On January 5, 2018, HUD effectively suspended implementation of the agency’s 2015 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing regulation. It did this by issuing a notice delaying program participants’ submission of their required fair housing plans (known as Assessments of Fair Housing or AFHs) until after October 31, 2020. The submission of these fair housing plans is tied to the 5-year cycle under which program participants must submit their spending plans (known as Consolidated Plans, or ConPlans), most of which must be submitted before October 31, 2020. HUD’s delay means that most program participants will not be required to submit a fair housing plan for HUD review until 2024 or 2025.
On May 8, NFHA, along with Texas Appleseed and Texas Housers, filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, D.C., challenging HUD’s suspension of the AFFH rule as a violation of the Administrative Procedure Act. At the same time, the groups asked the court to grant a preliminary injunction requiring HUD to reinstate the rule.