[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 24, Volume 1]

[Revised as of April 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 24CFR6.11]



[Page 109-112]

 

                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

 

PART 6_NONDISCRIMINATION IN PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES RECEIVING ASSISTANCE 

UNDER TITLE I OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974--Table 

of Contents

 

                          Subpart B_Enforcement

 

Sec.  6.11  Conduct of investigations.



    (a) Filing a complaint--(1) Who may file. Any person who believes 

that he or she has been subjected to discrimination prohibited by this 

part may file, or may have an authorized representative file on his or 

her behalf, a complaint with the Responsible Official. Any person who 

believes that any specific class of persons has been subjected to 

discrimination prohibited by this part and who is a member of that class 

or who is the authorized representative of a member of that class may 

file a complaint with the Responsible Official.

    (2) Confidentiality. Generally, the Responsible Official shall hold 

in confidence the identity of any person submitting a complaint, unless 

the person submits written authorization otherwise. However, an 

exception to maintaining confidentiality of the identity of the person 

may be required to carry out the purposes of this part, including



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the conduct of any investigation, hearing, or proceeding under this 

part.

    (3) When to file. Complaints shall be filed within 180 days of the 

alleged act of discrimination, unless the Responsible Official waives 

this time limit for good cause. For purposes of determining when a 

complaint is filed under this part, a complaint mailed to the 

Responsible Official via the U.S. Postal Service will be deemed filed on 

the date it is postmarked. A complaint delivered to the Responsible 

Official in any other manner will be deemed filed on the date it is 

received by the Responsible Official.

    (4) Where to file complaints. Complaints must be in writing, signed, 

addressed to the Responsible Official, and filed with (mailed to or 

otherwise delivered to) the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity 

at any HUD Office.

    (5) Content of complaints. Each complaint should contain the 

complainant's name, address, and phone number; a description or name, if 

available, of the Recipient alleged to have violated this part; an 

address where the violation occurred; and a description of the 

Recipient's alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform 

the Responsible Official of the nature and date of the alleged violation 

of this part.

    (6) Amendments to complaints. Amendments to complaints, such as 

clarification and amplification of allegations in a complaint or the 

addition of other Recipients, may be made by the complainant or the 

complainant's authorized representative at any time while the complaint 

is being considered, and any amendment shall be deemed to be made as of 

the original filing date.

    (7) Notification. To the extent practicable, the Responsible 

Official will notify the complainant and the Recipient of the 

Responsible Official's receipt of a complaint within 10 calendar days of 

receipt of a complete complaint. If the Responsible Official receives a 

complaint that is not complete, the Responsible Official will notify the 

complainant and specify the additional information that is needed to 

make the complaint complete. If the complainant fails to complete the 

complaint, the Responsible Official will close the complaint without 

prejudice and notify the complainant. When a complete complaint has been 

received, the Responsible Official, or his or her designee, will assess 

the complaint for acceptance, rejection, or referral to an appropriate 

Federal agency within 20 calendar days.

    (8) Resolution of complaints. After the acceptance of a complete 

complaint, the Responsible Official will investigate the complaint, 

attempt informal resolution, and, if resolution is not achieved, the 

Responsible Official will notify the Recipient and complainant, to the 

extent practicable within 180 days of the receipt of the complete 

complaint, of the results of the investigation in a letter of findings 

sent by certified mail, return receipt requested, containing the 

following:

    (i) Findings of fact and a finding of compliance or noncompliance;

    (ii) A description of an appropriate remedy for each violation 

believed to exist; and

    (iii) A notice of the right of the Recipient and the complainant to 

request a review of the letter of findings by the Responsible Official. 

A copy of the final investigative report will be made available upon 

request.

    (b) Compliance reviews--(1) Periodic compliance reviews. The 

Responsible Official may periodically review the practices of Recipients 

to determine whether they are complying with this part and may conduct 

on-site reviews. The Responsible Official will initiate an on-site 

review by sending to the Recipient a letter advising the Recipient of 

the practices to be reviewed; the programs affected by the review; and 

the opportunity, at any time before a final determination, to submit 

information that explains, validates, or otherwise addresses the 

practices under review. In addition, the Award Official will include, in 

normal program compliance reviews and monitoring procedures, appropriate 

actions to review and monitor compliance with general or specific 

program requirements designed to implement the requirements of this 

part.

    (2) Time period of the review. (i) For the Entitlement program, 

compliance reviews will cover the three years before the date of the 

review.



[[Page 111]]



    (ii) For the Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) program, the 

compliance review is applicable only to UDAG loan repayments or other 

payments or revenues classified as program income. UDAG repayments or 

other payments or revenues classified as miscellaneous revenue are not 

subject to compliance review under this part. (See 24 CFR 570.500(a).) 

