Regulations Developed to Prevent Discriminatory Housing Practices, Racially
Segregated Neighborhoods
BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today co-led a
coalition of 21 attorneys general in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) opposing a proposed rule that would rollback 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.
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 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 requires 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. Too often, the
populations that are the least likely to apply are those that are underrepresented in the area where
the property is located, especially affordable properties in high opportunity areas – areas that
offer residents enhanced access to economic mobility and improved living conditions. 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 – especially so
given the lack of:
- A 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; and
- Legally sufficient or evidence-based justifications for this total reversal of over 50 years
of federal housing policy and law.
The attorneys general hold a vested interest in ensuring equal access to housing and eradicating
discrimination in communities nationwide. The national housing crisis is driven by a shortage of
housing supply and skyrocketing unaffordability that disproportionately affects communities of
color. 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.
Attorney General Brown co-led today’s letter, along with the attorneys general of California and
New York, and was joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawai‛i,
Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
###