NLIHC Joins Sign-On Letter Raising Alarm about HUD and FHFA Actions that Will Worsen the Fair and Affordable Housing Crisis

NLIHC joined a letter sent May 15 to HUD Secretary Scott Turner and Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte raising concerns about recent and proposed actions taken by HUD and FHFA that will weaken and undermine fair housing laws and worsen the nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis. The letter was led by the Consumer Federation of America, Americans for Financial Reform, National Consumer Law Center, National Fair Housing Alliance, and the Lincoln Institute.  

The letter cites the recent rescinding of HUD’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule, the announcement that HUD will no longer enforce the Equal Access Rule, and recent staff dismissals and reductions, including a proposed 75% reduction of staff at HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. The letter also warns of the impact of cutting staff and funding for essential housing programs at a time when more households than ever are struggling to afford rent. 

“Housing discrimination makes it even harder for millions of families - particularly people with disabilities and people of color - to find housing and worsens our housing crisis. Secretary Turner has taken all of these actions without any public explanation as to how HUD proposes to address their negative impact on our nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis,” the letter states. 

Director Pulte has also taken steps at FHFA that will make it more difficult to provide mortgage financing in underserved communities, including waiving the requirement for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to implement their Equitable Housing Finance Plans, and placing FHFA’s fair lending and consumer protections teams on administrative leave.  

“The Trump Administration promised to address the high cost of housing, but so far has proposed policies that will increase the cost of rent, shred the nation’s housing safety net, and push more people into homelessness,” said Renee Willis, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition in a press release. “At a time when more people than ever are struggling to afford the cost of rent and a record number of people are experiencing homelessness, rolling back fair housing protections and cutting funding for rental assistance, homelessness services, and affordable housing development – and gutting the workforce responsible for administering these programs – will only create more hardship. Our families, neighbors, and communities deserve better than these untenable and unconscionable proposals.” 

The National Fair Housing Alliance reported that in 2023, there were 34,105 fair housing complaints received by non-profit fair housing organizations, HUD, Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies, and the Department of Justice. There is a clear need for strengthening, not weakening, fair housing protections and enforcement to put an end to housing discrimination and to address our nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis.  

Read the letter here: https://bit.ly/4diD3T7  

Read the press release here: https://bit.ly/3S7VgJd