President Trump rolls back Obama-era rule that supports fair housing

A federal provision that ensures cities, counties, states and public housing authorities are building affordable housing in suburban areas has been rolled back by President Donald Trump.

News 12 Staff

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Jul 29, 2020, 11:54 PM

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Updated 1,373 days ago

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A federal provision that ensures cities, counties, states and public housing authorities are building affordable housing in suburban areas has been rolled back by President Donald Trump.

The president even singled out Westchester County specifically in a speech.

“I've been watching this for years in Westchester, coming from New York. They want low-income housing built in a neighborhood. Well, I'm ending that rule,” he said.

Affordable housing has been an issue in Westchester County for years. Back in November, the county executive's office said 9,260 people applied for 395 affordable rental units – a ratio between applicants to units was 21:1.

Executive George Latimer responded to the president:

"There is absolutely no evidence that supports that fair housing negatively affects property values, or the home rule. Without strong laws like AFFH in place, Westchester County will fail to be the diverse, multifaceted county we all want to call home."

Alec Roberts, the executive director of Community Housing Innovations, says President Trump is contradicting himself. He says the president’s team created a council back in November, which according to the Housing and Urban Development website, aims to eliminate barriers to affordable housing.

"His White House Council actually takes away more power from local communities to oppose low income housing development than this AFFH rule promotes it," he says.