August 4, 2015
The Department of Housing and Urban Development have announced a large amount of funding that has become available to fight housing discrimination.
According to HUDNo. 15-097, HUD, ” …is making $39.2 million available to fight housing discrimination under HUD’s 2015 Fair Housing Initiatives Program(FHIP) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA). This year’s funding notice also creates six new types of grants that support fair housing capacity building, education and outreach activities, and testing in rental and sales transactions.”
Fair Housing laws affect all types of housing transactions including FHA mortgages. The $39 million is being made available to “support organizations interested in the enforcement of fair housing laws and policies as well as educating the public, housing providers, and local governments about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act” according to the press release.
“The funding is part of the Department’s ongoing commitment to giving our fair housing partners the vital financial resources they need to create sustainable, inclusive communities of opportunity,” said HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Gustavo Velasquez, who was quoted in the press release. He adds, “Organizations dedicated to this work are an essential component of our efforts to put an end to unlawful housing discrimination and these grants make their work possible.”
The money will be used for a variety of purposes, but there are some new grants designed to fight patterns of discrimination as well as discrimination against applicants based on gender issues or perceived gender issues. The press release has a list of new grant purposes that includes the following:
–Special Emphasis Component Up to $350,000 per grant These grants will strengthen the enforcement activities and capacity building efforts of organizations and help them pursue cases that investigate systemic patterns of discrimination.
–National/Regional Testing Component Up to $500,000 per grant These grants will enable organizations to develop and support a national/regional testing program to identify discrimination in rental and sales transactions.
–National Programs Component Sex Discrimination – $500,000 per grant Organizations will use this grant to conduct education and outreach projects that counter sex discrimination in housing, including domestic violence, sexual harassment, gender stereotyping or discrimination based on gender identity.
–National Programs Component Sex/Familial Status Discrimination – $500,000 per grant This grant will enable organizations to conduct education and outreach projects that focus on one or more forms of sex or familial status discrimination.
–National Programs Component National Origin Discrimination – $500,000 per grant Organizations will use this grant to address one or more forms of national origin discrimination in rental, sales, or lending.
–National Programs Component Disability Discrimination – $500,000 per grant This grant will enable organizations, using the results of recent discrimination studies, to conduct education and outreach activities that address discrimination based on disability, particularly discrimination experienced by individuals with mobility impairments, hearing impairments, and cognitive or mental disabilities.
For more information or to apply for funding, you can read the HUD Grant Opportunity entry on this initiative at the FHA/HUD official site.
Do you have questions about FHA loans or refinance loans? Ask us in the comments section. All comments are held for review.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
Browse by Date: