During the first term of the Obama Administration, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has reaffirmed a broad commitment to fair housing. However, while fair housing enforcement at the agency has increased noticeably, the task of reforming HUD’s own programs has been painstakingly slow. A flurry of positive activity inside the agency during the first term has not yet been reflected in final program regulations or guidance, even though some of this work has been underway for years. For this reason, our assessment of HUD’s progress is mixed – but we are still hopeful that the agency’s leadership will be able to expedite the completion of these needed reforms early in the second term. This review focuses on HUD’s “affirmatively furthering fair housing” (AFFH) mandate to promote racial integration2 in nine broad program areas at HUD, plus the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, where HUD shares regulatory authority with the Treasury Department. Part II of this review (coming soon) will examine HUD’s progress in enforcing the AFFH mandate among its grantees, including state and local governments and public housing agencies. We hope that this review provides a fair documentation of how far the Department has come, and how much remains to be done to reverse the legacy of segregation in federal housing programs.
