Notice2023-16916
60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; “Report Housing Discrimination” Form HUD-903.1, HUD-903.1A, HUD-903.1B, HUD-903.1C, HUD-903.1F, HUD-903.1CAM, HUD-903.1KOR, HUD-903.1RUS, HUD-903-1_Somali; OMB Control No.: 2529-0011
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 8, 2023
Issuing agencies
Housing and Urban Development Department
Abstract
HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 151 (Tuesday, August 8, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 151 (Tuesday, August 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53507-53510]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16916]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-7067-N-02]
60-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment
Request; ``Report Housing Discrimination'' Form HUD-903.1, HUD-903.1A,
HUD-903.1B, HUD-903.1C, HUD-903.1F, HUD-903.1CAM, HUD-903.1KOR, HUD-
903.1RUS, HUD-903-1_Somali; OMB Control No.: 2529-0011
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity (FHEO), HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information.
The purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment.
DATES: Comments Due Date: October 10, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this proposal.
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information
collection can be submitted within 60 days of publication of this
notice to <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a>. Find this particular
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 60-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. Interested
persons are also invited to submit comments regarding this proposal by
name and/or OMB Control Number and can be sent to: Colette Pollard,
Reports Management Officer, REE, Department of Housing and Urban
Development, 451 7th Street SW, Room 8210, Washington, DC 20410-5000 or
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5e5d4c5d0c7c2dac7dee7d0d1c0d6c1dcdadbf4d6c1fad3d3dcd6d0f5ddc0d19bd2dac3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="a9f9c8d9ccdbdec6dbc2fbcccddccaddc0c6c7e8cadde6cfcfc0cacce9c1dccd87cec6df">[email protected]</span></a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Erik Heins, Director, Enforcement
Support
[[Page 53508]]
Division, FHEO Office of Enforcement, Office of Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity (FHEO), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
451 7th Street SW, Washington, DC, 20410-2000; telephone number (202)
402-5887 (this is not a toll-free number), or email at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#89ccdbc0c2a7c8a7c1ccc0c7dac9e1fceda7eee6ff"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9cd9ced5d7b2ddb2d4d9d5d2cfdcf4e9f8b2fbf3ea">[email protected]</span></a>. HUD welcomes and is prepared to receive calls
from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as
individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more
about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit: <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs">https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs</a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HUD is requesting this proposed extension of
approval for a currently approved information collection to the OMB for
review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C.
chapter 35, as amended]. On June 8, 2023, OMB issued a Notice of
Emergency Approval for Program-related revisions to HUD's previously
approved Form HUD-903.1 Series information collection. The OMB
Emergency Approval expires on December 31, 2023.
The ``Report Housing Discrimination'' Form (HUD-903.1) is used for
the collection of pertinent information from persons or entities who
wish to file housing discrimination complaints with HUD/FHEO under
section 810(a) of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (Act), as amended [42
U.S.C. 3601 et seq. and 24 CFR part 103, subparts A and B] and/or under
other Federal civil rights laws administratively enforced by FHEO.
Effective as of October 1, 2022, FHEO was also authorized to file and
investigate complaints alleging violations of the 2022 reauthorization
of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) [34 U.S.C. 12494(c)].
Accordingly, FHEO requested and received OMB's emergency approval to
revise the previously approved ``Report Housing Discrimination'' Form
by adding information necessary to inform the public, including
potential VAWA complainants/survivors, about FHEO's new VAWA
enforcement authority. On January 20, 2023, FHEO also published Notice
FHEO-2023-01: ``Notice to Public Regarding FHEO Enforcement Authority
and Procedures: Violence Against Women Act 2022 (VAWA).'' Notice FHEO-
2023-01 describes FHEO's new procedures for conducting intake, filing,
investigating, and resolving VAWA complaints. FHEO has also established
a ``Your Rights Under the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)'' web page
that provides detailed guidance (including Notice FHEO-2023-01) for
potential VAWA complainants/survivors, at: <a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/VAWA">https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/VAWA</a>.
HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) staff
uses the currently-approved Form HUD-903.1 Series information
collection at the intake stage of case processing to verify that a
person or entity has standing as an aggrieved person to file a
complaint under the Act; that the respondent is covered by the
requirements of the Act; that the subject dwelling and/or transaction
is covered by the requirements of the Act; that the alleged
discriminatory activity is prohibited under the Act (subject matter
jurisdiction); and that the alleged discriminatory activity occurred
within the Act's one-year statute of limitations for filing a complaint
with HUD. The currently approved Form complies with the procedures
described in HUD's Fair Housing Act regulation at 24 CFR part 103,
subpart B, subsections 103.10, 103.15, 103.20, 103.25, 103.30, 103.35,
and 103.40. The Form also provides a complete list of mailing
addresses, email addresses, and fax numbers for HUD's ten (10) Regional
FHEO Offices.
