NLIHC has prepared “Preliminary Overview of AFFH Equity Plan Submission and HUD Review and Compliance Procedures,” the latest in a series of briefs providing initial overviews of the proposed affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH) regulation. In addition, NLIHC has augmented its previous brief (see Memo, 2/21), “Preliminary Overview of the AFFH Equity Plan,” adding two sections. One section outlines the requirement to incorporate the Equity Plan’s fair housing goals into a Consolidated Plan or Public Housing Agency Plan. The other section outlines provisions regarding revising an accepted Equity Plan (for example, following a disaster). Each brief includes suggestions for improvements while also voicing concerns about certain provisions. NLIHC will continue to produce briefs describing and analyzing other aspects of the proposed AFFH regulation.
The new brief, “Preliminary Overview of AFFH Equity Plan Submission and HUD Review and Compliance Procedures,” outlines three elements of the proposed AFFH regulation. “Submission Requirements” presents a timeline indicating when “program participants” (local and state jurisdictions that must submit a Consolidated Plan and public housing agencies (PHAs) that must submit a PHA Plan) will be expected to submit their initial AFFH Equity Plans. HUD’s scheme is to require the largest program participants to submit the inaugural Equity Plans because HUD assumes they have the greatest capacity to engage in the new process. Depending on when a final AFFH rule is published and on the size of a program participant, it could be many years before most program participants will be required to submit an Equity Plan. In the meantime, program participants will continue to submit some form of fair housing plan. HUD is not prescribing the format of these interim fair housing plans: they can take the form of an Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice (AI), as was required between 1995 and 2015, or an Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH), as was established by the 2015 AFFH rule before being abruptly ended by the Trump administration, during which few program participants were required even to prepare an AFH.
“Review of Equity Plan” describes HUD’s process for reviewing submitted Equity Plans. As a part of a greatly improved transparency process, HUD will post an Equity Plan submitted by a program participant to a HUD-maintained website. The public will have 60 days to send comments directly to HUD about the submitted Equity Plan, and HUD will be required to consider public comments when reviewing an Equity Plan. HUD will have 100 days to decide whether to accept an Equity Plan. If HUD determines that there are shortcomings with an Equity Plan, it will notify a program participant and suggest what can be done to achieve acceptance within a reasonable period of time. If HUD does not accept a revised Equity Plan, the procedures for revising and resubmitting continue to apply until a program participant’s revised Equity Plan is ultimately accepted.
NLIHC’s augmented “Preliminary Overview of the AFFH Equity Plan” adds provisions regarding the requirement to “incorporate” an Equity Plan’s fair housing goals, strategies, and meaningful actions in a local or state jurisdiction’s long-term (five- or three-year) Consolidated Plan (ConPlan) or a public housing agency’s Five-PHA Plan, as well as in each of these long-term plans’ annual updates. The purpose is to ensure the program participants’ overall housing and community development policies, programs, and use of federal funds are consistent with their obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. In addition, the augmented brief adds the proposed rule’s provisions regarding when an accepted Equity Plan must be revised.
HUD will accept comments until April 10. NLIHC will offer sample comment letters that advocates can consider using.
Read “Preliminary Overview of AFFH Equity Plan Submission and HUD Review and Compliance Procedures” at: https://bit.ly/3ZB2Spm
Read the expanded “Preliminary Overview of the AFFH Equity Plan” at: https://bit.ly/3ZhQzhP
Read “Preliminary Overview of AFFH Community Engagement and Complaint Processes” at: https://bit.ly/3EglHWy
Read NLIHC’s “Preliminary Highlights of Five Positive Overarching Features of the Proposed AFFH Rule,” first provided in Memo, 2/13.
Read NLIHC’s “Key Provisions of the 2023 Proposed AFFH Rule: Based on the Executive Summary and Background Sections of the Preamble,” first provided in Memo, 1/23.
More information about Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing is on page 8-12 of NLIHC’s newly released 2023 Advocates’ Guide and on NLIHC’s Racial Equity and Fair Housing website of Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing webpages.
Find HUD’s preview version of the proposed AFFH rule at: https://bit.ly/3wWsRLH
Find the Federal Register version of the proposed AFFH rule at: https://bit.ly/3RIYfa1