WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a letter published today, over thirty leading housing, consumer, and Civil Rights organizations express their urgent concern over recent actions taken by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which are worsening the nation’s housing crisis. The letter outlines how program eliminations and staffing cuts, particularly those impacting fair housing enforcement, mortgage access, and disaster recovery, will have catastrophic consequences for vulnerable communities. The authors are requesting a meeting with HUD Secretary Scott Turner and FHFA Director Bill Pulte to discuss possible solutions and urge both agencies to realign their actions with the administration’s stated commitments to housing affordability. With nearly half of all renters now cost-burdened and homeownership increasingly out of reach for working families, the current housing landscape is becoming untenable for millions of Americans.
“The Trump Administration promised to address the high cost of housing, but so far has proposed policies that will increase the cost of rent, shred the nation’s housing safety net, and push more people into homelessness,” said Renee Willis, Interim President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition. “At a time when more people than ever are struggling to afford the cost of rent and a record number of people are experiencing homelessness, rolling back fair housing protections and cutting funding for rental assistance, homelessness services, and affordable housing development – and gutting the workforce responsible for administering these programs – will only create more hardship. Our families, neighbors, and communities deserve better than these untenable and unconscionable proposals.”
The letter details how program eliminations and staffing cuts at HUD, particularly those impacting FHA lending, fair housing enforcement, and disaster recovery programs will disproportionately affect first-time homebuyers, marginalized groups, and rural communities. At FHFA, the termination of Special Purpose Credit Programs and the suspension of fair lending oversight at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac threaten to limit mortgage access in underserved communities. Senators and Congressmen have already voiced their concerns, asking for clarity surrounding these changes and urging the reversal of firings and program terminations.
“Our nation’s housing markets depend on trust, stability, and strong federal oversight to keep mortgage costs down for consumers. Right now, that trust is being shaken.” Sharon Cornelissen, Director of Housing at the Consumer Federation of America, said: “It is critical for FHFA to uphold fair housing rules, protect consumers, and keep the GSEs accountable to their duty to serve underserved markets. Recent actions risk driving up mortgage costs and are making it even harder for consumers to buy a home. At this time of record-high housing costs, we need FHFA to lead with solutions that safely expand access to credit and bring down mortgage costs.”
Secretary Turner and Director Pulte both acknowledged the nation’s dire housing shortages and have publicly committed to leveraging their offices to help spur more housing construction and lower housing costs. Instead of acting on these promises, drastic changes at both agencies have led to rollbacks of essential housing programs and caused confusion and upheaval in the housing market. Their recent actions are also undermining fair housing protections that millions of Americans have relied on to get a fair shot at owning and renting a home.
“Our nation’s fair housing and lending protections are essential, not optional, for a safe and sound housing market,” said Nikitra Bailey, Executive Vice President of the National Fair Housing Alliance®. “Eliminating federal fair housing and lending enforcement strips the people of America of crucial protections against housing discrimination, leaving them with no recourse. Many Black and Latino prospective homebuyers will face increased difficulty getting a mortgage, tenants will face sexual harassment with few legal safeguards, people with disabilities will struggle to find accessible housing, families with children will face barriers when trying to secure housing, and landlords will freely deny homes to housing voucher holders and veterans based on their source of income. Voters want solutions to the nation’s fair and affordable housing crisis. And people need increased federal support for a fair and stable housing and finance market. Instead, they are getting a retreat from basic civil rights.”
As recent policies and actions at HUD and FHFA are moving the nation further from solving the fair and affordable housing crisis, the letter’s authors are requesting a meeting with Secretary Turner and Director Pulte to discuss possible solutions.