While I always try to avoid political commentary here at the Fair Housing Defense Blog (as the reader comments can be, shall we say, colorful), I wanted to note a couple of housing related points with the Trump Administration in place now for just under six months. First, Dr. Ben Carson was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Secretary of the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) back in the Spring. While Dr. Carson admittedly did not have experience in federal housing policy, the fact that he is literally a brain surgeon (in other words, he is an exceptionally smart man) has to be a good thing. Secretary Carson undertook a listening tour as he visited various HUD supported affordable housing communities to learn more about HUD’s mission (at one building, Secretary Carson did get stuck in an elevator, which was slightly amusing). Those of us who follow housing policy remain alert for any substantive changes that the administration proposes – whether concerning criminal background screens, disparate impact, affirmatively promoting fair housing, occupancy standards, or anything else. The answer on the policy side, at least to date, has been not much has been changed. Similarly, while it is too early to see if there are any fair housing enforcement priority changes, it feels as if the number of cases settled by HUD (at least with respect to the number of HUD press releases) is a little down. As soon as more detailed numbers get released, I will report back.
Next, while the Administration proposed a budget for HUD in fiscal 2018 which contained significant dollar reductions, those possible changes come with two important caveats: (1) Congress has the final say on HUD’s budget as the Administration’s proposal is only a recommendation; and (2) the Administration’s budget seeks $65.3 million to support HUD’s fair housing mission, the same funding level provided in the prior three years. Indeed, for those of us involved in fair housing – this is the number that remains important. At the end of the day, I suspect HUD’s budget for the next fiscal year will ultimately get included in what is known as a Continuing Resolution and that the funding levels will be close to those in place for the current year. And even if HUD’s fair housing budget gets cut, management would still need to ensure we comply with applicable state, city, and county fair housing laws. I would also expect local fair housing advocacy groups to file additional complaints/lawsuits related to information compiled by fair housing testers.
What does it all mean? Professional apartment management must continue to follow the important fair housing laws as we do each and every day.
Just A Thought.
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