HUD Withdraws Eight Fair Housing Notices

By: Eric Oberdorfer, Director of Policy & Legislative Affairs

April 3, 2026 — Today, HUD pre-published a Federal Register notice withdrawing several prior Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) guidance documents. The notice would remove eight guidance documents from active use. The Department is also in the process of updating handbooks and internal training materials that reference these documents. HUD indicates that if any of the guidance is deemed necessary after further review, it may be reissued. At this time, the Department does not consider the withdrawn guidance to be legally binding guidance, to create substantive rights, or to be consistent with the language of the Fair Housing Act.

Withdrawn notices include:

• Guidance on Application of the Fair Housing Act to the Advertising of Housing, Credit, and Other Real Estate-Related Transactions through Digital Platforms
  • Explained how the Fair Housing Act applies to online and algorithm-driven advertising, warning that targeted ads – especially those using AI – could unlawfully exclude protected classes even if discrimination is unintended.
• FHEO 2020-01: Assessing a Person’s Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act
  • Provided detailed standards for evaluating requests for assistance animals, including what documentation housing providers could request and how to distinguish legitimate disability-related needs from unsupported claims.
• FHEO Memorandum on Source of Income Testing Activities under the Fair Housing Assistance Program
  • Clarified how fair housing agencies could conduct testing to identify discrimination based on lawful sources of income (e.g., vouchers), including methodologies for enforcement and compliance monitoring.
• FHEO Notice 2013-01: Service Animals and Assistance Animals for People with Disabilities in Housing and HUD-funded Programs
  • Outlined the differences between service animals and assistance animals and provided guidance on reasonable accommodation obligations, including limits on fees, breed restrictions, and documentation.
• FHEO Statement on the Fair Housing Act and Special Purpose Credit Programs
  • Explained how special purpose credit programs – designed to address historic inequities – could be structured to comply with the Fair Housing Act without constituting unlawful discrimination.
• Final Guidance to Federal Financial Assistance Recipients Regarding Title VI Prohibition Against National Origin Discrimination Affecting Limited English Proficient Persons
  • Advised recipients of federal funding on their obligations to provide meaningful access to individuals with limited English proficiency, including translation and interpretation practices to avoid national origin discrimination.
• Implementation of Executive Order 13988 on the Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act
  • Directed HUD and its partners to interpret and enforce sex discrimination protections under the Fair Housing Act to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Implementation of OGC Guidance on Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to the Use of Criminal Records
  • Provided a framework for evaluating housing policies that consider criminal history, emphasizing that blanket bans may violate the Fair Housing Act if they result in unjustified discriminatory effects.

The notice states that any actions that do not comply with the text of the Fair Housing Act continue to be subject to enforcement by the Department.