Best Practices: Keep Records to Show You Followed Marketing Plan

When it comes to marketing your site, HUD expects that you will do what you said you were going to do when you completed your Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan (AFHMP), Form HUD-935.2A.

The AFHMP applies to all HUD-assisted sites of five or more units. The plan must describe an affirmative action program to attract residents to the housing initially, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, or national origin. In addition, the plan requires you to specify and then target demographic groups who are least likely to know about or apply for housing at your site. The plan also should include information on the applicants, your nondiscriminatory hiring policy, your training program on nondiscrimination for rental staff, and your display of the HUD Equal Housing Opportunity logo and slogan.

A good way to demonstrate that you're following the rules and your plan is to keep comprehensive records showing exactly what you've done. Not only can this help to prove that you marketed your site without discriminating, but it also can help protect you against claims of discrimination by prospects and applicants you turn away. Useful records for this purpose include copies of media and marketing materials, records of marketing activities conducted, and documentation of any special marketing activities undertaken.

Along with keeping records of each different type of marketing activity you engage in, you can maintain a monthly calendar of your activities. That gives you an overall record of what you've done each month, at a single glance. Click here for a simple calendar log. You also can use online calendar software to keep track of your marketing activities on a daily basis.