"Racial" Provisions of FHA
Underwriting Manual, 1938
980 (3). Recorded restrictive covenants should strengthen and supplement zoning ordinances and to be really effective should include the provisions listed below. The restrictions should be recorded with the plat, or imposed as a blanket encumbrance against all lots in the subdivision, and should run for a period of at least twenty-five to thirty years. Recommended restrictions should include provision for the following:
a. Allocation of definite areas for specific uses such as single or two-family houses, apartments, and business structures
b. The placement of buildings so they will have adequate light and air with assurance of a space of at least ten feet between buildings
c. Prohibition of the resubdivision of lots
d. Prohibition of the erection of more than one dwelling per lot
e. Control of the design of all buildings, by requiring their approval by a qualified committee, and by appropriate cost limitations or minimum square foot ground floor areas
f. Prohibition of nuisances or undesirable buildings such as stables, pig pens, temporary dwellings, and high fences
g. Prohibition of the occupancy of properties except by the race for which they are intended
h. Appropriate provisions for enforcement.
982 (1). Adequacy of Civic,
Social, and Commercial Centers. These elements of comfortable living
usually follow rather than precede development. Those centers serving the city
or section in which the development is situated should be readily available to
its occupants. Schools should be appropriate to the needs of the new community
and they should not be attended in large numbers by inharmonious racial
groups. Employment centers, preferably diversified in nature, should be at
a convenient distance. Source: Federal Housing Administration, Underwriting
Manual: Underwriting and Valuation Procedure Under Title II of the National
Housing Act With Revisions to February, 1938 (
This WWW page was created by Wendy Plotkin (wendy.plotkin@asu.edu)
in 1998 and updated on
