Letitia James, Accuses HUD of Gutting Fair Housing Protections, New…

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James is leading a charge against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), accusing the agency of gutting vital fair housing protections. James, alongside 17 other state attorneys general, is demanding HUD reverse course on recently implemented rules that drastically weaken requirements for grant recipients to actively promote integration and combat housing segregation.

The battle centers around a March 2025 announcement from HUD, rolling back years of progress. The new “interim final rules” effectively eliminate nearly all fair housing requirements for organizations receiving federal funding. This move, according to James and her coalition, isn’t just a policy shift – it’s a direct violation of the Fair Housing Act. The AGs filed a scathing comment letter detailing their objections, arguing the rules dismantle HUD’s mandate to “affirmatively further fair housing” (AFFH).

“It is a shame that the Trump administration is trying to walk back HUD’s responsibility to prevent housing discrimination in communities across our country,” James stated bluntly. “Fair housing requirements help address the harmful effects of housing segregation and ensure that everyone can access housing with dignity. HUD has a duty to protect fair housing, and I am proud to stand with my fellow attorneys general to hold them to account.” The previous AFFH rule, implemented in 2021, required grant applicants to certify their compliance before receiving federal funds. The current iteration replaces this with a significantly weakened certification process, effectively removing any teeth from the agency’s oversight.

The AGs’ letter argues the new rule fails to require grantees to meaningfully assess the impact of their actions on segregation or to develop any concrete plans to promote integration. It’s a move they characterize as lacking factual basis and designed to strip HUD of its ability to identify and address barriers to fair housing. The coalition contends the changes aren’t simply a streamlining of regulations, but a deliberate dismantling of a critical component of the Fair Housing Act’s intent.

This isn’t James’s first foray into protecting housing rights. In April, she secured a victory by halting two brothers and their spouses who owned three rental buildings in the Capital Region from illegally denying housing opportunities to low-income renters. Prior to that, in February, she announced $970,000 in grants for fair housing testing and enforcement in New York’s Capital Region. She also hit Shamco Management Corp. with a $400,000 penalty last August for illegally denying housing to low-income tenants in New York City, and brokered an agreement with real estate broker Pasquale Marciano in February 2024 to end discriminatory rental policies. Last month, James co-led a coalition urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit to reinstate funding for fair housing organizations.

Joining James in the fight are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey. The legal battle over these rules is shaping up to be a major test of the federal government’s commitment to fair housing and the principles of integration, and James is vowing to continue pushing for accountability from HUD. The full comment letter can be found on the New York Attorney General’s website.

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