ABA Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law to host annual meeting in D.C. starting May 24

The American Bar Association Forum on Affordable Housing and Community Development Law will meet with legal, government and private housing experts to discuss fair housing, gentrification, trends in rental assistance, economic development and tax reform May 24-26 at the Salamander Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Damon Smith, general counsel at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is scheduled to lead the Thursday morning plenary session in a discussion of how HUD is addressing the housing supply crisis. On Friday, Michelle Wilde Anderson, Stanford law professor and author, will discuss her book,

“The Fight to Save the Town: Reimagining Discarded America,” which looks at wealth inequality and how government plays a role in driving it. The book examines four impoverished communities that offer solutions for today’s housing crisis, job security, basic services and gun violence.

Programs of interest include:

• “HUD 1: The Way You Do the Things You Do: RAD Legal Best Practices”— A panel of housing experts will discuss best practices and common pitfalls for Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) policy, requirements and legal protocols.

• “HUD 2: VAWA & Discriminatory Effects Rule – Updates from HUD OGC Fair Housing: Discriminatory Effects; VAWA; Section 504 Accessibility Issues”—HUD’s Office of General Counsel’s Office of Fair Housing will provide updates on its recent publication of the final Discriminatory Effects Rule; implementing Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity’s ( FHEO) new enforcement authority under the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act 2022; and recent work on discrimination related to source of income.

For additional information on the forum, visit www.americanbar.org/groups/affordable_housing.