These are important policies that help protect you and make your experience better. We also provide links to important information that you may want to read. If you have questions about our policies, please feel free to contact us.

• Privacy and Security

• Accessibility: HUD's websites - including all online applications and work processes - must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, making content accessible to people with disabilities. Section 508 requires that anyone with disabilities must be able to access and use information and data on a website, comparable to the way people without disabilities can get that information and data, unless it would cause our agency an undue burden.

  If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader, Braille reader, etc.) and have problems accessing information on our website, please contact us and tell us about your problem. Be sure to include the URL (web address) of the material you tried to access and your contact information. We will try to provide the information you are seeking.

• Following Links to Other Websites: Throughout our website, we include links to information on other websites. We provide these links solely to help you find additional information about a topic or next steps. Once you leave HUD's website, you will be subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the outside website.
  • HUD cannot control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness or completeness of information contained on a linked website.
  • HUD does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites, and we do not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer.
  • HUD cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials on linked websites. You will have to request authorization from the sponsor of the linked website.
  • HUD cannot guarantee that outside websites comply with Section 508 (Accessibility Requirements) of the Rehabilitation Act.
  • HUD cannot control or guarantee that the owners of other websites will protect your privacy. You should read their privacy policies when you visit other sites.

• HUD's Linking Policy:
  • HUD uses links to other websites if they add value to HUD content and help further the goals and mission of the Department, they help HUD's website visitors find related information, and they eliminate the need to duplicate information that already exists.
  • We review all of our links at least quarterly, as part of our routine content certification process, to make sure they still work and that they still add value.
  • When we choose a link, we make sure that it will add value, do not exist solely to promote specific products or services, are in good taste, and comply with all laws, regulations, and policies.
  • As a rule, our links do not promote specific for-profit products or services. Sometimes, however, we do link to the home pages and/or email addresses of a category of private for-profit HUD partners (for example, HUD approved lenders) when it will promote HUD's program and customer service objectives. To make sure that we are fair, we post a complete list of the vendors in that category (both those with and those without websites/email); and we notify all vendors in that category that we will be creating links to the websites/email addresses of those that have them, before any links are posted.
  • When we link to a non-federal website, you will see an "interceptor" page that reminds you that you are leaving the HUD website and that HUD does not endorse the organization or content on the site you will see.
  • Because HUD's Internet website is in the public domain, anyone can link to it or replicate it without permission.
  • If you have or know of a website that you think would add value to the content on HUD's website, you can send us the link. We will review the site to see if it meets our criteria.

• File Formats:
  • HUD is committed to providing information and data in formats that most people for whom it is intended can use.
  • When we provide data, we try to provide it in a format that lets the intended audience aggregate, separate, manipulate, and analyze it, as needed, to the extent possible.
  • Some documents on our website are in Portable Document Format (PDF). These documents ensure that you will be able to obtain publications in their original format regardless of what type of computer, browser or operating system you use to access the Internet. In order to view, navigate through and print PDF documents, you must first download the free Acrobat Reader software. Instructions and a troubleshooting guide are available on the Adobe website. For best results, make sure you install version 3.0 or later of the Acrobat Reader. If you're using screenreaders or require alternate versions of Adobe Acrobat, you may find it useful to visit Adobe's alternate reader download page.
  • Some of our documents are in other proprietary formats (that means they use a software that you normally would have to buy, to use the document). When we do post information or data in a proprietary format, we do it only when we are reasonably sure that the intended audience already can access files in that format. Following are links to free viewers, to help you see documents in proprietary formats:
    • Word (.doc) - this is a common format for word processing documents. (Download the free viewer)
    • Powerpoint (.ppt) - this is a common format for presentation documents. (Download the free viewer)
    • Excel (.xls) - this is a common format for spreadsheet documents. (Download the free viewer)
  • HUD will provide a printed version of a web document to anyone who does not have access to the web, upon request.

• Web Content to be Published: To comply with Section 207 (f)(2) of the E-Government Act of 2002 and subsequent policy guidance from OMB, we have listed additional content that we plan to post on HUD's website. We update this schedule annually.

• Answering Email
  • HUD is committed to providing excellent customer service. Email generated by HUD's web products will be answered promptly, using email whenever possible.
  • Normally, web-generated email should be answered within two business days.
  • If a reply requires more research, it may take us 2 weeks or more to answer your questions. In those cases, we'll let you know that we're working on it and tell you when to expect a response.
  • If you send us email that we can't answer - but another government agency can - we will send it to USA Services, so they can route it to the proper agency.

• Other Web Policies: We want you to know exactly how we operate HUD's websites. So we have posted all our policies and procedures in Bookshelf 11 (Web Management) of our online Library.