HUD Sends Proposed Changes to Disparate Impact Regs to OMB

HUD recently submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) proposed changes to its 2013 Disparate Impact Rule. HUD’s disparate impact rule was enacted by HUD during the Obama administration and is used as a way to enforce the Fair Housing Act. Under HUD’s rule, lenders, landlords, and other housing providers can be held liable for discrimination against protected classes even if it was not their intent to discriminate.

Last year, HUD released an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) in the Federal Register inviting public comment on possible amendments to the disparate impact regulations. The ANPR noted that HUD’s goal is to “determine what changes, if any, are appropriate following the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., which held that disparate impact claims were cognizable under the Fair Housing Act and discussed standards for, and the constitutional limitations on, such claims.”

Once the proposed rulemaking is published in the Federal Register, the public will have 60 days to submit comments to HUD.