Memo to Members

NLIHC Joins National Fair Housing Alliance Letter Urging Congress Fund Fair Housing Enforcement; Take Action for Fair Housing Funding Today

Jul 21, 2025

By Kayla Blackwell, NLIHC Housing Policy Analyst and Kayla Springer, NLIHC Policy Analyst 

NLIHC signed on to a letter led by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) urging Congress to fully fund fair housing programs for fiscal year 2026 (FY26). The Trump Administration’s proposed FY26 budget cuts critical fair housing programs, and the House’s proposed Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill largely adopted these cuts (see NLIHC’s latest budget analysis here). If finalized, the threat to fair housing funding means that the fair and affordable housing crisis will worsen—racial disparities in homelessness and housing insecurity will increase, and renters will have fewer avenues to address housing discrimination. Today, July 21, is the last day to join NFHA’s organizational sign-on letter in support of fair housing funding. 

The Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to fair housing programs outlined in the letter include: 

  1. Eliminating the local Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP);
  2. Cutting $31 million from HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO), and;
  3. Allocating only $26 million for the state and local Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) 

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 2023. FHEO is already an underfunded and understaffed office that enforces and establishes federal fair housing policies. The proposed cuts reduce funding for FHEO to only $55 million, reducing FHEO’s ability to respond to housing discrimination complaints at a time when such complaints are at an all-time high. FHAP programs fund state and local agencies that administer substantive local fair housing protections. FHAP agencies processed 19% of all housing discrimination complaints in 2023, but 12 states and many localities still do not have FHAP-funded agencies. “Without local fair housing organizations on the ground serving their communities, everyday people will be unfairly denied housing opportunities, resulting in more people becoming homeless and/or facing housing insecurity,” the letter states.  

Take action to support fair housing funding! 

Advocates can use NFHA’s tools to take action in support of fair housing funding.  

  • Join NFHA’s organizational sign-on letter in support of Congress fully funding fair housing programs by TODAY, July 21! 
  • Urge your members of Congress to fully fund essential fair housing programs using NFHA’s Call to Action. 
  • Circulate NFHA’s Change.org petition in support of full funding for FHIP.  

As housing discrimination complaints reach an all-time high, NLIHC joins NFHA in calling on Congress to protect the fundamental right to fair access to quality, accessible, and affordable housing, and to prevent the proposed FY26 budget’s deep cuts to HUD fair housing programs.  

Find the full text of the letter here. 

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