Equal Opportunity Issues Briefing Paper
Equal Opportunity Committee
Federal Issues Committee
December 15, 1998

The Fair Housing Partnership Agreement

The following is for study only and has NOTbeen approved by the Equal Opportunity Committee, the Federal Issues Committee, the Executive Committee or the Board of Directors.

Issue:	What is the status of the new Fair Housing Partnership developed by HUD?
Action:	None necessary
Options:	Not applicable
Status/Summary:	The 20-year old Voluntary Affirmative Marketing Agreement (VAMA) has been replaced with a new partnership between HUD and NAR.

I. Background In 1975, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Association of Realtors (NAR) co-authored the Voluntary Affirmative Marketing Agreement to promote affirmative fair housing practices. The VAMA was developedto educate REALTOR7 members on fair housing laws and to provide a set of specific fair housing procedures for members to use. However, in a recent review of the program, HUD officials and NAR members determined that too much emphasis had been placed on collecting VAMA signatures, and too little time was spent developing fair housing programs. Further, REALTORS7 often found VAMA regulations burdensome and process-oriented. Consequently, HUD and NAR entered into discussions for the implementation of a new approach in fair housing cooperation. A new Fair Housing Partnership Agreement to replace VAMA was the outcome of those discussions. The agreement is a voluntary partnership between the two organizations to identify fair housing issues, concerns, and solutions. II. The Fair Housing Partnership Agreement The Fair Housing Partnership Agreement was approved by NAR at its November 1996 Directors meetings in San Francisco and was signed by HUD and NAR on December 5, 1996. As a result, the VAMA is effectively expired and the Partnership Agreement is currently in effect for a five-year period. The agreement incorporates a strong local emphasis whereby both NAR and HUD will encourage the development of similar local partnerships between HUD field offices and NAR State and local associations. Individual members will no longer sign agreements, and local associations are no longer required to solicit VAMA signatures from new members or send those agreements to HUD. Instead, members will be encouraged to adopt a FairHousing Declaration that incorporates a commitment to a broad set of fair housing principles. The Fair Housing Partnership Agreement continues VAMA's emphasis on voluntary compliance and education, but shifts the focus to joint actions that address issues. III. Status NAR and HUD jointly prepared the "Guide for Developing Local Partnerships," an operating handbook that sets out procedures and methods, accompanied by examples, to implement the Partnership at the local level. The Guidebook was mailed to allExecutive Officers in November and should be used by local association equal opportunity committees to prepare for their partnership program. Eventually, local associations should meet with HUD field officers and others in the housing community in an effort to develop partnership programs that promote fair housing. Along with the fair housing "Guide," NAR sent each local Association Executive Officer a copy of the "Model Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan." HUD and NAR developed the model plan because members who do business with HUD will no longer be able to reference their VAMA status in lieu of developing individual affirmative action marketing plans. The model plan includes the Fair Housing Declaration and a series of actions similar to those for members in the recently expired VAMA. The "Model Plan" may be signed and used by REALTORS to meet the HUD's affirmative fair housing marketing plan requirements. Questions regarding the Fair Housing Partnership or the Model Affirmative Housing MarketingPlan can be addressed to NAR at (202) 383-1132 or C.A.R. at (213) 739-8255.