From: RegBlog | Penn Program on Regulation
The Fair Housing Act of 1968 was enacted not only to ban outright racial discrimination, but to combat residential segregation—a goal which critics have argued still has yet to be achieved 50 years later. But the Obama Administration is seeking to change that. Last week, it announced a new regulation designed to eradicate racially segregated housing patterns and foster integration in communities across the nation.
The new rule, issued by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), requires communities receiving HUD funding to use HUD-provided data to identify potential local fair housing issues, and then to develop approved goals to address these issues. In so doing, the rule—called the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) final rule—seeks to clarify obligations imposed under the Fair Housing Act and to provide communities with the resources to meet them. At its core, the rule aims to address the Fair Housing Act’s perceived failings: a lack of specific guidance for compliance and weak enforcement mechanisms.