NCAPA and National CAPACD Applaud New Housing Guidelines Reaffirming the Rights of Limited English Proficient Individuals

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued guidance to protect  Limited English Proficiency (LEP) individuals, who have some level of difficulty reading, writing, understanding or speaking English, under the Fair Housing Act.

The National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA) and its member National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (National CAPACD) applaud these new housing guidelines. The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination based on race, national origin and other protected characteristics.

"National CAPACD welcomes HUD's new guidance reaffirming that it is illegal to discriminate against LEP individuals and clarifying what constitutes discriminatory practices," said National CAPACD Policy Director Seema Agnani. "Importantly, this guidance makes it clear that actions by housing providers that have disparate impact on LEP people are not allowed, whether or not a housing provider intended to discriminate."

"We thank HUD for this guidance and for acknowledging the connection between Limited English Proficiency and national origin,” said NCAPA National Director Christopher Kang. “We are committed to working with HUD and the housing industry to ensure this guidance is enforced and expands access to housing opportunity for LEP populations. People deserve the right to rent or own a home regardless of the language they speak.”

Almost one-third of Asian Americans and nine percent of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are LEP. Of the more than 25 million people in the United States who are LEP, approximately 1,660,000 (7 percent) speak Chinese, 850,000 (3 percent) speak Vietnamese, 620,000 (2 percent) speak Korean and 530,000 (2 percent) speak Tagalog, according to HUD.

Housing discrimination complaints may be filed at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.

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Based in Washington, D.C., the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans is a coalition of 35 national Asian Pacific American organizations that serves to represent the interests of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities and to provide a national voice for our communities’ concerns. Our communities are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, currently making up approximately six percent of the population.