WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Fair Housing Alliance® (NFHA™), leading a coalition of 174 civil rights, fair housing, fair lending, and social justice organizations, filed a comment asking the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to halt plans to gut a critical tool that protects people from discrimination under the Fair Housing Act of 1968. HUD’s latest proposed rule would significantly weaken disparate impact—one of the most impactful tools used to remove discriminatory barriers to equal access to housing and lending opportunities, including restrictive zoning, exclusionary tenant screening and biased algorithms, harmful environmental impacts, and unnecessary and arbitrary mortgage lending practices. HUD’s proposed rule change would remove its Discriminatory Effects regulation. This action, part of HUD’s ongoing policy of refusing to recognize disparate impact and punishing others for doing so, would leave everyday people facing unlawful housing and lending discrimination less safe during America’s worsening fair and affordable housing crisis.
In the letter filed last week, the coalition of 174 organizations insisted that HUD Secretary Scott Turner:
- Not finalize the proposed rule eliminating HUD’s disparate-impact regulations
- Keep the current disparate-impact rule in place
- Comply with 50-years of legal precedent, including the Supreme Court’s decision in Texas Dept. of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., recognizing disparate-impact liability under the Fair Housing Act
- Rescind HUD policies directing its own staff, private fair housing organizations (known as FHIPs), and state and local fair housing enforcement agencies (known as FHAPS) not to investigate or pursue disparate-impact cases
- Withdraw the proposed rule and provide a lawful, adequate comment period
NFHA also launched a public education campaign highlighting the potential impacts of this tool’s removal on immigrant households, housing choice voucher holders including families with children and people of color, people with disabilities, survivors of sexual and physical abuse, veterans, and rural residents. That campaign, in concert with peer civil rights and consumer protection organizations, helped drive the 1,426 comments filed with HUD.
“The Supreme Court has already made it clear that disparate impact is cognizable under the Fair Housing Act,” said Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “HUD’s Discriminatory Effects Rule was implemented to provide much-needed clarity on how to apply this important standard. Unfortunately, HUD’s new proposal is just the latest attempt by the Administration to muddy the waters and is a dereliction of its responsibilities to fully enforce the Fair Housing Act of 1968.”
For more information on HUD’s attempted rollback of its disparate impact Discriminatory Effects regulations and a comprehensive list of the Trump Administration’s coordinated attack on fair housing and fair lending, click here.
The nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis requires inclusive and innovative solutions like SPCPs and vigorous defense of our essential fair lending protections to ensure that no community is shut out of the American Dream. NFHA will continue working with partners across the country to advance progress.
###
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.