Federal Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order in Lawsuit Against HUD for Withholding Fair Housing Funds
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Federal Judge Grants Temporary Restraining Order in Lawsuit Against HUD for Withholding Fair Housing Funds
Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Fair Housing Alliance ® (NFHA ™) issued the following statement after U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan granted a temporary restraining order requiring the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to distribute critical federal fair housing dollars nationwide to local, community-based fair housing organizations assisting seniors, disabled veterans, survivors of sexual assault and/or domestic violence, families with children, people with disabilities and others with securing housing opportunities free of discrimination.
The case involves funding associated with the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). Established in 1987 during the Reagan Administration, Congress created FHIP to support community-based, frontline organizations that help expand equal housing opportunities, stabilize neighborhoods, provide counseling, investigate discrimination, and educate communities and housing providers on fair housing laws. Since then, nonprofit organizations have used FHIP funds to help build and develop fair and affordable housing, stop insurance and lending redlining practices; support the development of accessible housing units for people with disabilities; bring to heel landlords who sexually harass women; prevent homelessness for families with children; help people of color secure mortgage loans free of discrimination, and much more. Plaintiffs allege that, despite more than thirty years of unbroken interdependence between the federal government and fair housing organizations, HUD has been flouting its FHIP mandate by refusing to spend congressionally appropriated funds for existing grants and failing to award new grants from pending application cycles. In the decision, Judge Sooknanan ordered HUD to provide a detailed timeline for how it will make new grants before September 30, when the appropriations that back them expire, and to update the court later this week on its progress in implementing existing grants.
Monday’s ruling marks an early victory in a federal class action lawsuit filed in June 2025 by civil rights firm Relman Colfax PLLC on behalf of NFHA and the Tennessee Fair Housing Council.
“Today’s decision is a crucial step in restoring the fair housing infrastructure that millions of people across the country rely on to challenge illegal housing and lending policies and practices and access justice,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of NFHA. “The court recognized the real and immediate harm that HUD’s actions are causing to fair housing organizations and the communities that depend on them as the nation continues to grapple with a fair and affordable housing crisis.”
Read the judge’s ruling here.
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The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) is the country’s only national civil rights organization dedicated solely to eliminating all forms of housing and lending discrimination and ensuring equal opportunities for all people. As the trade association for 200 fair housing and justice-centered organizations throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.