It has been about a month since Fair Housing Meter debuted at 30 percent, on April 30, 2026, the last day of Fair Housing Month. Today, Fair Housing Meter logs its first change, moving down a notch to 29 percent.

The cause is a sudden, dramatic change in HUD policy aimed at curbing the use of emotional support animals in housing. The story first came to public attention through reporting by the New York Times. The memorandum itself is accessible courtesy of the Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, and HUD has confirmed its authenticity to Snopes.

The memorandum directs fair housing enforcement staff to apply a narrower framework modeled on the Americans with Disabilities Act’s trained-service-animal standard when evaluating animal-related accommodation complaints. HUD presents this shift as a response to confusion, abuse, and the growth of an industry built around converting ordinary pets into emotional support animals. According to the memorandum, more than twenty percent of FHEO complaints involve untrained emotional support animals.

There is no question that fraud exists in this area. But the issue is whether the federal government should combat fraud by weakening a protection that many people with disabilities legitimately need to use and enjoy their homes.

That matters because disability was not part of the original Fair Housing Act of 1968. Congress added disability protections through the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988. In doing so, Congress recognized that people with disabilities often encounter barriers to obtaining and enjoying housing and that those barriers require legal protection.

The Fair Housing Act defines disability, using the statute’s original terminology, as including “a physical or mental impairment” that substantially limits one or more major life activities. That language is important because federal law does goes beyond they physical or visible to include PTSD, anxiety disorders, major depression, and many other mental health conditions.

Relatedly, simply importing the Americans with Disabilities Act’s service-animal test into the Fair Housing Act context is not the obvious solution. The ADA focuses on access to public accommodations, such as restaurants, stores, hotels, theaters, and government buildings. By contrast, the Fair Housing Act concerns a person’s home. As such, the Fair Housing Act has focused on whether an accommodation may be necessary to afford a person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

HUD says it intends to pursue future rulemaking (“with the aim of harmonizing our regulations, to the maximum extent possible, with those of the ADA”) and acknowledges that animal-related accommodation determinations are “fact-intensive” and “case-specific.” Yet instead of beginning with notice-and-comment rulemaking and establishing a replacement framework, HUD created uncertainty.

The Fair Housing Act itself has not been amended. Private lawsuits remain available. State and local housing discrimination laws may still matter. Yet HUD—the federal agency charged with primary enforcement of the Fair Housing Act—is abandoning enforcement of protections for a vulnerable population despite the fact that the law itself has not changed. That is not true clarity. It is a federal enforcement retreat that leaves disabled tenants with less certainty and potentially more burdensome paths to vindicating their rights.

The timing adds an additional sting. HUD issued this memorandum only days before Memorial Day, a holiday aimed at honoring people who sacrificed their lives in service to the United States. Many veterans with PTSD and other service-related mental health conditions rely on emotional support animals.

At first glance, a one-point drop may sound trivial. But when Fair Housing Meter already stands at only 30 percent, even a single point is substantial, reflecting a meaningful downward move from an already low reading. HUD’s May 22 memorandum is a clumsy and alarming move that chips away at the rights of people with disabilities under the law. This action, along with its implications and insight into the current administration’s thinking, is the reason why Fair Housing Meter has fallen to 29 percent.

Fair Housing Meter debuted at 30% on April 30, the final day of Fair Housing Month, reflecting a broad range of developments pointing to the unusually weakened state of fair housing and equal opportunity in the United States. One major factor was the Trump administration’s proposed FY27 federal budget, which proposes deep cuts to housing and fair housing programs at a time when combating discrimination and addressing affordability remain critical.

The timing was striking given that it was Fair Housing Month, when the nation commemorates passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and reflects on the unfinished work of equal housing opportunity. Revealing an increasingly hostile attitude toward fair housing and civil rights in general, the administration proposed a budget that would dismantle significant portions of the nation’s fair housing infrastructure and threaten to turn back the clock even further when it comes to honoring longstanding laws and their protections.

Among the most consequential proposals is the elimination of the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP), a Reagan-era HUD program that funds nonprofit fair housing organizations across the country. These organizations investigate discrimination complaints, conduct testing, educate the public about housing rights, assist victims of discrimination, and support enforcement of the Fair Housing Act. According to the National Fair Housing Alliance’s analysis of the proposal, FHIP has historically served as a cost-effective public-private enforcement model dating back to the Reagan administration.

