Well, we certainly cannot label the HUD fair housing folks as Luddites. They are embracing not only the availability of modern technology, they are also actively marketing their role in providing education about housing discrimination and how to file complaints. Last week (February 28^th) HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) introduced its first ever housing discrimination mobile application for iPhone and iPad, created with Hewlett Packard technology. It will now be quicker and easier for the public to learn about their housing rights and what to do if they believe those housing rights have been denied or interfered with. The mobile pages are in English and Spanish, and folks can file complaint forms in both languages.

In the words of John Trasviña, HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity: “Having this first fair housing mobile application equips people everywhere with the information they need to combat housing discrimination. We are maximizing the latest technology to make the process for filing fair housing complaints faster and easier and arming our fair housing partners with the information they need to understand their fair housing rights and responsibilities.”

And keep a look out for a planned “Quick Response code” ad campaign, directing mobile users to those new pages and complaint forms.

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/press/press_releases_media_advisories/2013/HUDNo.13-031