VHBP Fair Housing Guidelines & Fair Housing Complaints

HUD Fair Housing Logo which is a house outline with an equal sign in it
HUD logo with Fair Housing ribbon logo and HUD phone number

Voluntary Home Buyout Program (VHBP) Fair Housing Guidelines

Monroe County managed the CDBG-DR VHBP in conformity with the federal Fair Housing Act, the Florida Fair Housing Act, Section 104(b)(2) of the Housing Community Development (HCD) Act of 1974 and other federal and state regulations governing fair housing.  Additionally, the County adhered to fair housing requirements outlined in the subrecipient agreement with FL DEO.  In managing and implementing the VHBP the County took actions to ensure that no person shall, on the ground of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, familial status, or disability, be:

  • excluded from participation in
  • be denied the benefits of
  • be subjected to discrimination under
  • or be denied access to the CDBG-DR VHBP. 

The County adopted Resolution 192-2021 for VHBP Fair Housing Activities which included the designation of the VHBP Project Manager (also known as the Local Government Project Contact in the VHBP Subrecipient Agreement) as the Fair Housing Coordinator for the duration of the grant agreement (which ended June 3, 2025).  The County undertook the following activities in order to comply with fair housing regulations and to affirmatively further fair housing through the VHBP:

  • Fair housing informational posters were located in the VHBP offices notifying the public of their fair housing rights.  
  • The County included contact information for both the Fair Housing Coordinator as well as state and HUD fair housing contacts on the County’s website.
  • The County engaged in quarterly fair housing activities and report those as required by the Subrecipient Agreement.
  • The County developed a formal fair housing complaint form and the Fair Housing Coordinator will record all formal complaints and refer complainants to the appropriate fair housing specialist through the state or HUD offices.  Fair Housing Complaint forms for the Florida Commission on Human Relations and HUD are maintained on file and available to the public.  VHBP staff will provide copies of any received complaint forms to the Monroe County Housing Authority.
  • The Fair Housing Coordinator maintained a record of any related calls including a log of calls received, the nature of the call, the actions taken, and any resulting referrals.
  • While the Fair Housing Coordinator did not have the legal authority pursue or enforce potential fair housing issues or violations outside of the scope of the VHBP, the Fair Housing Coordinator provided complainants with the necessary contacts to further address those issues or may contact those additional fair housing resources as deemed appropriate.
  • In addition to ensuring that fair housing conflicts do not arise through the implementation of the VHBP, the Fair Housing Coordinator provided applicants with fair housing resources if fair housing conflicts appeared to occur outside of the direct oversight of the VHBP.  

Monroe County took additional measures to affirmatively market the CDBG Disaster Recovery Program, as follows:

  • Monroe County made efforts to communicate, both orally and in writing, in appropriate languages to affected residents. Content on the county’s webpage is accessible through language translation tools provided on the webpage, see https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/1033/Accessibility.
  • Monroe County provided reasonable accommodations as needed to make the VHBP accessible to people with disabilities.   Content on the county’s webpage has been designed with accessibility guidelines and links to accessibility tools are provided on the webpage, see https://www.monroecounty-fl.gov/1033/Accessibility.
  • Monroe County retained documentation of all marketing measures used, including copies of all advertisements and announcements that will be available for public viewing upon request.

The County will retain all fair housing documentation and records in compliance with the record retention policies of the VHBP.

How to make a Fair Housing Complaint -- for residents of Monroe County, Florida

To make a Fair Housing complaint please contact the State of Florida or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to make a Fair Housing Complaint:

HUD South Florida Office

Miami Office
Brickell Plaza Federal Building
909 SE First Avenue, Room 500
Miami, FL 33131-3028
Phone: 305-536-4456
Email: FL_Webmanager@hud.gov
Fax: 305-536-5765
TTY: 305-536-4743
Field Office Director: Luis M. Rolle
Office Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Monday through Friday

How to make a Fair Housing Complaint -- For residents in other Florida Counties or other States

To make a Fair Housing complaint in other Florida counties, contact the State of Florida or the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:

To make a Fair Housing complaint in states other than Florida, contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: