Comment on rule limiting access to HUD programs for LGBTQ+ people (Department of Housing and Urban Development)

Public Rights Project, in partnership with San Francisco and 12 additional local jurisdictions, is urging the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to withdraw a proposed rule that would require HUD-funded shelters to admit people based on sex at birth rather than gender identity. Our coalition comment explains that the rule would promote discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community and force more people into unnecessary unsheltered homelessness.

HUD is trying to roll back current regulations that ensure everyone has equal access to federally subsidized housing, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. If the proposed rule goes into effect, federally funded housing providers can deny rental assistance, evict people, or treat them differently because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. 

The proposed rule violates federal laws that require HUD to promote fair housing and prevent homelessness. It targets an already-vulnerable population that experiences homelessness at a disproportionately high rate — one in three transgender people experience homelessness at least once in their lives. Additionally, HUD fails to address the serious harm it will cause and justify why it’s abandoning long-standing federal law.

What’s at stake

HUD is threatening to withhold federal funding from HUD-funded homeless shelters that do not discriminate against LGBTQ+ individuals, even if state or local laws prohibit that discrimination. This leaves local governments in a difficult position: Lose funding and provide housing to a vulnerable population at a higher cost, or accept federal funding under these discriminatory terms.

Read the comment.