The compliance review will cover the time period that program income is 

being repaid.

    (iii) For the State and HUD-Administered Small Cities programs, the 

compliance review will cover the four years before the date of the 

review.

    (iv) For all other programs, the time period covered by the review 

will be four years before the date of the review.

    (v) On a case-by-case basis, at the discretion of the Responsible 

Official, the above time frames for review can be expanded where facts 

or allegations warrant further investigation.

    (3) Early compliance resolution. On the last day of the on-site 

visit, after the compliance review, the Recipient will be given an 

opportunity to supplement the record. Additionally, a prefinding 

conference may be held and a summary of the proposed findings may be 

presented to the Recipient. In those instances where the issue(s) cannot 

be resolved at a prefinding conference or with the supplemental 

information, a meeting will be scheduled to attempt a voluntary 

settlement.

    (4) Notification of findings. (i) The Assistant Secretary will 

notify the Recipient of Federal financial assistance of the results of 

the compliance review in a letter of findings sent by certified mail, 

return receipt requested.

    (ii) Letter of findings. The letter of findings will include the 

findings of fact and the conclusions of law; a description of a remedy 

for each violation found; and a notice that a copy of HUD's final report 

concerning its compliance review will be made available, upon request, 

to the Recipient.

    (c) Right to a review of the letter of findings. (1) Within 30 days 

of receipt of the letter of findings, any party may request that a 

review be made of the letter of findings, by mailing or delivering to 

the Responsible Official, Room 5100, Office of Fair Housing and Equal 

Opportunity, HUD, Washington, DC 20410, a written statement of the 

reasons why the letter of findings should be modified.

    (2) The Responsible Official will send by certified mail, return 

receipt requested, a copy of the request for review to all parties. 

Parties other than the party requesting review and HUD shall have 20 

days from receipt to respond to the request for review.

    (3) The Responsible Official will either sustain or modify the 

letter of findings or require that further investigation be conducted, 

within 60 days of the request for review. The Responsible Official's 

decision shall constitute the formal determination of compliance or 

noncompliance.

    (4) If no party requests that the letter of findings be reviewed, 

the Responsible Official, within 14 calendar days of the expiration of 

the time period in paragraph (a)(9)(i) of this section, will send a 

formal written determination of compliance or noncompliance to all 

parties.

    (d) Voluntary compliance time limits. The Recipient will have 10 

calendar days from receipt of the letter of findings of noncompliance, 

or such other reasonable time as specified in the letter, within which 

to agree, in writing, to come into voluntary compliance or to contact 

the Responsible Official for settlement discussions. If the Recipient 

fails to meet this deadline, HUD will proceed in accordance with 

Sec. Sec.  6.12 and 6.13.

    (e) Informal resolution/voluntary compliance--(1) General. It is the 

policy of HUD to encourage the informal resolution of matters. A 

complaint or a compliance review may be resolved by informal means at 

any time. If a letter of findings is issued, and the letter makes a 

finding of noncompliance, the Responsible Official will attempt to 

resolve the matter through a voluntary compliance agreement.

    (2) Objectives of informal resolution/voluntary compliance. In 

attempting informal resolution, the Responsible Official will attempt to 

achieve a just resolution of the matter and to obtain assurances, where 

appropriate, that the Recipient will satisfactorily remedy any 

violations of the rights of any



[[Page 112]]



complainant, and will take such action as will assure the elimination of 

any violation of this part or the prevention of the occurrence of such 

violation in the future. If a finding of noncompliance has been made, 

the terms of such an informal resolution shall be reduced to a written 

voluntary compliance agreement, signed by the Recipient and the 

Responsible Official, and be made part of the file. Such voluntary 

compliance agreements shall seek to protect the interests of the 

complainant (if any), other persons similarly situated, and the public.

    (3) Right to file a private civil action. At any time in the 

process, the complainant has the right to file a private civil action. 

If the complainant does so, the Responsible Official has the discretion 

to administratively close the investigation or continue the 

investigation, if he or she decides that it is in the best interests of 

the Department to do so. If the Responsible Official makes a finding of 

noncompliance and an agreement to voluntarily comply is not obtained 

from the Recipient, the procedures at Sec. Sec.  6.12 and 6.13 for 

effecting compliance shall be followed.

    (f) Intimidatory or retaliatory acts prohibited. No Recipient or 

other person shall intimidate, threaten, coerce, or discriminate against 

any person for the purpose of interfering with any right or privilege 

secured by this part, or because he or she has made a complaint, 

testified, assisted, or participated in any manner in an investigation, 

compliance review, proceeding, or hearing under this part.