Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Fair Housing.
In addition to Chapter 1, Subchapter B of this title (relating to Accessibility
and Reasonable Accommodations), an Administrator must comply with all
applicable state and federal rules, statutes, or regulations, involving
accessibility including the Fair Housing Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the
Architectural Barriers Act as well as state and local building codes that
contain accessibility requirements; where local, state, or federal rules are
more stringent, the most stringent rules shall apply. Administrators receiving
Federal or state funds must comply with the Age Discrimination Act of
1975.
(b) Preferences.
Administrators of the Amy Young Barrier Removal Program may have a preference
prioritizing Households to prevent displacement from permanent housing, or to
foster returning to permanent housing related to inaccessible features of the
unit.
(c) Waitlist Policy. An
Administrator receiving Federal funds must have a Waitlist Policy. The Waitlist
Policy must be submitted to the Department each time the Administrator applies
for a new contract or a new type of activity. The Administrator may submit a
previously approved Waitlist Policy if no changes need to be made. The Waitlist
Policy must be submitted at a minimum of every three years if the Administrator
continues to accept new Applications. An Administrator receiving Federal funds
must submit a Waitlist Policy with an Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan
as described in subsection (d) of this section, relating to Affirmative
Marketing and Procedures.
(1) A Waitlist
Policy must include any Department approved preferences used in selecting
Applicants from the list. An Administrator that has defined preferences in its
written waitlist procedures or tenant selection plans, as applicable, will
employ preferences first and select Applicants from the waiting list that meet
the defined preference, still using the neutral random selection process. An
Administrator of a federally funded Program may only request to establish
preferences that are included in Department planning documents, specifically
the One Year Action Plan or Consolidated Plan, or as otherwise allowed for CDBG
funded Activities.
(2) An
Administrator must accept Applications from possible eligible Applicants for a
minimum of a 21 calendar day period. A first-come, first-served basis may not
be implemented during initial selection. At the close of the minimum 21
calendar day Application acceptance period, an Administrator must select
Applications through a neutral random selection process that the Administrator
described in its written policies and procedures. After the Administrator has
allowed for the minimum 21 calendar day period to accept Applications and has
used a neutral random selection process to assist Households, the Administrator
may accept Applications on a first-come, first-served basis if funds remain in
the current contract or Activity type. The Director of Programs, or designee,
may approve an exemption from the 21 calendar day period and the neutral random
selection process for Administrators of HOME disaster set-aside Tenant Based
Rental Assistance, as necessary to respond to the disaster.
(d) Affirmative Marketing and
Procedures. An Administrator receiving Federal funds must have an Affirmative
Fair Housing Marketing Plan (AFHMP) and satisfy the requirements of this
subsection. The AFHMP must be submitted to the Department each time the
Administrator applies for a new contract or a new type of activity, and reflect
marketing activities specific to the activity type. The Administrator may
submit a previously approved AFHMP if no changes need to be made. The plan must
be submitted at least one time in any three-year period if the Administrator
continues to accept new Applications.
(1)
Administrators must use the AFHMP form on the Department's website, HUD Form
935.2B, or create an equivalent AFHMP that includes:
(A) Identification of the population "least
likely to apply" for the Administrator's Program(s) without special outreach
efforts. Administrators may use the Department's single family affirmative
marketing tool to determine populations "least likely to apply." If
Administrators use another method to determine the populations "least likely to
apply" the AFHMP must provide a detailed explanation of the methodology used.
Persons with Disabilities must always be included as a population least likely
to apply.
(B) Identification of the
methods of outreach that will be used to attract persons identified as least
likely to apply. Outreach methods must include identification of a minimum of
three organizations with whom the Administrator plans to conduct outreach, and
whose membership or clientele consists primarily of protected class members in
the groups least likely to apply. If the Administrator is unable to locate
three such groups, the reason must be documented in the file.
(C) Identification of the methods to be used
for collection of data and periodic evaluation to determine the success of the
outreach efforts. If efforts have been unsuccessful, the Administrator's AFHMP
should be revised to include new or improved outreach efforts.
(D) Description of the fair housing trainings
required for Administrator staff, including delivery method, training provider
and frequency. For programs involved in homebuyer transactions, training must
include requirements of the Fair Housing Act relating to financing and
advertising, expected real estate broker conduct, as well as redlining and
zoning for all programs, and discriminatory appraisal practices.
(E) A description of applicable housing
counseling programs and educational materials that will be offered to
Applicants. An Administrator offering any TDHCA Mortgage Loan must require that
Households receive housing counseling prior to the date of the Mortgage Loan
closing. Housing counseling may take place in-person or by telephone.
