Fair housing complaints stay near historic peak in 2024

Housing discrimination complaints were close to their two-decade high in 2024, alarming advocates concerned about a pull-back in enforcement, the National Fair Housing Alliance said.

Its 2025 Fair Housing Trends Report found 32,321 discrimination complaints were filed in the prior year. While this was lower than the 34,150 complaints received for 2023, it is still the third most since 2014, the NFHA data showed.

"This report sends a very clear message: America is in the midst of a fair and affordable housing crisis," said Lisa Rice, NFHA president and CEO, in a press release. "On top of the crisis, people are being denied housing opportunities because of immutable characteristics like race, gender, and disability status."

What is making this situation even more alarming is that the civil rights enforcement infrastructure is under attack nationwide, Rice said.

Which transaction activities are being cited for discrimination claims

By transaction during 2024, while the vast majority, nearly 84% of complaints were related to rental activity, 659 were related to real estate sales. Another 220 were for lending, while homeowners' association/condo complaints totaled 203.

It is the third consecutive year of lower sales complaints, down from 766 in 2023. It may be a function of the continued slowing real estate sales market resulting from limited supply and higher mortgage interest rates, the report said.

Mortgage lending complaints were also down year-over-year from 294 in 2023. NFHA noted that almost 65% of the 2024 total was reported by private fair housing organizations.

It was only the second year in which appraisal was collected as a stand-alone activity, and the 39 total was less than one-half of the 87 reported in 2023. The 2024 instances were all reported by NFHA members.

However, in 2024, neither Fair Housing Assistance Program agencies nor the Department of Housing and Urban Development provided information about appraisal discrimination complaints, the report said

The fair housing organizations that did provide data saw an increase in appraisal discrimination complaints from 2023 when they reported a total of 24.

Who is allegedly being discriminated against

Alleged discrimination against people with disabilities accounted for 54.6% of complaints; followed by race at 15.6%; gender, 7.1%; national origin, 5.7%; and familial status, 5.5%.

The elevated number of complaints comes at a time when the federal government is pulling back on enforcement and reducing staffing at HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, especially during the shutdown, NFHA said. FHEO has one-third of the staff it had when Pres. Trump was sworn in for his second term.

The NFHA expressed concern about the future of fair housing enforcement, noting several community-based agencies, which investigated nearly 75% of discrimination complaints last year, have shut their doors because of federal funding cutbacks.

"America's fair housing infrastructure is being dismantled and defunded in the very moment it's needed most," said Nikitra Bailey, the NFHA's executive vice president. "Congress must ensure HUD's fair housing programs are fully funded and exercise its oversight authority over HUD to ensure decades of civil rights progress is not reversed through executive action."