NFHA Denounces HUD’s Latest Attack on Fair Housing Discrimination Enforcement Tool 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

NFHA Denounces HUD’s Latest Attack on Fair Housing Discrimination Enforcement Tool  

WASHINGTON, D.C. –  The National Fair Housing Alliance® (NFHA™) denounces the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) latest proposed rule change that would weaken fair housing discrimination protections to the people of America facing unlawful discrimination. In a proposal released today, HUD proposes significantly weakening disparate impact—one of the most impactful tools to fight acts of housing and lending discrimination. 

If the proposed HUD rule is made final, the department would remove its discriminatory effects regulation making it profoundly more difficult for housing providers, financial services companies, and consumers to understand and enforce their rights under the law. 

“The Fair Housing Act was passed, in part, as a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who fought long and hard to remove all forms of discrimination as well as the vestiges of redlining, segregation, and other harmful race-based policies from our society. As the nation prepares to commemorate his birthday, HUD is taking this step to move America further away from his vision of a fair, inclusive society where everyone can thrive,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance.

Disparate impact is a common-sense tool that prevents discrimination that is not explicit and challenges the use of proxies for race, gender, and other protected characteristics that might lock people out of housing opportunities. It also requires housing providers, financial institutions, and municipalities to ensure everyone has a fair shot to obtain safe, secure, and affordable housing in a thriving community. HUD’s action today will make it more difficult for veterans, people with disabilities, low-income households, domestic abuse survivors, and rural communities to address systemic housing discrimination and leave them vulnerable during the nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis.   

“This proposal is yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to weaken our nation’s civil rights laws. These protections are critical to addressing exclusionary zoning and increasing the supply of affordable homes. The proposal from HUD also follows an obtuse application of this tool (disparate impact) by the Department of Justice where Attorney General Pam Bondi characterizes programs created to assist first-generation program beneficiaries as discriminatory because the first-generation tag might implicitly serve as a proxy for race. This administration’s logic simply does not add up,” Rice continued. 

For over 40 years, courts have forcefully upheld disparate impact as a valid legal argument under the Fair Housing Act, including the United States Supreme Court in 2015, in Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. In fact, the Court’s majority opinion noted: 

• Much progress remains to be made in our Nation’s continuing struggle against racial isolation. In striving to achieve our ‘historic commitment to creating an integrated society, we must remain wary of policies that reduce homeowners to nothing more than their race. But since the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968 and against the backdrop of disparate impact liability in nearly every jurisdiction, many cities have become more diverse. The FHA must play an important part in avoiding the Kerner Commission’s grim prophecy that ‘[o]ur Nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white – separate and un-equal.’ The Court acknowledges the Fair Housing Act’s continuing role in moving the Nation toward a more integrated society. 

The Supreme Court has already provided the necessary clarity that disparate impact is cognizable under the Fair Housing Act. HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule was implemented to provide much needed clarity on how to apply this important standard. This act by HUD is just the latest attempt to muddy the waters and is a dereliction of its responsibilities to fully enforce the Fair Housing Act.   

Other concerning acts by HUD and the Trump Administration to date include:  

• Released a final rule by the Department of Justice (DOJ) undoing protections people in the U.S. have enjoyed since the passage of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964. The new rule specifically attacks Title VI of the civil rights law—now stating that recipients of federal dollars can only be held accountable for acts of discrimination that can be proven to be intentional. 

• Fired hundreds of HUD employees—many in the vital Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity during the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history. 

• Drafted a proposed rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that would weaken hard-fought fair lending protections in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act for women and limit affordable credit opportunities for underserved communities by stopping lenders from establishing Special Purpose Credit Programs.  

• Implemented measures to eliminate the CFPB, the only federal agency with an explicit charge from Congress to protect consumers against abuse and discrimination in financial markets. 

• Sought to reverse settled and resolved redlining and discrimination cases to benefit companies and entities charged with violating civil rights laws. 

• Significantly limited the ability of people facing discrimination to file a complaint with HUD. 

• Removed multiple guidances, including HUD’s guidance on Special Purpose Credit Programs, that were designed to curtail discriminatory practices and expand equal housing opportunities. 

• Watered down and/or restricted fair housing rules, including terminating HUD’s 2021 Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule that provided meaningful solutions for tackling America’s fair and affordable housing crisis. 

• Pledged to no longer investigate complaints of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. 

“Preserving the disparate impact tool is vital for protecting the rights of women, people of color, families with children, survivors of domestic violence and sexual harassment, and seniors.  NFHA opposes HUD’s proposal to remove the well-established Discriminatory Effects Regulation and replace it with a watered-down rule that will impede efforts to enforce the law and secure equal housing opportunities. We must and will continue to fight for fair housing rights for all. Fair housing laws improve communities block by block and make our nation more prosperous for everyone. This proposed rule should never see the light of day,” said Rice.

For interviews, please e-mail NFHA Senior Advisor for Communications, Marketing, and Education Julian Glover at JGlover@NationalFairHousing.org 

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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 over 170 fair housing and justice-centered organizations and individuals throughout the U.S. and its territories, NFHA works to dismantle longstanding barriers to equity and build diverse, inclusive, well-resourced communities.