Ohio City’s HCV Program Chosen for Civil Rights Review

HUD has recently selected a public housing authority located in Middletown, Ohio, for an on-site three-day Civil Rights Compliance Review. HUD, the Office of Fair and Equal Opportunity, and Columbus Fair Housing Center chose the Middletown Public Housing Agency for the review and will focus on the agency’s Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program. Among other things, the review will determine if the city is complying with the nondiscrimination requirements of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and implementing regulations of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

The review will cover the city’s administration of the Section 8 program. The city has been asked to prepare documents pertaining to the program, and compile census, program, and demographic data. The city had planned to reduce its 1,662 Section 8 vouchers by 1,008 over the next four to five years. The city also sent a letter saying it won’t back away from its decision to cut the vouchers unless HUD could show that the city was violating any laws or regulations by doing so. HUD is expected to provide the city with a response soon.