About

An Assessment of Fair Housing, or AFH, is a new approach to identifying fair housing challenges in a city and region.

As a condition of receiving these funds, states, counties and cities must certify that they will “Affirmatively Further Fair Housing” choice—or AFFH. The AFFH requirement originates from the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which requires that HUD administer programs and activities relating to housing and urban development in a manner that affirmatively furthers the policies of the Act.

To AFFH, a state, county or city must research housing barriers and develop a plan for mitigating barriers. This study is called the Assessment of Fair Housing, or AFH. At the time this study was being developed, HUD suspended the AFH and reverted to the requirements of an original form of study called the Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, or AI. This regional study contains aspects of both the AI and AFH format. Most importantly, it preserves the significant focus on public input that was part of the AFH effort.

The overall goal of the AFH approach is to help communities improve economic conditions for all residents, in a way that best fits the community. It is important to note that the AFH is not a tool to change zoning or land use. For more on HUD’s approach to AFFH see https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp16affh-p4.

The Denver Aurora Boulder Regional AFH has seven components:

Community Engagement

A robust Community Engagement Process is a priority. This process will be inclusive of diversity in race, ethnicity, language, culture, family status, gender identification, income, religion, and housing tenure. See more about the process on the How to Get Involved page.

Demographic, Segregation/Integration & Housing Analysis

This section examines segregation and integration patterns; how those may change with population growth; and preservation of culturally rich and diverse neighborhoods.

Housing Analysis

This section examines differences in housing needs and housing availability for residents of different races, ethnicities, family status, and disability, as well as income range. It will include a review of land use regulations and zoning ordinances that further housing choice, and access to both publicly-supported and privately-provided housing.

Access to Opportunity Analysis

This section examines how well residents can access educational, economic, employment, and transportation opportunities and environmentally healthy communities.

Disability and Access Analysis

This section is dedicated to an examination of persons with disabilities live in integrated settings and how well housing providers and communities accommodate persons with disabilities.

Fair Housing Enforcement, Outreach & Resources

This section examines trends in fair housing violations as captured through legal/enforcement actions and available fair housing resources in the region.

Contributing Factors, Priorities and Goals

The AFH research will examine a range of potential barriers to housing choice, including mobility barriers, displacement, gentrification, segregation, and disparities in access to opportunity. The strategies developed as part of the AFH must be specific, meaningful, time bound, and express the region’s commitment to AFFH.