On behalf of the Tennessee Fair Housing Council (TFHC) and the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), Relman Colfax PLLC, a civil rights law firm committed to promoting justice and equity, filed a federal lawsuit contesting the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) unprecedented and illegal denial to administer vital grant funding under the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP). The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, focuses on the Administration’s defunding of crucial federal housing enforcement programs.
“Fair housing organizations around the country are being forced to lay off staff, close investigations, and turn away people experiencing discrimination,” said Reed Colfax, Co-Managing Partner at Relman Colfax. “This is a civil rights emergency, and the government is standing by when it should be taking action.”
In order to assist the frontline organizations that conduct discrimination investigations, inform communities and housing providers about fair housing rules, and enforce civil rights laws, Congress established FHIP in 1992. FHIP funds have been utilized by nonprofit organizations to avoid redlining in lending and insurance, to assist the construction of accessible housing units for individuals with disabilities, to hold landlords accountable for sexually harassing women, to prevent homelessness for families with children, and much more.
The federal government and fair housing organizations have been inextricably linked for over thirty years, but now HUD is disobeying its FHIP obligation by refusing to use funds that Congress has approved. These monies are necessary to guarantee that everyone has equitable access to housing. In addition to not awarding new grants from pending application cycles, HUD is refusing to manage a significant portion of its current grants.
“As Dr. Martin Luther King stated, ‘justice delayed is justice denied’,” said Lisa Rice, President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “The Trump administration has been intentional in its efforts to chip away at, delay and deny critical civil rights that are codified into law. Fair Housing has always enjoyed strong bipartisan support but now, the Trump Administration is refusing to abide by the budget appropriations decisions taken by Congress, which it is required to do. Allowing these actions to go unchecked is dangerous for our country and disastrous for the thousands of vulnerable individuals and families, including disabled veterans, seniors, survivors of domestic violence, families with children, people of color and others throughout the nation, who are left without key fair housing protections. The Administration’s retrenchment of support for fair housing impedes efforts to increase the supply of fair and affordable housing, expand homeownership access, and improve housing security.”
Fair Housing on the Frontline
The federal government and fair housing organizations have been inextricably linked for over 30 years, but now HUD is disobeying its FHIP obligation by refusing to use funds that Congress has approved. These monies are necessary to guarantee that everyone has equitable access to housing. In addition to not awarding new grants from pending application cycles, HUD is refusing to manage a significant portion of its current grants.
HUD’s denial to start the second year of its private enforcement initiative (PEI) program is causing NFHA to lose promised funds, endangering services for vulnerable individuals across the country. NFHA is also losing the opportunity to compete for funds that would be used to help establish a new fair housing organization in North Carolina to help victims of the most recent natural disaster, as well as funds that would be used to educate communities about fair housing, because HUD is refusing to make new FHIP awards. Since HUD will not provide TFHC a new PEI grant as anticipated, TFHC has already stopped systemic investigations and will start terminating workers at the end of June.
A estimated 85% of its operating budget is at risk due to the loss of a new grant, and if financing is not restored, the group might have to dissolve. Numerous other organizations suffer a same fate, leaving communities across our country susceptible to housing discrimination and the possibility of homelessness, as well as tens of millions in pledged funds that remain undistributed.
“For the past 30 years, TFHC has steadfastly worked for housing justice in Tennessee,” said Martie Lafferty, TFHC’s Executive Director. “We’ve not only helped clients remedy housing discrimination but also engaged in education to prevent housing discrimination. We’re heartbroken that HUD’s failure to award new FHIP grants is causing TFHC to cut services and are extremely concerned about the impact on potential clients and the community.”
The Trump Administration’s recent proposal to completely cut FHIP funding in the FY2026 budget highlights the seriousness of these harms and the case’s implications for the future of fair housing enforcement in the United States. Fair housing access for people across the country is further threatened by the Trump Administration’s failure to issue a Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for money authorized by Congress in the FY25 budget. According to the latest data from 2024, more than 75% of housing discrimination complaints were handled by private local fair housing enforcement organizations.
This case also relates to a current complaint against HUD for the sudden and unwarranted termination of FHIP grants that was filed in March of this year in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts by Relman Colfax and NFHA members.
“The law requires this funding, but beyond that, morality demands it. When the government withholds critical civil rights funding, real people suffer. These are families denied justice, communities stripped of protection, and frontline organizations forced to go dark. Every day that passes without support puts lives, rights, and futures at risk,” Colfax added.
