CHICAGO — Attorney General Kwame Raoul today co-led a coalition of 24 state attorneys general in sending a comment letter to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) opposing an unlawful attempt to roll back regulations under the Fair Housing Act (FHA).
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The FHA prohibits discrimination based on the effects of a housing policy, even if the intent of the policy was not to discriminate. HUD’s proposed rule change would remove all mentions of liability under the FHA for discrimination that results from the effects of an action.
“Many housing policies that may not appear to be discriminatory on their face can still result in outcomes that unlawfully deepen the longstanding segregation and housing discrimination in our country,” Raoul said. “I join my fellow attorneys general to defend these critical regulations that help states remove barriers to housing access.”
In their letter, Raoul and the coalition assert that discrimination and segregation in housing persist in the country and disproportionately harm people of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, individuals with disabilities, and other historically marginalized groups. The coalition is urging HUD to keep the current rule in place to ensure greater equality of opportunity in housing.
The attorneys general argue that discriminatory effects liability is a critical tool for HUD and states to enforce the FHA and state laws and to protect residents against arbitrary and unnecessary practices that limit access to housing. States have used discriminatory effects claims to challenge many types of seemingly neutral policies that can have a discriminatory effect, such as zoning ordinances, occupancy restrictions, no-pet policies and English-only policies. These enforcement actions can be used to dismantle barriers to housing based on race, ethnicity, sex, familial status and disability.
Raoul and the attorneys general argue that removal of these regulations would increase burdens on state agencies to provide information about rights and responsibilities. It would also send a false message that certain forms of unlawful discrimination are now acceptable, even though they remain prohibited under the law.
The attorneys general assert that the proposed rule change would be unlawful because HUD failed to provide a justification for removing the longstanding regulations and because the existing rule accurately reflects federal law. They also argue HUD failed to consider that the existing rule benefits the public by providing a consistent, nationwide resource that clearly explains what conduct violates the FHA and what the legal standard is for making discrimination claims and defending against them.
Attorney General Raoul co-led the comments with the attorneys general of New York and California. Joining them in filing the comments are the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
