Copyright: Eti Ammos
The U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Justice (DOJ) have launched a joint task force to combat sexual harassment in housing. The task force will focus on unifying federal efforts to end sexual harassment in housing, increasing outreach and enforcement mechanisms and implementing a public awareness campaign.
Sexual harassment has long been considered a type of sex-based discrimination prohibited under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), and HUD published a final rule in 2016 establishing standards for assessing fair housing harassment complaints. This is one of several new initiatives HUD is expected to launch this month in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the FHA.
NMHC/NAA has met with HUD leadership in recent days on a number of Fair Housing priorities. More information on the industry’s fair housing priorities can be found here.
