(a) During the period beginning with the filing of the complaint and ending with the filing of a charge or the dismissal of the complaint by the General Counsel or the Assistant Secretary, the Assistant Secretary will, to the extent feasible, attempt to conciliate the complaint.

(b) In conciliating a complaint, HUD will attempt to achieve a just resolution of the complaint and to obtain assurances that the respondent will satisfactorily remedy any violations of the rights of the aggrieved person, and take such action as will assure the elimination of discriminatory housing practices, or the prevention of their occurrence, in the future.

(c) Generally, officers, employees, and agents of HUD engaged in the investigation of a complaint under this part will not participate or advise in the conciliation of the same complaint or in any factually related complaint. Where the rights of the aggrieved party and the respondent can be protected and the prohibitions with respect to the disclosure of information can be observed, the investigator may suspend fact finding and engage in efforts to resolve the complaint by conciliation.

(a) The terms of a settlement of a complaint will be reduced to a written conciliation agreement. The conciliation agreement shall seek to protect the interests of the aggrieved person, other persons similarly situated, and the public interest. The types of relief that may be sought for the aggrieved person are described in § 103.315. The provisions that may be sought for the vindication of the public interest are described in § 103.320.

(b)(1) The agreement must be executed by the respondent and the complainant. The agreement is subject to the approval of the Assistant Secretary, who will indicate approval by signing the agreement. The Assistant Secretary will approve an agreement and, if the Assistant Secretary is the complainant, will execute the agreement, only if:

(i) The complainant and the respondent agree to the relief accorded the aggrieved person;

(ii) The provisions of the agreement will adequately vindicate the public interest; and

(iii) If the Assistant Secretary is the complainant, all aggrieved persons named in the complaint are satisfied with the relief provided to protect their interests.

(2) The General Counsel may issue a charge under § 103.405 if the aggrieved person and the respondent have executed a conciliation agreement that has not been approved by the Assistant Secretary.

(a) The following types of relief may be sought for aggrieved persons in conciliation:

(1) Monetary relief in the form of damages, including damages caused by humiliation or embarrassment, and attorney fees;

(2) Other equitable relief including, but not limited to, access to the dwelling at issue, or to a comparable dwelling, the provision of services or facilities in connection with a dwelling, or other specific relief; or

(3) Injunctive relief appropriate to the elimination of discriminatory housing practices affecting the aggrieved person or other persons.

(b) The conciliation agreement may provide for binding arbitration of the dispute arising from the complaint. Arbitration may award appropriate relief as described in paragraph (a) of this section. The aggrieved person and the respondent may, in the conciliation agreement, limit the types of relief that may be awarded under binding arbitration.

The following are types of provisions may be sought for the vindication of the public interest:

(a) Elimination of discriminatory housing practices.

(b) Prevention of future discriminatory housing practices.

(c) Remedial affirmative activities to overcome discriminatory housing practices.

(d) Reporting requirements.

(e) Monitoring and enforcement activities.

(a) HUD may terminate its efforts to conciliate the complaint if the respondent fails or refuses to confer with HUD; the aggrieved person or the respondent fail to make a good faith effort to resolve any dispute; or HUD finds, for any reason, that voluntary agreement is not likely to result.

(b) Where the aggrieved person has commenced a civil action under an Act of Congress or a State law seeking relief with respect to the alleged discriminatory housing practice, and the trial in the action has commenced, HUD will terminate conciliation unless the court specifically requests assistance from the Assistant Secretary.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section and § 103.230(c), nothing that is said or done in the course of conciliation under this part may be made public or used as evidence in a subsequent administrative hearing under part 180 or in civil actions under title VIII of the Fair Housing Act, without the written consent of the persons concerned.

(b) Conciliation agreements shall be made public, unless the aggrieved person and respondent request nondisclosure and the Assistant Secretary determines that disclosure is not required to further the purposes of the Fair Housing Act. Notwithstanding a determination that disclosure of a conciliation agreement is not required, the Assistant Secretary may publish tabulated descriptions of the results of all conciliation efforts.

HUD may, from time to time, review compliance with the terms of any conciliation agreement. Whenever HUD has reasonable cause to believe that a respondent has breached a conciliation agreement, the Assistant Secretary shall refer the matter to the Attorney General with a recommendation for the filing of a civil action under section 814(b)(2) of the Fair Housing Act for the enforcement of the terms of the conciliation agreement.