Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) Final Rule

Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) is a legal requirement that federal agencies and federal grantees further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act. This obligation to affirmatively further fair housing has been in the Fair Housing Act since 1968 (for further information see Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, 42 U.S.C. 3608 and Executive Order 12892). HUD's AFFH rule provides an effective planning approach to aid program participants in taking meaningful actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, and foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination. As provided in the rule, AFFH means "taking meaningful actions, in addition to combating discrimination, that overcome patterns of segregation and foster inclusive communities free from barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected characteristics. Specifically, affirmatively furthering fair housing means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming racially and ethnically concentrated areas of poverty into areas of opportunity, and fostering and maintaining compliance with civil rights and fair housing laws. The duty to affirmatively further fair housing extends to all of a program participant's activities and programs relating to housing and urban development."

Learn More About the Fair Housing Planning Process Under the AFFH Rule.

AFFH News & Announcements

• Now Available: Interim Guidance for Program Participants on Status of Assessment Tools and Submission Options
  Date Posted: January 19, 2017
• Notice of the Availability of the Revised Assessment Tool for Local Governments Published in Federal Register
  Date Posted: January 13, 2017
• Notice of the Availability of the Assessment Tool for Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) Published in Federal Register
  Date Posted: January 13, 2017
• Notice of Upcoming Changes to the AFFH Data and Mapping Tool and the AFFH User Interface
  Date Posted: January 12, 2017
• New Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Tool URL
  Date Posted: December 19, 2016
• HUD Publishes the Deadline Extension of AFH Submissions for Grantees That Receive a CDBG Grant of $500,000 or Less
  Date Posted: October 27, 2016