HUD Submits 2012-2013 Fair Housing Report to Congress

On Nov. 7, HUD submitted its Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Annual Report on the State of Fair Housing in America to Congress. The report includes information regarding the prevalence of different types of discrimination in housing and HUD’s actions to combat discrimination.

The report emphasized the great lengths HUD went to enforce federal fair housing laws, including proactively tracking cases that had national fair housing implications, initiating its own investigation of housing discrimination, and taking appropriate legal action against individuals and housing providers found to have violated the Fair Housing Act.

Fair housing enforcement by HUD alone included completing work on 3,577 housing discrimination complaints. Out of these cases, 40 percent were charged, settled, or referred to the Department of Justice. The resolutions of many of these cases helped to promote housing opportunities and secure reasonable accommodations, reasonable modifications, and monetary relief for individuals who believed that they had experienced discrimination.

HUD also used its partnerships with Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) agencies to conduct fair housing enforcement, capacity building, as well as education and outreach activities. With the help of FHIP grants, these groups have been able to help individuals who were unfairly denied housing.

According to the report, in the two-year FY 2012 and FY 2013 period, HUD and its Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) partners investigated 17,186 complaints, down from 19,509 complaints received during the FY 2010 and FY 2011 period. The number of Secretary-initiated complaints filed by HUD doubled from 18 during the FY 2010 and FY 2011 period to 36 during the FY 2012 and FY 2013 period. Secretary-initiated complaints are filed by the HUD Secretary and typically involve a broader systemic issue rather than a particular instance of discrimination.

Compared to the FY 2010 and FY 2011 period, the share of complaints regarding discrimination on the basis of disability increased considerably, while the proportion of complaints of discrimination on the basis of race declined. The shares of complaints regarding discrimination on the basis of familial status and national origin remained relatively constant. During the FY 2012 and FY 2013 period, victims of housing discrimination received more than $425 million in compensation.