HUD Proposes Removal of Disparate Impact Protections under its Title VI Regulation

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Would leave older adults and the workforce that serve them without a critical basis for protection against discrimination by recipients of HUD funding.

Continuing the rollback of civil rights protections, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), on August 10, 2026 published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) that would remove provisions in HUD's Title VI implementing regulations that impose disparate impact liability on recipients of HUD financial assistance. LeadingAge has opposed efforts to remove disparate impact liability as a critical guardrail against discrimination in housing, as it would leave older adults and the workforce that serves them more vulnerable to discriminatory practices.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. HUD's Title VI regulation, which applies to financial recipients of HUD's programs and activities, including housing assistance programs, previously included provisions that interpreted Title VI to prohibit not only conduct that has a discriminatory purpose (intentional discrimination) but also conduct that has a discriminatory effect (disparate impact).

HUD's amendment of its Title VI regulations follows the same course that other agencies have taken over the past year, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in implementing the administration's policy, promulgated under Executive Order 14281, "to eliminate the use of disparate-impact liability in all contexts to the maximum degree possible."

HUD previously issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in January 2026 that would amend its Fair Housing Act (FHA) regulations to remove the disparate impact provisions and leave interpretation of disparate impact liability under the FHA to the courts (the January 2026 NPRM). The FHA prohibits discrimination in housing based on a number of protected grounds, including race, color, and national origin. LeadingAge in February 2026 submitted comments opposing HUD's proposal to remove disparate impact liability from its FHA regulations. While the SNPRM was issued as a supplement to the January 2026 NPRM, the SNPRM addresses disparate impact under a different statute, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

The SNPRM is subject to 60-day comment period which is set to close on October 9, 2026.