HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the principal federal agency
responsible for programs concerned with housing needs, fair housing opportunities, and
improving and developing U.S. communities.
HUD was established in 1965 by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act
(42 U.S.C.A. § 3532–3537). Its major functions include insuring mortgages for single-family and multifamily dwellings and extending loans for home improvements and for the purchase of
mobile homes; channeling funds from investors
into the mortgage industry through the GOV-
ERNMENT NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION;
and making loans for the construction or reha-
bilitation of housing projects for older and
handicapped persons. HUD also provides fed-
eral housing subsidies for low- and moderate-
income families,makes grants to states and local
communities for development activities related
to housing, and promotes and enforces laws,
policies, and regulations supporting fair housing
and equal housing opportunities.
HUD is administered under the supervision
and direction of a cabinet-level secretary
appointed by the president. The secretary of
HUD formulates recommendations for housing
and community development policy and works
with the Executive Office of the President and
