Kris Mayes Celebrates Reversal of HUD Fair Housing Assistance Changes

Arizona Attorney General (AG) Kris Mayes recently celebrated the reversal of changes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) attempted to place on the Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP).

The Context

In March, AG Mayes and 16 other attorneys general filed suit against HUD for threatening to withhold funds from state and local fair housing enforcement agencies after it issued a new guide softening restrictions on anti-discrimination standards.

Ultimately, HUD and the federal government have recently conceded and will not impose the new provisions or implement them in the future.

What Mayes is Saying

"The federal government tried to withhold funding to Arizona for enforcing fair housing laws passed by our state legislature," said AG Mayes in a brief statement, adding, "My office sued to stop this illegal overreach, and we won."

Past Challenges to HUD Changes

In May, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) spearheaded a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner opposing the relaxation of disparate impact standards, which essentially means that housing, moneylending, and community development policies cannot unintentionally discriminate against protected classes, even if the intent to discriminate is not present.

"We have serious concerns that HUD is more broadly abdicating its [Fair Housing Act] enforcement obligations, which will ultimately make housing less equitable, less affordable, and less accessible for generations to come," Sen. Gallego wrote.

Later in May, he and Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) urged against proposed cuts to the pre-purchase housing counseling program under the Comprehensive Housing Counseling (CHC) and the Housing Counseling Training (HCT).

In addition to the counseling cuts, the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) tightens post-purchase and delinquency (late mortgage payment) counseling to government-backed mortgages only, leaving homeowners with conventional mortgages to face delinquency or foreclosure on their own.

"Narrowing eligible counseling services and allowing funding gaps of this magnitude abandons Americans at the two moments they need help the most: when they are trying to buy their first home, and when they are at risk of losing it," Sens. Kelly and Gallego concluded.