HUD Deregulates Enforcement of Some Fair Housing Laws: What You Need to Know
December 9th, 2025 | By: Paletz Law Press
Recently, under President Trump’s deregulation-focused executive orders, there have been some wide-ranging changes to HUD’s enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. The following is a summary of those changes and how they could affect our landlord and property-management clients, with the understanding that some state guidelines may nonetheless supersede these new federal directives.
Also, know that while these developments may ultimately prove positive in how you operate your business, they have also removed well-established guidance without providing replacements. In other words, landlords and property owners have been given new directives that are as clear as mud.
Paletz Law is actively reviewing this situation. Until further clarity emerges, you should act prudently and continue to consult with our attorneys.
An Overview of the New Executive Order
President Trump’s Executive Order 14281, “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” includes efforts to severely curtail the use of disparate impact liability in enforcement activities. Disparate impact occurs when a policy or practice seems fair and neutral on its face but disproportionately harms a protected group, even without intent to discriminate. Practices such as income requirements, minimum credit scores, or criminal background checks for prospective renters have all been subject to disparate impact claims in recent years.
However, it is essential to note that this is merely an executive order that, although can affect HUD’s agenda, is not formal law. Tenant advocates and administrative agencies are entrenched in the belief that the Fair Housing Act still recognizes disparate impact as a sound legal “theory.”
Key Federal Updates
HUD has issued multiple memoranda and letters that could fundamentally reshape its enforcement directives.
- A Disparate Impact Enforcement Shift
On September 16, 2025, HUD directed its staff to prioritize resources for cases with clear evidence of intentional discrimination, a marked change from previous administrations. Guidance inconsistent with this new focus has been rescinded.
- Criminal Background Checks
HUD Secretary Scott Turner, on November 26, 2025, published a letter to Public Housing Authorities and project-based private owners, which once again put HUD support behind criminal background screening as a “legitimate method” of the mandate to provide safe and affordable housing. The letter officially rescinded prior HUD guidance, including its 2015 Notice limiting reliance on arrest records, the 2016 Office of General Counsel guidance on criminal records under the FHA, and the 2022 implementation memo.
- Service and Emotional Support Animal Guidance
In 2013 and again in 2020, HUD provided additional guidance on reasonable accommodation requests for service and emotional support animals (ESAs). This guidance established standards for what a tenant or applicant needed to show to obtain approval for such an animal. Now, HUD is signaling that it may be withdrawing this guidance. However, this is not final, leaving the housing industry in limbo regarding existing standards. As above, until further clarity emerges, you should act prudently and continue to consult with our attorneys.
State Regulations Still Rule the Day
While these changes apply specifically to HUD’s federal enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, remember that state agency enforcement will basically remain effectively unchanged. Landlords and property managers will still be susceptible to state actions and federal civil suits predicated on allegations of discrimination.
In summary, the law itself has not changed; only HUD’s more relaxed enforcement posture on a federal level has.
How This All Affects Your Business
The HUD repositioning of enforcement priorities could potentially be a benefit. However, this development is very recent and is bound to create more confusion. Paletz Law will continue to follow and review these enforcement changes and keep you updated.
Article Sources: Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor (September 29, 2025); National Apartment Association HUD Updates (2025); Various HUD memoranda issued September-November 2025
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