The proposal would also eliminate funding for the National Fair Housing Training Academy and reduce or eliminate other fair housing-related activities, including language-access support and education initiatives. The administration’s budget documents specifically criticized some organizations receiving fair housing grants, accusing them of promoting political or ideological positions opposed by the administration.

The proposed reductions extend far beyond fair housing enforcement alone. Housing advocates and policy organizations have warned that the FY27 proposal would significantly weaken affordable housing, homelessness assistance, and community development programs more broadly. Analyses of the proposal note that while some rental assistance programs avoided the dramatic reductions seen in certain previous budget cycles, the proposal still relies heavily on cuts, flat funding, and policy changes that could reduce access to housing assistance over time.

Meanwhile, fair housing advocates and housing organizations have continued raising concerns about funding instability, staffing pressures, and reduced federal support for civil rights enforcement and affordable housing programs.

Importantly, the President’s budget proposal is not the final federal budget. Under the congressional appropriations process, Congress ultimately determines spending levels. The federal fiscal year begins on October 1, and Congress must pass appropriations legislation before then or enact a temporary continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown. House appropriators have already begun work on FY27 spending bills, including HUD-related appropriations measures expected to move through committee during the spring and summer.

That distinction matters because presidential budget proposals often function not only as financial blueprints, but also as statements of priorities and governing philosophy. For decades, Congress has considered proposed cuts to housing programs. However, even before Congress has an opportunity to act, an administration’s budget proposal broadcasts important signals. A budget reveals the programs and underlying policies that an administration values, and who should benefit from federal support.

The FY27 proposal does not read as merely a routine policy disagreement over spending levels. Instead, it fits into a broader pattern involving grant cancellations, internal disruption at HUD, reduced staffing and enforcement capabilities, and growing hostility toward civil rights-oriented initiatives, as discussed in a recent post. These developments help explain why Fair Housing Meter debuted at only 30%.

The next several months will determine how much of the administration’s proposal survives the congressional process. But regardless of the ultimate appropriations outcome, the Trump administration’s FY27 budget proposal stands as a display of its stark lack of commitment to fair housing and equal opportunity in the United States.

Fair Housing Meter debuted at 30% on April 30, the last day of Fair Housing Month, based on a variety of factors pointing to the gloomy state of fair housing and equal opportunity. One major development is the internal dissent and obstruction occurring at the very agency charged with primary enforcement of the Fair Housing Act.

There have been signs for months that something was not functioning normally within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Those signs were mainly through sporadic reports of stalled cases, funding denials, quiet departures, and concerns raised behind the scenes. But the issue came into sharper focus with the recent launch, during Fair Housing Month, of Dear America, a platform publishing firsthand accounts from “current and former federal workers, as well as surrogates and allies,“ revealing what they have observed within the agency.

Paul Osadebe, one of the site’s founders, told NPR that HUD is being blocked from “being allowed to help the people that we’re supposed to be serving,” adding that “you’re just not allowed to touch” certain cases, such as those related to race or sex.

The collection of letters portrays an upside-down system in which enforcement appears to run against the grain of HUD’s mission. One former supervisor recounts being forced into “heart wrenching choices,” including whether to “[w]ithdraw a case and leave the victims without assistance or lose my job” or “[f]ire an attorney whose career was just getting started or face punishment.” Another employee, who joined HUD’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) team because the work was “meaningful and impactful,” explains “we are effectively telling complainants that their pain and suffering is not worth addressing and remedying.”

Another HUD employee warns that the administration is aiming to “dismantle our institutions based on a false assumption. The HUD leadership continues “perpetuating the dangerous myth that HUD employees are lazy, inefficient, and do not care.” As a result, “the American public has, and will continue, to be hurt.”

Across multiple letters, a consistent pattern emerges. Employees describe being instructed to avoid certain categories of cases or receiving clear signals to steer clear of particular types of discrimination claims. As a result, entire protected classes remain exposed through internal direction and pressure.

While these allegations are not all independently verified, they are serious and consistent. Given that they are coming from inside HUD, often from career staff involved directly with enforcement, they appear highly credible.

