Memo to Members

New Resources Available to Comment on HUD’s Proposed Equal Access Rule Roll Back; Take Action TODAY!

May 26, 2026

By Kayla Blackwell, NLIHC Senior Housing Policy Analyst and Renee Williams, NLIHC Senior Advisor for Public Policy 

HUD’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), “Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Revisions,” which seeks to roll back the Equal Access Rule (EAR), is open for public comment until June 29 at 11:59 pm ET (see Memo, 5/4). Advocates have two new resources to help inform their comments opposing the Proposed Rule. First, SAGE released a new fact sheet summarizing the HUD proposal and responding to HUD’s asserted justifications for this rulemaking. Second, the EAR webinar, hosted May 20, now has a recording and slides available. Speakers provided an overview of the EAR, summarized the impacts of EAR on domestic violence survivors, people with HIV/AIDS, and civil rights, and showed advocates how to take action. NLIHC also released a resource page on EAR, which will be regularly updated with tools to assist advocates in responding to HUD’s proposal.  

Background on Equal Access 

When one in three transgender people experience homelessness in their lives, LGBTQ+ youth make up 40% of the homeless youth population, and transgender people report feeling unsafe in emergency shelters, these realities demand an intentional commitment to creating pathways to safe, decent, affordable housing that addresses inequities.  

HUD’s 2012 Equal Access Rule required that access to HUD-assisted or -insured programs be made regardless of one’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. Under the 2012 Rule, inquiries about an applicant’s sex were permitted for the purpose of determining placement in temporary, emergency shelters (with shared bedrooms/bathrooms). 

HUD updated the rule in 2016 to revise the terms “sexual orientation” and “gender identity,” with the latter defined as “the gender with which a person identifies, regardless of the sex assigned at birth.” The updates largely focused on the barriers transgender and gender non-conforming people face in securing equal access to shelter. The 2016 Rule required that all housing/services funded by HUD’s Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD) ensure equal access to programs for individuals consistent with their gender identity. The 2016 EAR amendments prohibited intrusive questioning as well as asking for anatomical information, physical, or medical documentary proof of one’s gender identity.  

Trump Administration Targets LGBTQ+ People, Fails to Enforce Equal Access to Housing 

However, in 2020, the Trump administration attempted to weaken protections for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals seeking emergency shelter through proposed changes to the EAR. The 2020 proposal received over 66,000 comments, an overwhelming response signifying public resistance to the then-proposed changes. In 2021, then-President Biden’s Executive Order 13998 reinforced laws that prohibited sex discrimination, and the 2020 proposed rule was withdrawn.  

Yet in 2025, President Trump’s EO 14168 expressed the administration’s intent to roll back civil rights protections for transgender and gender nonconforming individuals, and names the 2016 Rule specifically. In February, HUD Secretary Scott Turner announced the halting of ongoing or future enforcement actions for the 2016 EAR (see Memo, 2/10/25). The current Proposed Rule continues this effort, while also removing language from HUD regulations (beyond CPD regulations) offering protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Importantly, the current Proposed Rule goes much farther to roll back LGBTQ+ protections in HUD programmatic regulations than the 2020 proposed rulemaking. NLIHC strongly opposes this latest attempt by the administration to roll back critical protections for the LGBTQ+ community.  

Take action to oppose HUD’s Equal Access Rule Roll Back! 

Watch the EAR Webinar recording here.  

See a new fact sheet summarizing the HUD proposal and responding to HUD’s justifications on the rule here.  

Explore Chapter 6 of NLIHC’s Advocates’ Guide to learn about LGBTQ+ access to housing assistance. 

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