On his first day, President Trump reversed these fair housing protections

By BrokerOwner.net January 31, 2025 Housing News

But
what
if
a
part
of
your
identity
—
not
the
merits
of
your
income
or
credit
score;
rather
an
innocuous,
often
random
part
of
your
being
–
was
a
hurdle
to
you
having
a
place
to
call
home?

This
is
not
a
stretch
of
the
imagination
for
some.
Did
you
know
that
79%
of
those
surveyed
by
Zillow
have
experienced
unfair
housing
based
simply
on
their
sexual
orientation
or
gender
identity?

This
and
similar
data
speak
to
the
need
for
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity
to
continue
to
be
legally
protected

fair
housing
classes.
However,
despite
the
data,
shockingly
their
federal
protections
ended
Inauguration
Day
2025
at
the
federal
level.

How
did
we
get
here?

Despite
there
being
no
federal
statute,
I
have
been
proud
that
we,
as

Realtors,
have
been
held
to
and
voluntarily
committed
to
a
higher
ethical
code
to
ensure
that
fair
housing
extends
to
everyone,
no
matter
their
sexual
orientation
or
gender
identification
since
2010
and
2013,
respectively.

However,
our
clients,
neighbors,
and
other
community
members
did
not
necessarily
have
to
live
by
our
code
of
ethics
if
they
were
in
one
of
the

18
states
or
4
territories
that
did
not
have
any
protections.

That
was
until
2021.

President
Biden
upped
the
ante
and
gave
legal
standing
to
housing
discrimination
not
being
permissible
simply
because
of
one’s
gender
identity
or
sexual
orientation
with

Executive
Order
13988
on
January
20,
2021
(Preventing
and
Combating
Discrimination
on
the
Basis
of
Gender
Identity
or
Sexual
Orientation).

Within
weeks
of
that
EO,

HUD
(the
United
States
Department
of

Housing
and
Urban
Development
with
one
of
its
duties
being
to
enforce
fair
housing)
began
to
probe
unfair
housing
that
excluded
based
on
gender
identity
and
sexual
orientation.

But
sadly,
today,
I
woke
up
in
an
America
where
we
have
lost
those
fair
housing
federal
protections.
Shortly
after
his
inauguration,
President
Trump
signed
an

executive
order
that
rolled
back
78
existing
executive
orders,
including
the
“Preventing
and
Combating
Discrimination
on
the
Basis
of
Gender
Identity
or
Sexual
Orientation”.

As
a
fair
housing
educator,
I
have
had

real
estate
brokers
not
only
share
horror
stories
of

clients
being
denied
housing
—
not
because
of
their
credit
or
income
but
simply
because
of
their
sexual
orientation
or
gender
identity
—
but
of

real
estate

agents
and
brokers

themselves
being
told
they
were
not
welcomed
in
certain
communities
to
live
or
sale
in
as
intermediaries.

President
Biden’s
Executive
Order
13988
helped
to
ensure
that
if
unfair
housing
tried
to
rear
its
ugly
head,
there
was
legal
recourse
available
federally.
Yet,
like
Cinderella’s
carriage
returning
to
a
pumpkin
at
the
stroke
of
midnight,
President
Trump
has
seemingly
rolled
the
clocks
back
to
2020
so
that
housing
discrimination
based
on
sexual
orientation
or
gender
identity
no
longer
has
a
federal
legal
remedy.

Where
do
we
go
from
here?

Since
1968,
we
have
had
federal
fair
housing
laws
enshrine
the
right
to
a
home
regardless
of
identity
markers
like
race,
religion,
and
national
origin.
It’s
time
for
sexual
orientation
and
gender
identity
to
be
the
same,
which
means
our
associations
(Realtors
have
been
the
largest
trade
association)
should
be
lobbying
for
this
with
our
senators.

In
the
meantime,
even
if
your
state
does
not
explicitly
treat
sexual
orientation
or
gender
identity
as
a
fair
housing-protected
class,
let’s
all
recommit
to
the
Realtor
code
of
ethics,
which
means
unfairness
is
not
allowable
—
among
clients
or
colleagues
—
on
our
watch.