Administration’s Recent Actions Severely Weaken Protections and Eliminate Resources for People Facing Housing Discrimination

Housing is a basic human need, and no one should be turned away from resources and services that help them obtain stable, affordable housing because of their identity. The Fair Housing Act of 1968, a landmark piece of civil rights legislation, tries to guarantee these rights by outlawing discrimination in housing and related services. The law also provides remedies for when discrimination does occur, and it creates an affirmative duty for governments to redress past inequalities by proactively creating inclusive communities, also known affirmatively furthering fair housing.

Because everyone has different experiences and needs, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) programs and initiatives should help create equal opportunities and meet people where they are, especially people who have been systemically excluded from access to resources. This is especially important in housing, where a long, well-documented history of government-backed discrimination based on race, gender, and disability exists.

But the Trump-Vance Administration has turned against inclusionary policies that acknowledge and attempt to rectify that history. Instead, the Administration’s actions are moving us backward by making discrimination in housing and beyond easier and stepping back from the federal government’s affirmative duty to help ensure everyone has equal housing opportunities in their communities.

The Administration has:

• Canceled grants for nonprofit organizations that investigate claims of housing discrimination. These organizations handled three-quarters of housing discrimination complaints in 2024. Without them, people who experience housing discrimination may not be able to access help, and the lack of accountability could lead to an increase in discrimination. Several impacted groups have sued the Administration and are seeking to reinstate these grants. The Administration is also reportedly aiming to cut more than three-quarters of fair housing staff at HUD. The majority of fair housing cases in 2024 dealt with discrimination against people with disabilities (53 percent), followed by race (17 percent), sex (8 percent), and familial status, for example having children in the house (6 percent). In addition to helping people who experience discrimination, these organizations help identify patterns of discrimination and are critical for addressing systemic issues happening across the country. Canceling these grants is part of a larger, often illegal effort to interfere with federal grantmaking.

• Issued an interim final rule that guts a critical fair housing tool. HUD and its grantees have a duty under the Fair Housing Act to take affirmative actions to expand housing opportunity for people and groups who have been excluded, known as affirmatively furthering fair housing (AFFH). Although this duty is a key part of the Fair Housing Act, the federal government failed to really implement it until 2015 under President Obama. The first Trump Administration halted those efforts and attempted to undermine any enforcement of AFFH.

  In its second term, the Trump Administration has again attacked the affirmatively furthering fair housing mandate. A strong, affirmative policy, such as the one finalized in 2015 or proposed in 2023 under the Biden Administration, would provide guidance for states, localities, and housing providers receiving HUD funding to remove barriers to housing, limit displacement due to gentrification, address infrastructure inequities, and create inclusive communities accessible to everyone.

  Instead, the Trump Administration’s new rule, which went into effect on April 2, 2025, turns the responsibility for government to serve everyone into a meaningless “check-the-box” exercise with no enforcement, analysis, or accountability to the people it serves. The consequences will be a continued shortage of housing options and supports for people with disabilities and neighborhoods that continue to be segregated by race, leaving people with unequal access to opportunities.

• Ended contracts with organizations that provide technical assistance to help develop affordable housing reportedly because, in the Administration’s view, the organizations promoted diversity in the workplace or through their services. These organizations provide inclusive outreach and services that reflect the unique barriers to housing that people may face because of historical or present exclusionary policies, so they necessarily tailor their work to ensure marginalized people can access housing.
• Removed protections for trans and nonbinary people experiencing homelessness. HUD has announced that it will stop enforcement of the Equal Access Rule and has initiated the process to rescind it completely. The Equal Access Rule seeks to ensure people can access critical shelter and housing programs in accordance with their gender identity. These protections are vital for trans and nonbinary people who are already overrepresented among people experiencing unsheltered homelessness and face high levels of physical and sexual violence. The ability for anyone, but particularly trans and nonbinary people, to access emergency shelter without fear of harassment or violence saves lives.

Enforcing anti-discrimination laws and providing services that reflect the reality of people’s circumstances benefit everyone’s ability to rent or buy a home in a neighborhood of their choice or safely access emergency shelter if needed. These protections help stabilize families, which supports people’s health and children’s long-term success, and strengthens communities by ensuring they have the resources residents need to thrive. Instead of making discrimination easier and taking resources away from local communities, the Administration and Congress should focus on ensuring support is available to everyone, regardless of race, gender, or disability, as fair housing and civil rights laws require.