24 C.F.R. Subpart C—Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP)
Title 24 - Housing and Urban Development
The purpose of the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) is to provide assistance to State and local fair housing enforcement agencies. The intent of this funding program is to build a coordinated intergovernmental enforcement effort to further fair housing and to encourage the agencies to assume a greater share of the responsibility for the administration and enforcement of their fair housing laws and ordinances. This financial assistance is designed to provide support for: (a) The processing of dual-filed complaints; (b) Training under the Fair Housing Act and the agencies' fair housing law; (c) The provision of technical assistance; (d) The creation and maintenance of data and information systems; and (e) The development and enhancement of other fair housing enforcement projects. Any agency with certification or interim certification under subpart A of this part, and which has entered into a MOU or interim agreement, is eligible to participate in the FHAP. (a) Capacity building (CB) funds are funds that HUD may provide to an agency with interim certification during the agency's first three years of participation in the FHAP. Agencies receiving CB funds are not eligible to receive contributions funds under §115.304. (b) CB funds will be provided in a fixed annual amount to be utilized for the eligible activities established pursuant to §115.303. However, in the second and third year of the agency's participation in the FHAP, HUD has the option to permit the agency to receive CB funding on a per case basis, rather than in a single annual amount. (c) In order to receive CB funding, agencies will be required to submit a statement of work which identifies: (1) The objectives and activities to be carried out with the CB funds received; (2) A plan for training all of the agency's employees involved in the administration of the agency's fair housing law or ordinance; (3) A statement of the agency's intention to participate in HUD-sponsored training in accordance with the training requirements set out in the cooperative agreement; (4) A description of the agency's complaint processing data and information system or, alternatively, whether the agency plans to use CB funds to purchase and install a data system; and (5) A description of any other fair housing activities that the agency will undertake with its CB funds. All such activities must address matters affecting fair housing enforcement which are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act. Any activities which do not address the implementation of the agency's fair housing law or ordinance, and which are therefore not cognizable under the Fair Housing Act, will be disapproved. The primary purposes of capacity building funding is to provide for complaint activities and to support activities that produce increased awareness of fair housing rights and remedies. All such activities must support the agency's administration of its fair housing law or ordinance and address matters affecting fair housing which are cognizable under the Fair Housing Act. HUD will periodically publish a list of eligible activities in the (a) An agency that has received CB funds for three consecutive years is eligible for contributions funding. Contributions funding consists of three categories: (1) Complaint Processing (CP) funds; (2) Administrative Costs (AC) funds; and (3) Special Enforcement Efforts (SEE) funds (§115.305 sets forth the requirements for SEE funding). (b) CP funds. (1) Agencies receiving CP funds will receive such support based solely on the number of complaints processed by the agency and accepted for payment by the Director of FHEO during a consecutive, specifically identified, 12-month period. Normally this period will be the previous year's funding cycle. (2) Funding for agencies in their fourth year of participation in the FHAP will be based on the number of complaints acceptably processed by the agency during the agency's third year of participation in the FHAP. (c) Administrative Cost (AC) funds. (1) Agencies which acceptably process 100 or more cases will receive no less than 10 percent of the agency's annual FHAP payment amount for the preceding year, in addition to case processing funds, contingent on fiscal year appropriations. Agencies that acceptably process fewer than 100 cases will receive a flat rate contingent on fiscal year appropriations. (2) Agencies will be required to provide HUD with a statement of how they intend to use the AC funds. HUD may require that some or all AC funding be directed to activities designed to create, modify, or improve local, regional, or national information systems concerning fair housing matters (including the purchase of state of the art computer systems and getting on line or internet access, etc.). (a) SEE funds are funds that HUD will provide to an agency to enhance enforcement activities of the agency's fair housing law or ordinance. SEE funds will be a maximum of 20% of the agency's total FHAP cooperative agreement for the previous contract year, based on approval of eligible activity or activities, and based on the appropriation of funds. All agencies receiving contributions funds are eligible to receive SEE funds if they meet three of the six criteria set out in paragraphs (a)(1) through (6): (1) The agency has taken action to enforce a subpoena or make use of its prompt judicial action authority within the past year. (2) The agency has held at least one administrative hearing or has had at least one case on a court's docket for civil proceedings during the past year. (3) At least ten percent of the agency's fair housing caseload resulted in written conciliation agreements providing monetary relief for the complainant as well as remedial action, monitoring, reporting and public interest relief provisions. (4) The agency has had in the most recent three years, or is currently handling, at least one major fair housing systemic investigation requiring an exceptional amount of expenditure of funds. (5) The agency's administration of its fair housing law or ordinance received meritorious mention for its complaint processing or other fair housing activities that were innovative. (6) The agency must have fully investigated 10 fair housing complaints during the previous funding year. (b) Notwithstanding the eligibility criteria set forth in paragraph (a) of this section, an agency is ineligible for SEE funds if: (1) Twenty percent or more of an agency's fair housing complaints result in administrative closures; or (2) The agency is currently on a PIP, or if its interim certification or certification has been suspended during the fiscal year in which SEE funds are sought. (c) SEE funding amounts are subject to the FHAP appropriation by Congress and will be described in writing in the cooperative agreements annually. HUD will periodically publish a list of activities eligible for SEE funding in the (a) All agencies are eligible to receive training funds. Training funds are fixed amounts based on the number of agency employees to be trained and shall be allocated based on the FHAP appropriation. Training