National Fair Housing Alliance Files Lawsuit to Preserve Fair Housing Funding

By Kayla Blackwell, NLIHC Senior Housing Policy Analyst  

The National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, represented by national civil rights law firm Relman Colfax, filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to stop HUD from dismantling the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP).  

NLIHC affirms the critical role that FHIP plays in fair housing enforcement through community-based nonprofits. 

Background 

FHIP funds cost-efficient, local nonprofits to protect housing opportunities for seniors, families with children, and people with disabilities. Collectively, FHIP grantees processed around 75% of all housing discrimination complaints in 2024, according to NFHA’s Fair Housing Trends Report. The report found that discrimination based on disability accounted for the majority (54.59%) of filed complaints, and over 1,800 complaints were filed based on national origin, an increase of 8.45% from the 1,693 complaints reported in 2023. This is the highest number of complaints reported based on national origin discrimination since 2018.  

According to NFHA’s lawsuit, HUD is attempting to “eliminate the primary source of funding for over 100 private nonprofit fair housing enforcement organizations throughout the country… and instead channel huge sums to a few entities favored by Defendants.”  

Trump Administration’s Attacks on Fair Housing & Accessibility 

FHIP grantees are critical to defending the fair housing rights of protected classes, including people with disabilities. NLIHC’s recent National Renter Survey report found that 10.2 million adult renters either need or live with someone who needs accessibility features to live safely and independently. Most of these adult renters are aged 62 or older, an age group that faces increased risk of homelessness. Despite these needs, the Trump administration has repeatedly attempted to defund fair housing enforcement, which protects people with disabilities’ right to housing that meets their access needs. The administration has threatened fair housing and civil rights through eliminating the FHIP program in the president’s budget request (see Memo, 4/3), HUD’s removal of fair housing guidance (see Memo, 4/13), and the firing of HUD’s fair housing enforcement staff (see Memo, 9/29/2025). 

NLIHC believes defending fair housing and maintaining community-level access to FHIP grants are vital to ensuring access to safe, decent, and affordable housing across the United States.  

Read NFHA’s press release on the lawsuit.  

Explore Chapter 8 of NLIHC’s 2026 Advocates’ Guide to learn about Fair Housing Programs.