Stronger Federal Enforcements Needed To Uphold Fair Housing Laws

Fair housing activities of federal agencies are largely covered by two civil rights acts. A review of the compliance and enforcement activities of federal housing agencies showed that their efforts have not been effective in identifying and eliminating discriminatory practices and seeking timely and appropriate settlements of complaints.

Applicants seeking housing under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) public housing and subsidized rental housing programs are not provided an equal opportunity on a first-come, first-serve basis as recommended by the agency's own title VI regulations. Applicants desiring a unit are allowed to refuse an unlimited number of offered units without being moved down on the list. This occurs because public housing authorities are not following the tenant selection plans, and subsidized rental housing projects are not required to maintain such plans. Although HUD and the Farmers Home Administration issued nearly identical title VI regulations which prohibit segregation among those receiving federal assistance, the regulations are not similarly implemented. The agency's efforts to resolve discrimination complaints in the private sector have also been ineffective. GAO reviewed 332 complaints received by three regional offices and found that the agency was unable to resolve 247 for lack of clear evidence of discrimination. The agency was able to determine that discrimination occurred in 57 cases; 36 cases were resolved. Housing and/or monetary compensation were received by 21 of the 36 complainants.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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