[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 42 (Friday, March 2, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13075-13076]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-5046]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4651-N02]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request 
Housing Discrimination Information Form HUD-903 HUD-903A

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement concerning the 
Housing Discrimination Information Form HUD-903 HUD-903A will be 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting 
public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comments due date: May 1, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to Hope File, Department of Housing 
and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 5228, Washington, DC 
20410. Telephone number (202) 619-8041.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hope File, Department of Housing and 
Urban Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410, telephone 
(202) 619-8041. (This is not a toll-free number). Hearing or speech-
impaired individuals may access this number TTY by calling the toll-
free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8399.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is submitting the proposed 
information collection to OMB for review, as required by the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended).
    This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affecting agencies concerning the proposed collection of information 
for: The collection of information relative to the Fair Housing Act. 
The Act prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of dwellings, 
and the availability of real estate-related transactions based on race, 
color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap or familial status.
    Any person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory 
housing practice or who believes that he or she will be irrevocably 
injured by a discriminatory housing practice may file

[[Page 13076]]

a complaint no later than one year after the alleged discriminatory 
housing practice occurs. The HUD-903 was developed to provide for 
uniformity in the documents that, by statute, must be furnished to the 
person(s) against whom complaints are filed as well as for the 
convenience of the public. The HUD regulation states what each 
complaint should contain. For the purposes of meeting the statutory 
time requirement for filing complaints (1 year), initially these 
complaints do not have to be submitted on the form that HUD provides. 
The Housing Discrimination Complaint Form HUD-903 (English) and HUD-
903A (Spanish) may be filed by mail, in person or by telephone with the 
Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO), Department of 
Housing and Urban Development. FHEO staff uses the information provided 
by this form as the basis for the Department's determination of 
jurisdiction over a complaint's allegations.

Notice of Submission of Proposed Information Collection to OMB

    Title of Proposal: Housing Discrimination Information Form.
    Office: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity.
    OMB Control Number: 2529-0011.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
Housing Discrimination Information Form is necessary for the collection 
of information from person(s) who wish to file a housing discrimination 
complaint under the Fair Housing Act (the Act). The Act makes it 
unlawful to discriminate in housing and residential real estate-related 
transactions based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, 
familial; status or handicap (disability).
    Any person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory 
housing practice, or who believes that he or she will be injured by a 
discriminatory practice that is about to occur, may bring their claim 
to HUD no later than one year after the alleged discriminatory housing 
practice takes place. The new form provides for uniformity in 
collecting information needed to contact person(s) who file a 
complaint, and for making initial assessments regarding HUD's 
jurisdiction under the Act. Subsequently, such data is furnished to 
person(s) against whom complaints are filed, as required by statute.
    Agency form numbers, if applicable: Form HUD-903 (English) and HUD-
903A (Spanish).
    Members of affected public: Individuals or households, businesses 
or other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions, State, Local or 
Tribal Government.
    Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency or 
response, and hours of responses: The Department estimates that during 
the course of a year, approximately 10,750 complaints are submitted to 
HUD. It is estimated that it takes a complainant approximately 20 
minutes to complete the form. These forms are completed one time by 
each complainant. Therefore the total number of annual burden hours for 
this form is 3583 hours. (10,750  x  1 (frequency)  x  20 minutes = 
3583 hours.)
    There is no annualized cost to complainants. Complainants submit 
the form to HUD by mail using a postage-paid mailer at no cost to the 
complainant. They also may complete the form electronically via the 
Internet.
    Status of the proposed information collection: Reinstatement of a 
currently approved revised collection to reflect the collection of 
information from person(s) wishing to file a housing discrimination 
complaint.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35, as amended.

    Dated: February 16, 2001.
David H. Enzel,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Enforcement and Programs.
[FR Doc. 01-5046 Filed 3-1-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-28-M