How to Find and Use Local Data in Fair Housing Planning

This video helps to build the capacity of HUD program participants to find and use local data during their fair housing planning efforts, including how to collect publicly available data, or partner with local institutions, such as universities and community-based organizations, to collect or generate useful data. Finding and using local data is important in fair housing planning because the data provided in the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Data and Mapping Tool (AFFH-T) is not exhaustive.

This video is part of a video series on how the AFFH-T and other local data sources can be used to analyze local conditions as part of a fair housing analysis and planning process. View all videos in the AFFH-T Video Series.

Training Objectives:

Participants will learn about:

• How HUD defines "local data"
• The importance of using local data during fair housing planning
• How to find local data via publicly available sources or generate your own local data
• How to combine local data with HUD-provided data or other national data sources to complete a detailed data analysis of local fair housing conditions

Who Should Attend?

This video is intended for everyone involved in fair housing planning, including but not limited to staff and leadership of HOME Partnership Program (HOME), Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Emergency Solutions Grants (ESG), and Housing Opportunities for Persons With AIDS (HOPWA) grantees, Public Housing Agencies (PHAs), program administrators, and others engaging in fair housing analysis and planning.

Note: The video below mentions that "the state of California has established fair housing protections based on both veteran or military status and sexual orientation (among other factors)" and that "neither of these is a federally protected class." It is important to clarify that sexual orientation and gender identify are protected by the Fair Housing Act's "sex" protected characteristic.

• On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which held that "sex" discrimination includes discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity under Title VII.
• On January 20, 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 13988 on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation, advising federal agencies to examine if laws they enforce include protections from discrimination because of sex that should also include protections for sexual orientation and gender identity.
• On February 11, 2021, the Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity (FHEO) issued a memo, Implementation of Executive Order 13988 on the Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, which directs FHEO, FHIPs, and FHAPs to administer and fully enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

It is important to distinguish that these authorities do not create a new protected class within the Act, but rather clarify that the Act's "sex" discrimination provisions prohibit discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.