Attorney General Neronha, coalition challenge Trump Administration’s attack on fair housing laws

Attorney General Neronha, coalition challenge Trump Administration's attack on fair housing laws

Published on Monday, March 16, 2026

Attorney General Peter F. Neronha today joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general filing a lawsuit challenging unlawful actions by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including threats to withhold funding from state and local fair housing enforcement agencies for abiding by state laws and threats to impose illegal conditions on HUD funding. These actions threaten to weaken America's fair housing enforcement system and undermine states' ability to ensure equal access to housing.

"This Administration is nothing if not consistent in its attempts to make life much harder for the vast majority of Americans," said Attorney General Neronha. "For decades, HUD has worked in tandem with state agencies to root out discriminatory housing practices. We know this President isn't guided by morality but by perceived political expedience. Even so, it's hard to wrap one's mind around why he thinks making it harder for Americans to obtain housing would fit into that category. HUD's new guidance ignores the states' right to enact laws that make sense for its residents, and unlawfully attempts to hold hostage federal funding from those who don't capitulate. There are few things more important than housing, and we will fight to make sure these longstanding protections stay intact."

Sixty years ago, Congress enacted the Fair Housing Act to address pervasive housing discrimination. Congress also created a robust partnership between HUD and state and local agencies, known as the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP), to enforce this landmark civil rights law in tandem with state fair housing laws. The FHAP has had strong bipartisan support in Congress and stable funding since it was established in 1980.

Through the FHAP, HUD refers allegations of housing discrimination to state and local partner agencies for investigation and enforcement. These agencies receive HUD funding, which they use to process housing discrimination complaints, train staff, and support community outreach and education.

In September 2025, HUD issued guidance threatening to decertify FHAP state agencies from the program and cut off funding unless they stop enforcing crucial protections against housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, language, criminal records and source of income. The guidance also bars agencies from pursuing claims targeting housing practices that may appear neutral but are discriminatory and have a disparate impact on certain populations. In Rhode Island and many other states, these fair housing protections are enshrined in state law.

In addition to the threat to decertify partner agencies, HUD is attempting to impose vague, ideologically motivated, and unlawful conditions on program funding. Further, the coalition asserts that the administration's actions will raise the costs of enforcing state and federal fair housing laws in their states. They also argue that HUD's vague conditions will sow confusion over enforcement.

In Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights (RICHR) is charged with antidiscrimination law enforcement and is a participating agency in FHAP. RICHR enforces the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act, which expressly provides protections on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, lawful source of income, military status, ancestral origin, disability, age, familial status, and status as a victim of domestic abuse. Because Rhode Island's Fair Housing Act expressly protects classes beyond those listed in the FHA, the policy change puts RICHR at risk of losing its substantial equivalence certification for enforcing broader provisions than those deemed allowed by HUD.

The attorneys general note that this unlawful ultimatum comes after HUD gutted its own fair housing enforcement capabilities by slashing its headcount and significantly reducing the number of housing discrimination cases it charges. The agency also fired employee whistleblowers after they publicly sounded the alarm about its decimation of fair housing enforcement.

The coalition's lawsuit alleges that HUD's guidance violates the Spending Clause of the U.S. Constitution and the federal Administrative Procedure Act, which governs how federal agencies implement rule changes.

Joining Attorney General Neronha in filing the lawsuit are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.

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