Suit targets HUD grant changes affecting local Fair Housing Center
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A new federal lawsuit challenges changes the Trump administration made to a key housing grant program, saying they could decimate fair housing enforcement nationwide.
Why it matters: Most housing discrimination complaints are investigated not by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development but by nonprofit fair housing organizations.
- Groups like Cleveland's Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research rely on federal Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) grants to survive.
The intrigue: The complaint contends that HUD is replacing its traditional grant structure with new eligibility rules that would effectively lock out most community-based fair housing groups. It argues that the changes would force many to slash services or close altogether.
- Organizations will be eligible to apply for grants only if they have a budget of at least $5 million, for example.
- The Fair Housing Center's annual budget is $1.5 million, and FHIP grants account for roughly 43%, according to executive director Carrie Pleasants.
The big picture: Filed Thursday in federal court in Massachusetts, the suit is the third legal challenge to HUD's handling of FHIP funding in the past 16 months.
Zoom in: The Fair Housing Center is not a named plaintiff in the current suit, but was in the first lawsuit in March 2025, after two of its active grants were terminated.
- Those grants funded public education campaigns and landlord training on fair housing laws.
What they're saying: "First they canceled our grants. Then they tried to not issue new grants," Pleasants tells Axios.
- "This is yet another tactic the administration is using to try to deprive the public of free assistance to exercise their fair housing rights."
The other side: HUD's responsibility is to "enforce the law as written, protect the civil rights of Americans, and responsibly steward taxpayer resources," the agency's deputy secretary Andrew Hughes told Axios in a statement.
- "Activist opposition will not deter the Department."