housing Plan into subsequent community plans, taking meaningful actions based on the goals set in the Fair Housing Plan, evaluating those goals and actions, and revising Fair Housing Plans every 3-5 years consistent with the Consolidated Plan or PHA Plan.

HUD Support and Technical Assistance

The AFFH Interim Final Rule reinstated a voluntary process by which HUD will assist Program Participants in complying with their AFFH obligations. Program Participants may submit their Fair Housing Plan to the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) for feedback and other technical assistance. However, Program Participants are not required to do so. The decision to submit a Fair Housing Plan for FHEO review is purely voluntary and is only intended to serve as a mechanism for FHEO to provide Program Participants with guidance and support. AFFH questions, voluntary submissions, or requests for technical assistance can be sent to AFFH@hud.gov.

Resources

• AFFH IFR Office Hours on Conducting and Reporting

Conclusion

Conclusion to Fair Housing Planning Toolkit: Fair Housing Planning and Local Control

Fair Housing Planning seeks to eliminate segregation and promote integration, overcome disparities in access to opportunity, maintain compliance with fair housing and civil rights requirements, and address other barriers to fair housing choice based on characteristics protected by the Fair Housing Act. The Fair Housing Plan is intended to help inform and guide local decision making in addressing physical, social, and economic problems related to fair housing including, addressing patterns of segregation and promoting actions that lead to integration, as well as addressing disparities in access to opportunity based on characteristics protected under the Fair Housing Act.

HUD recognizes that local governments, PHAs, states, and insular areas have not only the responsibility to identify the nature and extent of barriers to fair housing but have local data and knowledge, including information gleaned through Community Participation, that are invaluable to setting fair housing goals. Local governments, PHAs, states, and insular areas can all be involved in Fair Housing Planning to ensure meaningful actions to fulfill the obligation to affirmatively further the policies of the Fair Housing Act. Fair Housing Planning can help ensure that persons are not denied equal opportunities in connection with housing because of their race, color, national origin, religion, sex (including sexual orientation and gender identity), familial status, or disability. Fair Housing Planning can also help drive meaningful actions that overcome patterns of segregation and the denial of access to opportunity that are part of this nation’s history. To be effective, Fair Housing Planning should tackle tough issues. Fair Housing Planning affects the community as a whole, so all people in the community should have the opportunity to be at the table and participate in making those decisions.

Ultimately, Fair Housing Planning seeks to advance equity, especially for those who have been historically underserved, marginalized, discriminated against, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality. Fair Housing Planning is designed to help Program Participants be better positioned to meet their obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. Program Participants should use data, which may include HUD-provided data, local data, and local knowledge. The data, analysis, and fair housing goals will vary depending on local circumstance. Therefore, the various strategies and policy options adopted by Program Participants to effectuate the goals set in their Fair Housing Plan will depend fundamentally on the local context and the particular circumstances.

This Toolkit places an emphasis on goalsetting in order to assist jurisdictions in developing “meaningful actions” by thoughtfully setting and prioritizing reasonable and manageable fair housing goals that aim to address and overcome fair housing issues in a community. Thoughtful fair housing goals should be incorporated into subsequent community planning processes that will ultimately establish strategies, actions, and funding priorities. Thus, this Toolkit provides Program Participants with information to help think strategically about realistic goals that will achieve strong fair housing outcomes and ultimately affirmatively further fair housing.