funds may be used only for HUD-approved or HUD-sponsored training. Agency initiated training or other formalized training may be included in this category. However, such training must first be approved by the Cooperative Agreement Officer (CAO) and the Government Technical Representative (GTR). Specifics on the amount of training funds that an agency will receive and, if applicable, amounts that may be deducted, will be set out in the cooperative agreement each year. (b) All staff of the agency responsible for the administration of the fair housing law or ordinance must participate in mandatory FHAP training sponsored by HUD at the national and field office levels. If the agency does not participate in the mandatory national and field office HUD-sponsored training, training funds will be deducted from their overall training amount. (a) Agencies which participate in the FHAP must: (1) Conform to reporting and record maintenance requirements determined by the Assistant Secretary; (2) Agree to on-site technical assistance and guidance and implementation of corrective actions set out by the Department in response to deficiencies found during the technical assistance or performance assessment evaluations of the agency's operations; (3) Agree to implement and adhere to policies and procedures (as their laws and ordinances will allow) provided to the agencies by the Assistant Secretary, including but not limited to guidance on investigative techniques, case file preparation and organization, implementation of data elements for complaint tracking, etc.; (4) Spend at least twenty (20) percent of its total annual budget on fair housing activities; and (5) Not unilaterally reduce the level of financial resources currently committed to fair housing complaint processing (budget and staff reductions or other actions outside the control of the agency will not, alone, result in a negative determination for the agency's participation in the FHAP). (b) The agency's refusal to provide information, assist in implementation, or carry out the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section may result in the denial or interruption of its receipt of FHAP funds. HUD will conduct reviews of the agency's cooperative agreement implementation. This review will also identify: (a) How the agency used the FHAP funds received; (b) Whether its draw-down of funds was timely; (c) Whether the agency has been audited and received copies of the audit reports in accordance with applicable rules and regulations for State and local governmental entities; and (d) If the agency complied with all certifications and assurances required by HUD in the cooperative agreement. (a) The agency shall establish and maintain records demonstrating: (1) Its financial administration of the FHAP funds; and (2) Its performance under the FHAP. (b) In accordance with the cooperative agreement in effect between the agency and HUD, the agency will provide to HUD the agency reports maintained pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section. The agency will provide reports to HUD in accordance with the cooperative agreement in effect between the agency and HUD for frequency and content, regarding complaint processing, training, data and information systems, enforcement and other activities explaining how FHAP funds were expended and used. (c) The agency will permit reasonable public access to its records, consistent with the jurisdiction's requirements for release of information. Documents relevant to the agency's participation in FHAP must be made available at the agency's office during normal working hours (except that documents with respect to ongoing fair housing complaint investigations are exempt from public review consistent with Federal and/or State law). (d) The Secretary, the Inspector General of HUD, and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall have access to all pertinent books, accounts, reports, files, and other payments for surveys, audits, examinations, excerpts, and transcripts as they relate to the agency's participation in FHAP. (e) All files will be kept in such fashion as to permit audits under applicable procurement regulations and guidelines and the Single Audit requirements for State and local agencies. (f) The FHAP financial records and files will be kept at least three years on-site after any cooperative agreement has terminated. If an agency subcontracts to a public or private agency any activity for which the subcontractor will receive FHAP funds, the agency must ensure and certify in writing that the subcontractor is: (a) Using services and facilities that are accessible in accordance with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) (42 U.S.C. 12101) and Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 701); (b) Complying with the standards of Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 1441); and (c) Furthering fair housing. (a) If HUD makes a preliminary determination that an agency has not complied with §115.309, the agency will be given written notice of this determination and an opportunity to show, through demonstrable facts and data, that it has done so within a time prescribed by HUD. (b) If an agency fails to demonstrate to HUD's satisfaction that it has met program review standards, HUD will request the agency to submit and comply with proposals for action to correct, mitigate, or prevent performance deficiencies, including, but not limited to: (1) Preparing and/or following a schedule of actions for carrying out the affected fair housing activities; (2) Establishing and/or following a management plan that assigns responsibilities for carrying out the actions required; (3) Canceling or revising activities likely to be affected by a performance deficiency before expending FHAP funds for the activities; and (4) Redistributing or suspending disbursement of FHAP funds that have not yet been disbursed. (c) HUD may condition the use of FHAP award amounts with respect to an agency's succeeding fiscal year's allocation on the satisfactory completion by the agency of appropriate corrective actions. When the use of funds is so conditioned, HUD will specify the deficiency(ies), the required corrective action(s), and the time allowed for taking these actions. Failure of the agency to complete the actions as specified will result in a reduction or withdrawal of the FHAP allocation in an amount not to exceed the amount conditionally granted.
Title 24: Housing and Urban Development
PART 115—CERTIFICATION AND FUNDING OF STATE AND LOCAL FAIR HOUSING ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
Subpart C—Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP)
§ 115.300 Purpose.
§ 115.301 Agency eligibility criteria.
§ 115.302 Capacity building funds.
§ 115.303 Eligible activities for capacity building funds.
§ 115.304 Agencies eligible for contributions funds.
§ 115.305 Special enforcement effort (SEE) funds.
§ 115.306 Training funds.
§ 115.307 Additional requirements for participation in the FHAP.
§ 115.308 Standards for FHAP program review.
§ 115.309 Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
§ 115.310 Subcontracting under the FHAP.
§ 115.311 Corrective and remedial action.
