A Government Guide to Redlining

Background: The following paragraphs are excerpted from the Federal Housing Administration’s Underwriting Manual from 1938. The manual included instructions, policies, and regulations for FHA staff in determining eligibility for mortgages. The sections below emphasize the importance of racist covenants in “protection from adverse influences” and “inharmonious racial groups.”

980 (1). Protection from Adverse Influences. The Valuator should realize that the need for protection from adverse influences is greater in an undeveloped or partially developed area than in any other type of neighborhood. Generally, a high rating should be given only where adequate and properly enforced zoning regulations exist or where effective restrictive covenants are recorded against the entire tract, since these provide the surest protection against undesirable encroachment and inharmonious use. To be most effective, deed restrictions should be imposed upon all land in the immediate environment of the subject location. . . .

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 . . . 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: . . . prohibition of nuisances or undesirable buildings such as stables, pig pens, temporary dwellings, and high fences; prohibition of the occupancy of properties except by the race for which they are intended; 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, . . .

Source: FHA Underwriting Manual, 1938.