The currently approved Form HUD-903.1 Series will not increase the
information collection burden for aggrieved persons. The Form asks an
aggrieved person to provide their full name; address; phone and/or
email contact information; and alternative contact information. The
Form also asks the aggrieved person to answer five (5) preliminary
questions that may establish HUD's authority (jurisdiction) to file and
investigate a housing discrimination complaint.
The currently approved Form HUD-903.1 Series will not increase the
total annual burden hours for aggrieved persons who submit the Form to
HUD via the internet. Therefore, HUD does not believe that the time for
completing the online version of the Form will exceed the current 45-
minute time limit for internet submissions.
This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and
affected agencies concerning the proposed extension of approval for a
currently approved collection of information concerning alleged
discriminatory housing practices under the Fair Housing Act [42 U.S.C.
3601 et seq.]. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in the
sale, rental, occupancy, advertising, and insuring of residential
dwellings; and in residential real estate-related transactions; and in
the provision of brokerage services, based on race, color, religion,
sex, handicap [disability], familial status, or national origin. The
Fair Housing Act also makes it unlawful to coerce, intimidate,
threaten, or interfere with any person who has (1) exercised their fair
housing rights; or (2) aided or encouraged another person to exercise
their fair housing rights.
Any person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory
housing practice, or any person who believes that they will be injured
by a discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur, may file a
complaint with HUD not later than one year after the alleged
discriminatory housing practice(s) occurred or terminated. FHEO
designed the ``Report Housing Discrimination'' Form HUD-903.1 Series to
promote consistency in the documents that, by statute, must be provided
to persons or entities against whom complaints are filed
[``respondents''], and for the general public's information and
convenience. Section 103.25 of HUD's Fair Housing Act regulation
describes the jurisdictional information that must be included in each
complaint filed with HUD. For purposes of meeting the Act's one-year
time limitation for filing complaints with HUD, complaints need not be
initially submitted on the Form that HUD provides. ``Report Housing
Discrimination'' Form HUD-903.1 (English language), HUD-903.1A (Spanish
language), HUD-903.1B (Chinese language), HUD-903.1C (Arabic language),
HUD-903.1F (Vietnamese language), HUD-903.1CAM (Khmer/Cambodian
language), HUD-903.1KOR (Korean language), HUD-903.1RUS (Russian
language), and HUD-903-1_(Somali language) may be submitted to HUD in
person, by mail, by fax, email, or via the internet. FHEO staff uses
the information provided on the Form to verify HUD's authority to
investigate the aggrieved person's allegations under the Fair Housing
Act and/or under other Federal civil rights laws that FHEO
administratively enforces.
A. Overview of Information Collection
Proposed Revised Title of Information Collection: Report Housing
Discrimination.
OMB Control Number: 2529-0011.
Type of Request: Proposed extension of approval for a previously
approved information collection.
Form Number: HUD-903.1.
Description of the need for the information and proposed use: FHEO
uses the ``Report Housing Discrimination'' Form HUD-903.1 Series to
collect pertinent information from persons wishing to file housing
[[Page 53509]]
discrimination complaints with HUD under the Fair Housing Act. The Fair
Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate in the sale, rental,
occupancy, advertising, or insuring of residential dwellings; or to
discriminate in residential real estate-related transactions; or in the
provision of brokerage services, based on race, color, religion, sex,
handicap [disability], familial status, or national origin. The Fair
Housing Act also makes it unlawful to coerce, intimidate, threaten, or
interfere with any person who has (1) exercised their fair housing
rights; or (2) aided or encouraged another person to exercise their
fair housing rights.
The ``Report Housing Discrimination'' Form HUD-903.1 Series
facilitates the collection of pertinent information from persons or
entities who wish to file housing discrimination complaints with HUD
under section 810(a) of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 (Act), as amended
[42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq. and 24 CFR part 103, subparts A and B]. Any
person who claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing
practice, or any person who believes that they will be injured by a
discriminatory housing practice that is about to occur, may file a
complaint with HUD not later than one year after the alleged
discriminatory housing practice occurs or terminates. FHEO staff uses
the information to verify that the person or entity has standing as an
aggrieved person to file a complaint under the Act; that the respondent
is covered by the requirements of the Act; that the subject dwelling
and/or transaction is covered by the requirements of the Act; that the
alleged discriminatory activity is prohibited under the Act (subject
matter jurisdiction); and that the alleged discriminatory activity
occurred within the Act's one-year statute of limitations for filing a
complaint with HUD. This information is subsequently used to notify
persons or entities that have been accused of engaging in
discriminatory housing practices [``respondents''], as required under
42 U.S.C. 3610(1)(B)(ii) of the Act, and under 24 CFR 103.202(a) of
HUD's Fair Housing Act regulation. FHEO also uses this Form to
establish HUD's authority to conduct investigations under other Federal
civil rights authorities, including, but not limited to, title VI of
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C. 2000d-1]; section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [29 U.S.C. 794]; title II of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 [42 U.S.C. 12131-12134]; section 109 of
title I of the Housing & Community Development Act of 1974 [42 U.S.C.
