The time of the year has come for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to begin Fair Housing Month, when HUD and other organizations across the country host activities that enhance the public's awareness of their fair housing rights and promote ending housing discrimination.
This year's Fair Housing Month theme is ‘Fair Housing is Your Right: Use It!’ Throughout the month, HUD will cast a spotlight on the persistent problem of housing discrimination.
HUD says Fair Housing Month marks the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the landmark law passed shortly after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability and family status.
‘Fair Housing Month is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on just how far we've come to make our housing more equitable and how far we still have to go to end housing discrimination,’ says Bryan Greene, HUD acting FHEO assistant secretary.
In 2012, HUD published new regulations to ensure that the department's core housing programs are open to all eligible persons, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In addition, 12 states and the District of Columbia, as well as several counties and municipalities protect persons against housing discrimination based on their source of income.
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan's speech from last year's Fair Housing Month commemoration can be found here.