NHMC and NAA Sue HUD over Language Requirements

[Harold F. Schiffman]

NHMC and NAA Sue HUD over Language Requirements

Two associations representing owners of multi-family properties have
brought suit again the Department of Housing and Urban Development over
new regulations that require them to provide written materials and
services to tenants and potential tenants for whom English is not their
primary language. The National Multi Housing Council (NMHC) and National
Apartment Association (NAA) filed suit in federal court against HUD asking
that the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Guidance which went into effect
in March be struck down. These rules require federally funded apartment
owners to translate numerous documents into multiple languages and to
provide verbal translation services for those who cannot read the
documents when

Jim Arbury, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs for both NMHC and
NAA said in a press release, "Although we share HUD's goal of expanding
access to housing programs for people with LEP, HUD has exceeded its
statutory authority and its Guidance is clearly illegal. It effectively
rewrites federal anti-discrimination law and makes it illegal to
communicate only in English. ...courts all the way up to the Supreme Court
have ruled that providing services in English only does not constitute
discrimination." Not only do these requirements exceed HUD's authority
Arbury said, "They are also unlawfully vague and unduly burdensome. He
stated that the guidance does not specify the documents that must be
translated or the level of assistance that must be provided."

"To comply, firms are effectively forced to identify all the languages
likely to be spoken by residents and potential residents and then to
maintain a fleet of translators to translate documents into those
languages. The Guidance even goes so far as to require firms to make
translators available for oral translations at a moment's notice, no
matter how few persons with LEP the firm is serving." Arbury suggested
that, rather than putting the burden on apartment owners, HUD should use
its own resources to translate the necessary documents into the more than
100 different languages spoken in the U.S. rather than requiring thousands
of individual apartment firms and individual apartment owners to duplicate
that activity across the country.

"Every dollar spent on this misguided policy is a dollar that could be
spent serving needy families and maintaining their properties," said
Arbury. "We are calling on HUD to withdraw its Guidance, to act
proactively to translate important rental documents and to create a
hotline to handle inquiries from LEP persons."

http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/572007_NHMC_NAA.asp

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