5309]; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 [42 U.S.C. 6101-6107]; title
X of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 [20 U.S.C. 1681-83, 85-88];
and under the 2022 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act
(VAWA) [34 U.S.C. 12494(c)].
To further public education about unlawful housing discrimination,
the Form also contains a non-exhaustive list of activities that are
prohibited under the Fair Housing Act and under VAWA. Electronic
versions of the Form are currently available on FHEO's ``REPORT HOUSING
DISCRIMINATION'' web page in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese,
Korean, Arabic, Khmer/Cambodian, Russian, and Somali language texts at:
<a href="https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint">https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint</a>.
The Form may be submitted to HUD by mail, email, fax,
electronically via the internet, or presented in person to HUD's
Regional and/or Field FHEO Offices. HUD/FHEO staff uses this
information collection as a source of pertinent data for the HUD
Enforcement Management System [``HEMS''], HUD's electronic Fair Housing
Act complaint processing database. FHEO uses the HEMS database to
conduct intake/assessment of housing discrimination claims; to perfect
and generate jurisdictional complaints; to develop investigative plans;
to store factual evidence obtained during complaint investigations; to
document conciliation efforts under section 810(b) of the Act and
voluntary compliance efforts under other Federal civil rights
authorities; to generate Final Investigative Reports and Determinations
of Reasonable Cause and Determinations of No Reasonable Cause under
sections 810(b) and 810(g) of the Act; and to generate digital case
files for administrative enforcement actions.
Agency form numbers, if applicable: Form HUD-903.1 (English), Form
HUD-903.1A (Spanish), Form HUD-903.1B (Chinese), Form HUD-903.1C
(Arabic), Form HUD-903.1F (Vietnamese), Form HUD-903.1CAM (Khmer/
Cambodian), Form HUD-903.1KOR (Korean), Form HUD-903.1RUS (Russian),
and Form HUD-903-1_(Somali).
Members of affected public: Individuals or households; businesses
or other for-profit, not-for-profit institutions; State, Local, or
Tribal Governments.
Estimation of the total number of hours needed to prepare the
information collection, including the number of respondents, frequency
of response, and hours of responses: During FY 2022, HUD/FHEO staff
received approximately 29,791 information submissions from persons
wishing to file housing discrimination complaints with HUD. Telephone
contacts accounted for 1,529 of the total FY 2022 submissions. The
remaining 28,262 submissions of potential complaint information were
transmitted to HUD by mail, in-person, by email, and via the internet.
HUD estimates that an aggrieved person takes approximately 45 minutes
to complete the HUD 903.1 Form. HUD/FHEO staff uses the information
collected from the Form HUD-903.1 Series to generate a formal housing
discrimination complaint in the HEMS database. This formal complaint is
subsequently signed by the aggrieved person(s) under penalty of perjury
and is served on the respondent(s) by personal service or by certified
mail, as required under 24 CFR 103.202(a) of HUD's Fair Housing Act
regulation.
Each aggrieved person will complete the HUD 903.1 Form on a one-
time basis. Therefore, HUD estimated the annual burden hours for this
information collection at 21,196 hours.
28,262 x 1 (frequency) x .45 minutes (.75 hours.) = 21,196 hours.
Annualized cost burden to complainants: HUD does not provide
postage-paid mailers for this information collection. Accordingly,
persons who choose to submit the HUD-903.1 Form to HUD by regular mail
must pay the United States Postal Service's (USPS's) prevailing First-
Class Postage rate. At the time of this Notice, the annualized cost
burden per person, based on a one-time submission of this Form to HUD
via the USPS's First-Class Postage rate is Sixty-Three Cents ($0.63)
per person. Aggrieved persons may also submit the Form to HUD in
person, by fax, by email, or electronically via the internet.
There are no additional annualized cost burdens to aggrieved
persons or record keepers resulting from this information collection.
Status of the proposed information collection: Proposed extension
of a currently approved information collection of pertinent information
from aggrieved persons wishing to file housing discrimination
complaints with HUD.
B. Solicitation of Public Comments
This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in
Section A on the following:
(1) Whether the proposed information collection is necessary for
the performance of the agency's functions;
(2) Whether the agency's estimate of burdens imposed by the
information collection is accurate;
[[Page 53510]]
(3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
(4) Ways to minimize the burdens of the information collection on
aggrieved persons, including the use of appropriate automated
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g.,
permitting electronic submission of responses.
HUD encourages interested parties to submit comments in response to
these questions.
C. Authority
Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C.
chapter 35, as amended.
Erik Heins,
Director, Enforcement Support Division, FHEO.
[FR Doc. 2023-16916 Filed 8-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P
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