The U.S. Department of
Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor explained in the letter that unlawful steering under the act requires intentional discrimination, and that providing information on school quality and crime rates is not a violation when shared without discriminatory intent.
"Buying a home is one on the most significant decisions a family will ever make," Secretary Scott Turner said in a press release Friday. "Americans should not be left in the dark about vital facts like neighborhood safety or school quality. HUD is making clear that real estate professionals can openly and lawfully provide this information in an equal and consistent manner to American families."
Fair Housing Assistance Programs should not issue discrimination findings strictly based on real estate professionals providing such information or answering nonracial questions on these topics. Fair Housing Initiatives Programs also should not use federal funds to take on a complaint based on these same practices, according to the release.
The letter came a few days after the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau published a final rule Wednesday to
"During the Biden Administration, major real estate brokerages and listing platforms discouraged or restricted the sharing of neighborhood information, citing fair housing concerns," the release said. "These changes were shaped not by the law's requirements but out of an effort to implement diversity, equity and inclusion ideology."
This push treated the use of data related to crime and school ratings as inherently discriminatory, resulting in less transparency for buyers and renters. It also threatened real estate professionals with perceived liability if they provided their clients information on crime and school quality, according to the release.
Americans are better suited to find affordable, decent and fair housing that fits their needs with more information, the release said, which is especially important during a time marked
The real estate industry should reconsider advice received from self-proclaimed DEI experts, Trainor said in the letter.
"DEI programs and experts have frequently used 'disparate impact' to justify present-day discrimination against Americans in the name of 'equity' or equal outcomes," he added. "As this administration has repeatedly made clear, racial discrimination of any kind is unlawful under federal civil rights laws, and it will not be tolerated."
