ANCOR Joins CCD Comments on HUD’s Proposed Rule

ANCOR has signed onto a comment letter from the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) Housing Task Force. The letter addresses the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which aims to reduce barriers to HUD-assisted housing, specifically focusing on updating screening regulations for applicants with criminal histories.

The proposed updates in HUD’s NPRM include several critical measures designed to ensure fair housing access. In its comments, the CCD Housing Taskforce, supported by ANCOR, made several recommendations to strengthen the proposed rule. They suggested extending the appeal period to at least 30 days and providing clear information on how to request reasonable accommodation.

The comments also recommended including older age as a mitigating factor and supported the inclusion of medical circumstances related to the applicant or their household members as mitigating factors. They emphasized the importance of ensuring that housing providers are trained to conduct individualized assessments and can determine the necessary reasonable accommodations. Additionally, the comments encouraged HUD to ensure that the screening criteria for live-in aides should not be more stringent than those applied to applicants under the proposed rule. The comments also indicated that the provision regarding past criminal activity should only justify denial if it threatens the health, safety, or peaceful enjoyment of the premises and requested HUD to clearly define what constitutes such threats to prevent unjustified exclusions from housing.