HUD Announces It will enforce the Fair Housing Act to Prohibit Housing Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity
HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) issued a memorandum stating that (1) HUD now interprets the Fair Housing Act to bar discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and (2) directs HUD offices and recipients of HUD funds to enforce the Act accordingly. The memorandum begins implementation of the policy announced in President Biden’s Executive Order 13988 on Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation (Executive Order), which directed executive branch agencies to develop further actions that could be taken to combat such discrimination.
The memorandum directs the following:
(1) HUD will accept and investigate all jurisdictional complaints of sex discrimination, including discrimination because of gender identity or sexual orientation, and enforce the Fair Housing Act where it finds such discrimination occurred.
(2) HUD will conduct all activities involving the application, interpretation, and enforcement of the Fair Housing Act’s prohibition on sex discrimination consistent with its conclusion that such discrimination includes discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
(3) State and local jurisdictions funded by HUD’s Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) that enforce the Fair Housing Act through their HUD-certified substantially equivalent laws will be required to administer those laws to prohibit discrimination because of gender identity and sexual orientation.
(4) Organizations and agencies that receive grants through the Department’s Fair Housing Initiative Program (FHIP) must carry out their funded activities to also prevent and combat discrimination because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
(5) FHEO Regional Offices, FHAP agencies, and FHIP grantees are instructed to review, within 30 days, all records of allegations (inquiries, complaints, phone logs, etc.) received since January 20, 2020, and notify persons who alleged discrimination because of gender identity or sexual orientation that their claims may be timely and jurisdictional for filing under this memorandum.
In response, Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), issued the following statement:
“We are glad to see that HUD is moving forward to implement President Biden’s executive orders without delay, and taking strong action to prohibit housing discrimination, which is so often faced by the LGTBQ+ community. This community faces some of the highest rates of homelessness, which stems in large part from discrimination. They also face discrimination at many homeless shelters. Full enforcement of the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation was long overdue, and we applaud HUD for moving quickly.”
Some relevant resources regarding this subject are:
Same-Sex Couples And Mortgage Lending - https://ncrc.org/same-sex-couples-and-mortgage-lending/.
Lending Discrimination against Same-Sex Couples in Mortgage Applications - https://ncrc.org/same-sex-couples-and-mortgage-lending/.
