When a Fair Housing complaint is filed HUD will try to reach an agreement with the person a complaint is made against (the respondent). This process is called:

• A. Conciliation
• B. Mediation
• C. Arbitration
• D. Litigation

Answer: (A)

Conciliation is HUD’s voluntary settlement effort to resolve a fair housing complaint by negotiating directly with the respondent to reach an agreement. It’s informal and non-adversarial, aiming for prompt remedies such as policy changes, training, outreach, or compensation to the aggrieved party. This occurs during or after the investigation and can be confidential, often without an admission of liability. If the parties sign a conciliation agreement, the matter is resolved without going to court. This differs from mediation (a neutral third party facilitates a deal), arbitration (a neutral arbitrator issues a binding decision), or litigation (a court case). Conciliation is the direct negotiation HUD engages in to obtain compliance and settle the matter.