Fair housing depends not only on the existence of legal protections, but on whether those protections are actively enforced under the law. Fair housing enforcement can fail not only when laws are repealed but when government leadership obstructs and delays after devaluing the principles guiding the enactment of the civil rights laws to begin with.

Fair Housing Meter’s readings are not based just on whether statutory language changes but on a holistic assessment of fair housing and equal opportunity in America. This disturbing new insight into HUD, particular as it regards housing discrimination, is an urgent reminder that the strength of fair housing protections depends not just on what the law says, but on whether it is carried out. When HUD fair housing enforcement duties get actively curtailed and sidelined as part of a sustained campaign from the top, it contributes to a reading as low as 30%.

With the posting today of the first Fair Housing Meter video, the project makes its formal debut with an initial reading of 30 percent.

When I introduced Fair Housing Meter a year ago, I wrote that the meter had settled on a number and that the reading would be revealed soon. Life got in the way, but here we are now.

At the time, I had been contemplating something closer to 40 percent. It is a year later, and the context is different.

My current assessment of where fair housing and equal opportunity stand today takes into account enforcement, policy direction, institutional commitment, and broader social and political conditions that shape whether fair housing laws are meaningfully advanced or allowed to weaken. Reducing all of that to a single number is not an exact science. But my goal is to create a disciplined way of expressing and tracking a larger set of developments over time.

A reading of 30 percent is sobering, but it is not meant to discount the extraordinary progress represented by generations of struggle, legislation, litigation, and advocacy. The nation’s fair housing framework is a monumental achievement by any standard. But even when laws are on the books, rights are not self-executing.

The video posted today introduces the project in brief form and explains why the meter begins where it does. I think it is fitting that this effort begins in earnest as the United States approaches its 250th birthday. Anniversaries invite celebration as well as reflection and accounting. They raise questions about unfinished promises as much as fulfilled ones. So, it seems particularly appropriate to begin keeping a record of where one core measure of civil rights progress appears to stand.

A meter is meant to move, and future posts will track where it moves from here.

As I note in the video, I close with a quotation from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., whose assassination inspired the passage of the Fair Housing Act 58 years ago this month: “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”

That balance is relevant here. A reading of 30 percent may be disappointing, but it does not surrender hope.

Fair Housing Meter was launched on the first of the month, and now that Fair Housing Month is coming to a close, the meter has settled on a number that reflects the current state of fair housing in the United States—after 100 days of the second Trump administration. Considering both positive and negative events and developments, Fair Housing Meter has now tracked the rise and fall of this core aspect of civil rights since the nation’s founding in 1776.

Where things stand today has been set and will be revealed soon. After that, Fair Housing Meter will keep track—in real time and through brief trips back in history—of the state of fair housing and equal opportunity (FHEO) in the United States. In the meantime, check out the poll below and offer your assessment about the health and progress of fair housing in American society in the comments.

Today is not just the fourth day of Fair Housing Month, but April 4, 2025 marks the 57th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Exactly one week after this tragic event, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the landmark Fair Housing Act into law, banning housing discrimination on the federal level based on race, color, religion, and national origin, later expanded to include sex, disability, and familial status.

Since the law’s enactment, presidents from both parties have issued official proclamations declaring April as Fair Housing Month or made other statements reaffirming America’s commitment to core principles of equity and dignity. These powerful words across all administrations since the Fair Housing Act’s inception serve as reflections of our collective dedication toward its aims.

Here are notable quotes from presidential proclamations and remarks over the past 57 years:

President Lyndon B. Johnson (1968):
“It proclaims that fair housing for all—all human beings who live in this country—is now a part of the American way of life.”

President Richard Nixon (1971):
“The history of racial discrimination in housing in America runs deep; but, to the Nation’s credit, so do efforts to correct it.”

President Gerald Ford (1975):
“The principles of fair housing cannot be brought out and dusted off one month each year. These principles must be taught, advanced, and supported each and every day of the year.”

President Jimmy Carter (1979):
“The freedoms that we believe in, enjoy and benefit from cannot be secure unless they are shared by all Americans. As long as equal opportunity is denied to one person, the promise of equality for all will be unfulfilled.”

President Ronald Reagan (1986):
“Fairness is the foundation of our way of life and reflects the best of our traditional American values. Invidious discriminatory housing practices are abhorrent to the American sense of fair play.”