Counseling may be provided online only if it is customized to the individual
Household. Counseling must address pre- and/or post-purchase topics, as
applicable to the Borrower's needs. A certificate of completion of counseling
must be dated not more than 12 months prior to the date of submission of
Mortgage Loan Application. Housing counseling must be provided by HUD-certified
counselors working for agencies participating in HUD's Housing Counseling
Program.
(2)
Applicability.
(A) Affirmative marketing is
required as long as an Administrator of federal funds is accepting Applications
or until all dwelling units are sold in the case of single family homeownership
programs.
(B) An Administrator that
currently has an existing list of Applicants and is not accepting new
Applications is not required to affirmatively market until preparing to accept
new Applications, but must develop a plan as described in this
subsection.
(C) An Administrator
providing assistance in more than one Service Area must provide a separate plan
for each market area in which the housing assistance will be
provided.
(D) Administrators must
include the Equal Housing Opportunity logo and slogan on any commercial and
other media used in marketing outreach.
(E) Copies of all outreach and media ads must
be kept and made available to the Department upon request.
(e) Mobility Counseling. An
Administrator offering homeownership or rental assistance that allows the
Household to relocate from their current residence must provide the Household
access to mobility counseling. For homeownership, mobility counseling may be
included in housing counseling and education trainings, and must cover the
criteria noted in paragraphs (1) - (3) of this subsection.
(1) Mobility counseling must, at a minimum,
include easily understandable information that the Household can use in
determining areas of opportunity within a Service Area, which must at minimum
include the following: which areas have lower poverty rates, average income
information of different areas, school ratings, crime statistics, available
area services, public transit, and other items the Administrator deems
appropriate in helping the Household make informed choices when identifying
housing.
(2) Mobility counseling
may be offered online or in-person, and must be customized for the
Household.
(3) An Administrator
must collect signed certifications from Applicants acknowledging they have
received mobility counseling.
(f) Denials. In the case of any Applicant's
denial from a program, a letter providing the specific reason for the denial
must be provided to the Applicant within fourteen calendar days of the denial.
Administrators must keep a record of all denied Applicants including the basis
for denial. Such records must be retained for the record retention period
described by the Agreement or other sources.
(g) Notice to Applicants. Administrator must
provide Applicants with eligibility criteria, which shall include the
procedures for requesting a reasonable accommodation to the Administrator's
rules, policies, practices, and services, including but not limited to, as it
relates to the Application process.
(h) A copy of all Reasonable Accommodation
requests and the Administrator's compliant responses to such requests, in
accordance with §
1.204 of this title (relating to
Reasonable Accommodations), must be kept as stated in §
1.409 of this title (relating to
Records Retention).
(i) Provisions
Related to Limited English Proficiency.
(1)
Administrator must have a Language Access Plan that ensures persons with
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) have meaningful access and an equal
opportunity to participate in services, activities, programs, and other
benefits.
(2) Materials that are
critical for ensuring meaningful access to an Administrator's major activities
and programs, including but not limited to Applications, mortgage loan
Applications, consent forms and notices of rights, should be translated for any
population considered least likely to apply that meets the threshold
requirements of Safe Harbor LEP provisions as provided by HUD and published on
the Department's website. Materials considered critical for ensuring meaningful
access should be outlined in the Administrator's Language Access
Plan.
(3) The Administrator is
required to translate Vital Documents under Safe Harbor guidelines, they must
include in their Language Access Plan how such translation services will be
provided (e.g., whether the Administrator will use voluntary or contracted
qualified translation services, telephonic services, or will identify bilingual
staff that will be available to assist Applicants in completing vital documents
and/or accessing vital services). If the Administrator plans to use bilingual
staff in its translation services, contact information for bilingual staff
members must be provided.
(4) The
Language Access Plan must be submitted to the Department upon request and be
available for review during monitoring visits. HUD and the Department of
Justice have issued requirements to ensure meaningful and appropriate access to
programs for LEP individuals.
(5)
Administrators must offer reasonable accommodations information and Fair
Housing rights information in both English and Spanish, and other languages as
required by the inclusion of "least likely to apply" groups to reach
populations identified as least likely to apply.
(j) The Waitlist Policy and AFHMP, any
documentation supporting the plans, and any changes made to the plans, must be
kept in accordance with recordkeeping requirements for the specific Program,
and in accordance with 10 TAC §
1.409(relating to Record
Retention).
