The Office of Policy Development and Research (PD&R) recently hosted a panel discussion on the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC) and how it relates to fair housing issues. LIHTC is the federal government's largest current program for the production of affordable housing. Tax credits are distributed by State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) to developers for the construction or rehabilitation of affordable rental housing.

The year 2010 marked a crucial milestone in the quest for fair housing. In addition to its longstanding duty to monitor specific instances of discrimination, HUD began to more proactively address the regulatory and structural frameworks that give rise to discriminatory practices.

This past December, HUD’s Office of Policy Development and Research, Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration on Aging, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights co-hosted the first-ever LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] Elder Housing Summit at HUD headquarters in Washington, DC. The landmark event included panel discussions by leading professionals who are working to improve the lives of LGBT elders by addressing the disproportionate challenges facing the population.

Set for a late 2012 completion, a new development in the Melrose neighborhood of the South Bronx — situated on formerly contaminated land in a historically distressed neighborhood — is a prime example of quality affordable, sustainable, and mixed-income housing. Known as Via Verde, the project was the winning entry of the New Housing New York (NHNY) Design Ideas Competition of 2004, sponsored by the New York chapter of the American Institute of Architects and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

This study examines the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) from its inception in 1987 through 2006. The goals of this study are to create a history of FHIP, describe its grantees, analyze the types of grants awarded through the program, and analyze the outcomes of cases investigated by grant recipients, especially the comparison of the outcomes of cases referred by the grantees with those referred by others. It is useful to note the limitations of this study. It is primarily a process study of FHIP based on interviews with FHIP grantee organizations. Outcomes are reported based on cases that are referred to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The study does not include reviews of cases not referred to HUD and does not assess the eficiency of FHIP or effects of the program.