National Housing Law Project Urges HUD to Withdraw Discriminatory Proposal to Take Away Housing and Shelter from LGBTQ+ Families

Press Release / June 26, 2026

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) today urged Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to withdraw its proposal to force federally funded shelters to deny access to unhoused transgender individuals and allow federally funded housing providers to discriminate against applicants and tenants based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“The proposed rule is a cruel attack on LGBTQ+ families that rely on HUD-funded housing and shelter, based on unfounded stereotypes about, and animus toward, transgender people. If enacted, the rule will result in severe costs for individuals, housing providers, and state and local government entities,” the National Housing Law Project wrote in a comment to HUD.

In a comment, NHLP urged HUD to withdraw its proposal for the following reasons:

LGBTQ+ people and families still face rampant housing discrimination;
HUD lacks sufficient justification for changing course and rescinding its previous rule and amendments protecting these families;
The proposed rule exceeds HUD’s statutory authority and conflicts with the Constitution, existing federal law, and state and local laws;
The proposed rule will harm LGBTQ+ people and families, in particular unhoused transgender people, and shift costs to local and state governments;
HUD’s definition of “sex” is not based in science, does not account for the existence of intersex people, and ignores the reality of biological diversity; and
HUD fails to consider reliance interests or consider alternatives to wholesale removal of protections for gay and transgender people in HUD housing.

HUD’s proposal is part of the Trump administration’s attempts to exploit the housing crisis to attack decades-old and bipartisan fair housing law, undermine the federal housing programs, and spread fear amongst LGBTQ+ people, their families, and their allies.

Read NHLP’s full comment to HUD here.