On April 21, HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) issued an 8-page document titled “Guidance on Compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in Marketing and Application Processing at Subsidized Multifamily Properties.” Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs receiving federal financial assistance.

When racial, ethnic, or national origin groups are underrepresented at a property compared to their representation among qualified housing-seekers in the market area, housing providers must evaluate how their marketing, application processing, and waitlist management processes contribute to this disparity and consider less-discriminatory alternatives.

The guidance comes on the heels of HUD’s April 13, 2022, announcement of an FHEO racial equity agreement with a Section 202 housing provider. HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity initiated a Title VI compliance review of the Bronx-based development based on information showing disproportionately low participation of Black, Hispanic, and Asian residents relative to the housing market. The review was initiated to ensure that eligible renters were not discriminated against in opportunities to learn about, apply for, and reside in HUD-subsidized housing on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

HUD’s April 13^th agreement mandates the creation of a new waitlist after robust marketing to those least likely to apply. The agreement also requires fair housing investments, advertising and outreach investments, and other adjustments to marketing policies.

The guidance document gives background on discrimination across the HUD-assisted Multifamily portfolio and describes how certain marketing, rental application processing, and waitlist management practices may perpetuate segregation and disparate outcomes by race, color, or national origin. The guidance also discusses more inclusive practices that are less likely to have discriminatory results.

The guidance discusses marketing strategies in-depth and goes on to review rental application and screening procedures, as well as waitlist management. To assist housing providers, HUD’s Office of Multifamily Housing Programs posted an Implementation Sheet for the new Title VI Guidance.

Marketing Practices

The guidance reads: “Certain marketing practices may not equitably reach potential applicants across the market area. For example, reliance on word-of-mouth marketing (without additional efforts designed to reach a broader applicant pool) can disadvantage potential applicants who are not connected to the familiar or social networks of existing residents.”

Instead, the MFH implementation sheet recommends distributing detailed flyers and blank applications to several local organizations across the housing market area with ties to a wide range of prospective applicants, among other strategies.

Application Distribution and Acceptance Procedures

The guidance cautions against application procedures that limit accessibility. For example, requiring applications or preapplications to be picked up and/or submitted in-person, or only accept applications for a narrow window, should be avoided. According to the MFH implementation sheet, a housing provider could allowing for blank applications or preapplications to be printed from a property’s website or to be picked up from a drop box outside of regular business hours.

Applicant Screening and Waitlist Management

The implementation sheet reads: “Applicant screening and waitlist management practices also may create unnecessary barriers to housing opportunity or be inconsistently applied in practice, in a way that disproportionately excludes individuals based on their race, color, or national origin.”

Consistent with agency-wide efforts to reduce barriers to housing for persons with a criminal history, the implementation sheet says that when evaluating criminal records, housing providers must not use arrest records alone, and should consider the nature, severity, and recency of conviction records, as well as extenuating circumstances of any criminal convictions.