Fair Housing Funding Cuts Open Door to Discrimination, Advocates Say

Cuts to federal funding for fair housing organizations could result in ‘widespread discrimination,’ according to experts from the affordable housing sector. These organizations file complaints on behalf of tenants who face discrimination, an article from Capital & Main published in Fast Company explains.

“Housing discrimination is illegal under the landmark Fair Housing Act of 1968. But the law has no teeth if advocates don’t have the resources to enforce it,” said Caroline Peattie, executive director of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. “The budget cuts send a message, said Jasmine Perry, a home health aide in the San Francisco Bay Area, who was denied housing and filed a discrimination complaint through Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California nearly two years ago.”

The cuts could imperil scarce resources and force some groups to shut down altogether. The canceled grants amount to roughly $12.1 million — less than half of one percent of HUD’s total annual budget. HUD did not respond to questions about how the canceled grant programs violate executive orders.