President George H.W. Bush (1991):
“We Americans cherish the many blessings that we enjoy in this land of freedom and opportunity—including our ability to decide where we live and work. During much of our Nation’s history, however, that prerogative has frequently been denied to persons with disabilities.”

President Bill Clinton (1998):
“By limiting housing choice, discrimination reduces the quality of life for many Americans. During the past three decades, we have made great strides in opening housing markets. But housing discrimination, although less apparent than in years past, still exists, and the need to enforce fair housing laws vigorously remains as urgent today as ever.”

President George W. Bush (2008):
“Our Nation has come a long way, yet our journey to justice is not complete... we acknowledge our responsibility to ensure that all Americans enjoy the opportunities that this great land of liberty offers.”

President Barack Obama (2015):
“It’s our job as citizens to make sure we keep pushing this country we love toward our most cherished ideals—that all of us are created equal, and all of us deserve an equal shot… Almost 50 years ago, Republicans and Democrats in Congress came together to pass the Fair Housing Act. And it made a difference in this country.”

President Donald Trump (2018):
“Over the last 50 years, our Nation has made great strides toward ensuring Americans have access to fair and affordable housing free from discrimination.”

President Joe Biden (2021):
“The purpose of the Fair Housing Act was to put an end to inequities in our housing system and eliminate racial segregation in American neighborhoods.”

These statements from the nation’s chief executives remind us that fair housing is a right to be cherished as well as an ongoing responsibility. The United States commemorates the Fair Housing Act each year in April, and we reflect both on our progress and the work that remains to achieve fair housing and equal opportunity.

Although Fair Housing Month always begins on April Fool’s Day, housing discrimination is no joke. In fact, with fair housing currently under siege, it’s time to take it even more seriously. Stay tuned for a special Fair Housing Meter announcement later this month.

The United States has long commemorated the passage of the Fair Housing Act (Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968) through proclamations, know-your-rights seminars, poster contests, and other meaningful activities in April. “Fair Housing Month,” as it is called, celebrates what has been achieved when it comes to fighting housing discrimination while also recognizing that fair housing, like all civil rights, remains an ongoing struggle.

Indeed, the Fair Housing Act did not make it into the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 but was passed four years later, and only after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which occurred one week earlier. While it may not have been perfect and has, in fact, since been amended several times, the Fair Housing Act reflected a federal commitment to ban housing discrimination based on certain protected classes, beginning with race, color, religion, and national origin, and then adding sex, disability, and familial status.

There has been much progress on the federal, state, and local levels over the past 57 years. However, the promise of fair housing and equal opportunity remains elusive for so many people. The new Trump administration, soon after beginning its tenure on January 20, 2025, has made clear its intent to destroy the framework and funding behind fair housing education and enforcement. As a result, observing Fair Housing Month has taken on special meaning this year.

It’s ironic that Fair Housing Month begins on April 1, which is April Fool’s Day. It’s a day that we associate with jokes and hoaxes, yet it’s also the start of a month that focuses on the longtime struggle for equal access to housing. In stark contrast to just one year ago, fair housing protections, along with many other civil rights protections, are under serious threat.

Fair Housing Meter is needed now, more than ever, to track where the United States stands in terms of achieving true fair housing and equal opportunity (known as FHEO). Officially launched today, coinciding with Fair Housing Month 2025, Fair Housing Meter will track where we are, how we got here, and how far we still have to go, especially as the road ahead suddenly seems murky.

Today is both the start of Fair Housing Month and April Fool’s Day, but don’t be fooled into believing that housing discrimination is a thing of the past, or that hard-fought gains in civil rights are automatically permanent. On the contrary, given the current political climate, it’s time to get serious about fair housing.

Fair Housing Meter was launched on the first of the month, and the meter itself will debut on April 30, 2025, the last day of this month. Fair Housing Meter will keep track—in real time and across history—of the state of fair housing and equal opportunity (FHEO) in the United States. With its finger on the pulse of housing discrimination in America, you can follow along to understand how the political climate and other forces are affecting fair housing (and, more broadly, civil rights) for better or worse.

In the meantime, check out the poll below and offer your assessment about the health and progress of fair housing in American society.