“The

Trump
Administration
is
working
to
roll
back
critical

fair
housing
regulations
that
prohibit
discrimination
—
protections
put
in
place
in
the
70’s
to
combat
the
insidious
persistence
of
segregated
neighborhoods
—
protections
that
are
essential
today
to
ensure
that
housing
opportunities
for
underserved
communities
remain
accessible,”
Bonta
said
in
a
statement.

“The
national
housing
crisis
is
driven
by
a
shortage
of
housing
supply
and
unaffordability
that
disproportionately
affects
communities
of
color.
Today,
I
urge
the
Administration
to
look
closely
at
the
mandate
they
inherited
in
the
Fair
Housing
Act
and
understand
that
letting
a
broader
range
of
buyers
know
about

affordable
housing
opportunities
that
are
available
to
them
is
necessary
to
ensure
that
these
opportunities
remain
accessible
for
all
Americans.”

AFHM
regulations
require
owners
and
developers
of
HUD-subsidized
housing
to
use
marketing
and
outreach
strategies
that
reach
groups
protected
under
the
Fair
Housing
Act
—
including
those
based
on
race,
color,
national
origin,
religion,
sex
(including
gender
and
sexual
orientation),
familial
status
and
disability.

These
regulations
are
designed
to
prevent
housing
providers
from
only
advertising
to
certain
populations,
which
has
contributed
to
the
continuance
of

racially
segregated
neighborhoods.

Under
the
rules,
landlords
are
not
required
to
select

tenants
from
any
specific
demographic
—
nor
are
they
prohibited
from
using
other
advertising
methods
—
but
they
must
demonstrate
efforts
to
ensure
outreach
is
inclusive,
particularly
in
high-opportunity
areas
where
protected
groups
are
often
underrepresented,
Bonta
said.

The
letter
was
co-led
by
the
attorneys
general
of
California,
Maryland
and
New
York.
It
was
also
signed
by
AGs
from
Arizona,
Colorado,
Connecticut,
Hawaii,
Illinois,
Maine,
Massachusetts,
Michigan,
Minnesota,
Nevada,
New
Jersey,
New
Mexico,
North
Carolina,
Oregon,
Rhode
Island,
Vermont,
Washington
and
the
District
of
Columbia.

The
AGs
said
the
proposed
repeal
contradicts
HUD’s
obligations
under
the
Fair
Housing
Act
to
affirmatively
further
fair
housing.

They
criticized
the
lack
of
a
replacement
rule,
a
failure
to
explain
how
HUD
would
prevent
unlawful
marketing
practices
in
the
absence
of
AFHM
regulations,
and
the
absence
of
legally
or
empirically
sound
justification
for
reversing
five
decades
of
policy.

In
2023,
federal
and
state
agencies
reported

record
numbers
of
fair
housing
complaints
—
a
trend
that
has
persisted
in
recent
years,
the
AGs
added.