2026-08-28 · housing
Federal judge blocks HUD plan to end funding for fair housing groups
U.S. District Judge Myong Joun of the District of Massachusetts on August 26 blocked HUD's plan to restructure Fair Housing Initiatives Program grants, ordering the agency to distribute the funds under the previous year's framework in a suit brought in July by the National Fair Housing Alliance and the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center. Joun wrote that HUD's reasons for the replacement funding notice were "pretextual" and that its modernization rationale "belies credulity," noting the proposal contained only five awards and excluded organizations with annual budgets below $5 million; the plan would have affected more than 100 community-based nonprofit fair housing organizations. A HUD spokesperson said the agency "stands behind the lawfulness of its NOFOs" and will avail itself of all legal options.
The affected organizations collectively handle about 75% of housing discrimination complaints filed in the U.S., per the article.