August 04, 2020

CLPHA opposes termination of AFFH rule

6 minutes

In today’s Daily Download episode, HousingWire covers a letter from the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities addressed to the Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, expressing opposition to the termination of the AFFH rule.

For some background on the story, here’s a summary of the article:

In a joint letter on Monday addressed to Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities and its counsel Reno and Cavanaugh expressed opposition to the the actions of the Trump administration regarding the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing rule, asking the organization to “withdraw its racist and illegal attempt to eliminate the rule.”

The 2015 Obama-era rule and provision of the 1968 Fair Housing Act was eliminated July 23 by HUD and the Trump administration. The rule originally required cities and towns that received federal funding to examine local housing patterns for racial bias and design a plan to address any measurable discrimination.

The CLPHA said they were deeply disturbed by an excerpt in a release from Carson that said after reviewing thousands of comments on the proposed changes to the rule, “we found it to be unworkable and ultimately a waste of time for localities to comply with.”

In the letter, CLPHA said it was the responsibility of HUD to administer the Fair Housing Act and further fair housing — stating the obligation to do so is an “integral tool to address historic discrimination” in the industry.

Following the main story, HousingWire covers an announcement from Zillow that it has resumed its iBuying efforts in all operating markets and a forecast from a Federal Reserve official that claims the nation needs to lockdown again to see robust economic activity.

The Daily Download examines the most compelling articles reported from the HousingWire newsroom. Each afternoon, we provide our listeners with a deeper look into the stories coming across our newsroom that are helping Move Markets Forward. Hosted by the HW team and produced by Alcynna Lloyd.

HousingWire articles covered in this episode:

CLPHA and others voice opposition to elimination of AFFH rule and reject its new substitute

Zillow Offers resumes buying houses in all operating markets

Fed official says lock down now or see sluggish recovery

...more