While the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act banned overt racial discrimination in housing, weak enforcement of the Act coupled with local control over most housing policies diminished the act’s practical effect. This left neighborhoods across the U.S. largely segregated by race and socio-economic status. Some progress in efforts to address the legacy of past policies that fostered inequities in housing markets was achieved, particularly at the state level, though their impacts were mostly marginal. Meanwhile, a new political era sought to curb perceived dependence on government by significantly reducing support and funding for affordable housing programs designed to serve low-income and BIPOC communities.

Legend

  •   Hindered racial equality
  •   Mix of helped and hindered racial equality
  •   Helped advance racial equality
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    A section in the Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Act, Chapter 40B sought to increase and decentralize the supply of affordable housing throughout the state by requiring each municipality to have at least 10 percent of its housing stock designated as affordable (below 80 percent of area median income). Communities that did not meet this standard may be subject to overrides of local zoning rules for developments that include at least 20 percent affordable units. This includes exclusionary zoning by housing type (e.g. single-family only) and size (permitting only small units in multifamily developments to discourage families with children), which had limited opportunities for many BIPOC families to access these communities.

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    Section 8 authorized the housing voucher program that now funds most subsidized housing in the United States. Developed in response to the acknowledged failures of earlier public housing developments to help low-income households escape poverty, the voucher program was meant to allow households to live in privately-owned rental housing neighborhoods of their choice, with a portion of their rent paid directly to property owners. In reality, the voucher program has never fully delivered on this promise, as discrimination against voucher recipients and perceived barriers to property owner participation have prevented many low-income households from using them in higher-opportunity neighborhoods.

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    In a case brought by Black residents against the town of Mount Laurel, NJ, the New Jersey Supreme Court rules that municipal zoning that explicitly excludes affordable housing is unconstitutional under the 14th amendment. This decision gave rise to the ‘Fair Share’ doctrine, whereby each municipality in that state is expected to provide for some housing to meet the needs of low- and moderate-income households. A subsequent suit, filed after several towns defied the initial decision, brought a second ruling with specific requirements for each municipality to meet in demonstrating its fulfillment of the fair share rule, as well as new forms of redress for developers and residents to bring against towns not in compliance.

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    In response to critiques over the ineffective enforcement mechanisms in the Fair Housing Act, Congress passed the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), which required most banks to report on their efforts to expand mortgage lending in low-income and BIPOC communities. These reports are then factored into other regulatory decisions regarding bank activities, such as mergers or expansion into other markets. The intent of the policy – as well as that of the 1975 Home Mortgage Disclosure Act – was to encourage investment in communities traditionally underserved by private lending markets through greater data collection and transparency, though its impact on reversing the past effects of redlining and segregation have been minimal.

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    The 1986 Tax Act had two provisions that negatively impacted demand and supply of housing available to BIPOC-led households. The first was the removal from deductibility of all consumer debt except home mortgage interest, which primarily benefits higher-income homeowners and elevates the cost of homeownership by capitalizing this benefit into sales prices. The second was a change in the treatment of losses incurred on residential properties, which made rental housing less attractive as an investment vehicle, reducing the construction and supply of new multifamily rental housing.

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    This Act sought to improve on the ineffective enforcement mechanisms included in the original Fair Housing Act twenty years earlier by granting additional authority to HUD to sue and fine violators, rather than just investigating claims made against them. The amendments also added disability and familial status to the list of conditions for which households are protected against discrimination in housing transactions.

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    The Act directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to dedicate at least 30 percent of their loan purchases to affordable housing, as a way of encouraging more private mortgage lending to low-income borrowers who might otherwise have trouble qualifying for credit to purchase a home. This move incentivized lenders to find new ways to meet the needs of low-income and other traditionally underserved households, including BIPOC, which contributed to an increase in homeownership opportunities for these communities.

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    This Act established the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) and its programs to promote economic revitalization and community development specifically in low-income communities of color that had long been underinvested in by traditional banks. Today there are over 1,000 CDFIs serving communities across the country with flexible and affordable funding sources to support business creation, real estate purchases, commercial development and other community needs.

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    Included as part of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act, the Amendment prevented the federal government from funding any net new public housing units. While public housing units that are destroyed may be replaced, this policy ensures that the stock of publicly-provided housing could not keep pace with the growing demand for affordable rental options among low-income households.

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