[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 245 (Tuesday, December 22, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70982-70987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-33568]
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Part V
Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Fair Housing Enforcement--Occupancy Standards; Statement of Policy;
Notice; Republication
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Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 245 / Tuesday, December 22, 1998 /
Notices
[[Page 70982]]
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-4405-N-01]
Fair Housing Enforcement--Occupancy Standards; Notice of
Statement of Policy
Note: This document, FR Doc. 98-33568, was originally published
on December 18, 1998 at 63 FR 70256-70257. It is being republished
to reproduce the camera copy of the appendix furnished by the
agency.
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, HUD.
ACTION: Notice of Statement of Policy.
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SUMMARY: This statement of policy advises the public of the factors
that HUD will consider when evaluating a housing provider's occupancy
policies to determine whether actions under the provider's policies may
constitute discriminatory conduct under the Fair Housing Act on the
basis of familial status (the presence of children in a family).
Publication of this notice meets the requirements of the Quality
Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998.
DATES: Effective date: December 18, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara Pratt, Director, Office of
Investigations, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Room
5204, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410, telephone (202)
708-2290 (not a toll-free number). For hearing- and speech-impaired
persons, this telephone number may be accessed via TTY (text telephone)
by calling the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339
(toll-free).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Statutory and Regulatory Background
Section 589 of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of
1998 (Pub. L. 105-276, 112 Stat. 2461, approved October 21, 1998,
``QHWRA'') requires HUD to publish a notice in the Federal Register
that advises the public of the occupancy standards that HUD uses for
enforcement purposes under the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601-3619).
Section 589 requires HUD to publish this notice within 60 days of
enactment of the QHWRA, and states that the notice will be effective
upon publication. Specifically, section 589 states, in relevant part,
that:
[T]he specific and unmodified standards provided in the March
20, 1991, Memorandum from the General Counsel of [HUD] to all
Regional Counsel shall be the policy of [HUD] with respect to
complaints of discrimination under the Fair Housing Act * * * on the
basis of familial status which involve an occupancy standard
established by a housing provider.
The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in any aspect of the
sale, rental, financing or advertising of dwellings on the basis of
race, color, religion, national origin, sex or familial status (the
presence of children in the family). The Fair Housing Act also provides
that nothing in the Act ``limits the applicability of any reasonable
local, State or Federal restrictions regarding the maximum number of
occupants permitted to occupy a dwelling.'' The Fair Housing Act gave
HUD responsibility for implementation and enforcement of the Act's
requirements. The Fair Housing Act authorizes HUD to receive complaints
alleging discrimination in violation of the Act, to investigate these
complaints, and to engage in efforts to resolve informally matters
raised in the complaint. In cases where the complaint is not resolved,
the Fair Housing Act authorizes HUD to make a determination of whether
or not there is reasonable cause to believe that discrimination has
occurred. HUD's regulations, implementing the Fair Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 3614) are found in 24 CFR part 100.
In 1991, HUD's General Counsel, Frank Keating, determined that some
confusion existed because of the absence of more detailed guidance
regarding what occupancy restrictions are reasonable under the Act. To
address this confusion, General Counsel Keating issued internal
guidance to HUD Regional Counsel on factors that they should consider
when examining complaints filed with HUD under the Fair Housing Act, to
determine whether or not there is reasonable cause to believe
discrimination has occurred.
This Notice
Through this notice HUD implements section 589 of the QHWRA by
adopting as its policy on occupancy standards, for purposes of
enforcement actions under the Fair Housing Act, the standards provided
in the Memorandum of General Counsel Frank Keating to Regional Counsel
dated March 20, 1991, attached as Appendix A.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 3535(d), 112 Stat. 2461.
Dated: December 14, 1998.
Eva M. Plaza,
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
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[FR Doc. 98-33568 Filed 12-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE BILLING CODE 4210-28-C