New HUD Guidance on Subsidized Multifamily Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development released new guidance to reinforce requirements that HUD-subsidized multifamily housing’s marketing and application processes be designed to be inclusive of persons of all races and national origins.

The two new guidance pieces, “Guidance on Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in Marketing and Application Processing at Subsidized Multifamily Properties” and “ Implementation Sheet for HUD’s Title VI Guidance,” clarify how certain marketing, rental application processing, and waitlist management practices can perpetuate segregation or otherwise discriminate in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The guidance is designed to assist property owners in understanding and implementing more inclusive practices less likely to produce discriminatory results.

The guidance applies to the more than 1.5 million HUD-subsidized multifamily units nationwide, including Project-Based Rental Assistance, Section 202, and Section 811 subsidized units.