HUD recently published the draft Assessment of Fair Housing (AFH) Tool for States and Insular Areas and accompanying Federal Register Notice. The tool is intended to guide states through the AFH process required under HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) regulation. AFFH requires all entities that receive HUD funding from HOME, Community Development Block Grants, Emergency Solutions Grants, and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS and public housing agencies (PHA) to take part in the AFH process.

The AFH replaces the Analysis of Impediments requirement, which HUD program participants previously undertook to assess impediments to housing choice. HUD already has finalized an assessment tool for local governments and intends to publish a third assessment tool for PHAs. The state tool requires states to include in their AFH: details about their community participation process; an assessment of past fair housing goals, actions, and strategies; a fair housing analysis of the state demographic makeup, extent to which segregation exists, and contributing factors to segregation; disparities in access to opportunity; disproportionate housing needs; and a statement of the state’s future fair housing goals and priorities. HUD estimates that the process, which states will conduct once every five years, will take approximately 1,500 hours of staff time.

Comments on the rule are due to HUD by May 10.