Some private nonprofits that investigate housing discrimination cases related to the Fair Housing Act may soon lose their federal grants, according to a report by the Associated Press.
The report said the Trump administration has begun terminating grants disbursed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to organizations that take complaints about, investigate and litigate housing discrimination cases related to the federal anti-discrimination law passed in 1968. Currently, 163 active grants are going to private nonprofits doing such work, and about half of those could be canceled, the National Fair Housing Alliance predicted.
The grants are typically worth $425,000 annually, the AP report said.
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An estimated 34,000 fair housing complaints were made in the United States in 2023, three-quarters of which were processed by private nonprofits, according to data from the National Fair Housing Alliance. Other complaints were handled by state and local governments. HUD and the Department of Justice (DOJ) worked on less than 6% of the cases, said the AP report. More than half of the complaints were related to claims of discrimination based on a disability.
The Massachusetts Fair Housing Center is one such nonprofit that is losing its grant. The group’s executive director said examples of cases it has reviewed include a family being denied housing because they have children, a veteran with a disability needing a ramp, and a domestic abuse survivor being evicted because of the actions of an abuser. Another organization that is expecting to lose funding is the Fair Housing Center of Metropolitan Detroit, which says it fields about 200 to 400 fair housing complaints each year.
“The Department is responsible for ensuring our grantees and contractors are in compliance with the President’s Executive Orders,” a HUD spokesperson said in a statement provided to the AP. “If we determine they are not in compliance, then we are required to take action. The Department will continue to serve the American people, including those who are facing housing discrimination or eviction.”
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
