HR 68 · 119th CongressIn Committee

Housing Fairness Act of 2025

Latest updateJan 3, 2025

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Housing and Community Development

Sponsor

Al Green

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

January 3, 2025

Legislative Progress

How far this bill has traveled through Congress

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and familial status. However, enforcement has relied primarily on complaints filed by individuals who believe they have experienced discrimination. This reactive approach means many discriminatory practices go undetected and undocumented, making it difficult to understand the full scope of housing discrimination across rental markets, home sales, and mortgage lending. Current funding for fair housing enforcement organizations is limited, constraining their ability to investigate patterns of discrimination systematically.

The Housing Fairness Act of 2025 directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to establish a nationwide testing program to proactively detect and measure housing discrimination. HUD shall contract with qualified fair housing organizations to conduct tests that document differences in how renters, home buyers, and mortgage borrowers are treated based on protected characteristics. The bill also increases funding for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program from current levels to $42.5 million annually through fiscal year 2028, with at least 75 percent directed to private enforcement initiatives. Additionally, HUD must issue regulations within 180 days establishing minimum training standards for testers and shall report biennial findings to Congress.

Implementation begins immediately upon enactment, with HUD issuing tester training regulations within six months. The $15 million annual authorization for the testing program and $42.5 million for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program run through fiscal year 2028, with funds remaining available until spent. Testing results can be used by HUD, federal agencies, state and local governments, and nonprofit organizations to initiate investigations and enforcement actions. A separate $5 million annual grant program funds nonprofit research into discrimination causes and pilot solutions. These resources will expand HUD's capacity to identify systemic discrimination patterns and enable faster enforcement responses, potentially increasing the number of discrimination cases pursued and settlements reached.

Key Provisions

1Directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development to conduct nationwide testing to detect and document housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability status, and national origin across rental, purchase, and mortgage lending markets.
2Increases annual funding for the Fair Housing Initiatives Program to $42.5 million through fiscal year 2028, with at least 75 percent allocated to private enforcement initiatives and no more than 10 percent for education and outreach.
3Authorizes $15 million annually through fiscal year 2028 for HUD to contract with fair housing organizations to conduct discrimination testing and report biennial findings to Congress.
4Establishes a competitive matching grant program providing up to $5 million annually through fiscal year 2028 to nonprofit organizations conducting comprehensive studies on housing discrimination causes and effects, and testing pilot solutions.
5Requires HUD to issue regulations within 180 days establishing minimum training standards for fair housing testers and prohibits use of any authorized funds for political activities, advocacy, or lobbying.

★ Why this matters

The bill expands HUD's ability to systematically identify housing discrimination rather than waiting for individual complaints, potentially uncovering patterns that affect entire neighborhoods or demographic groups. Testing results can trigger federal investigations and enforcement actions, leading to settlements and corrective measures. Increased funding allows fair housing organizations to hire more staff and conduct more investigations, accelerating case resolution and deterring discriminatory practices through heightened enforcement risk.

● Who this affects

Renters and home buyers from racial and ethnic minorities, families with children, people with disabilities, and religious minorities seeking housing will benefit from expanded discrimination detection and enforcement. Fair housing nonprofit organizations and enforcement staff will gain resources to expand testing and investigation capacity. Mortgage lenders, landlords, and real estate agents engaged in discriminatory practices face increased detection risk and potential enforcement actions. HUD and the Department of Justice will receive more systematic data on discrimination patterns to inform policy decisions. Academic researchers and nonprofit organizations studying housing discrimination will access new grant funding for comprehensive studies.

Bill Text

View on Congress.gov

Show / hide bill text preview

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 68

To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through the use of 
nationwide testing, to increase funds for the Fair Housing Initiatives 
                    Program, and for other purposes.

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2025

Mr. Green of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Financial Services

                                 A BILL

 
To authorize funds to prevent housing discrimination through the use of 
nationwide testing, to increase funds for the Fair Housing Initiatives 
                    Program, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans, Women, Families with 
Children, Race, and Persons with Disabilities Housing Fairness Act of 
2025'' or the ``Housing Fairness Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. TESTING FOR DISCRIMINATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall conduct a nationwide program of testing to--
            (1) detect and document differences in the treatment of 
        persons seeking to rent or purchase housing or obtain or 
        refinance a home mortgage loan, and measure patterns of adverse 
        treatment because of the race, color, religion, sex, familial 
        status, disability status, or national origin of a renter, home 
        buyer, or borrower; and
            (2) measure the prevalence of such discriminatory practices 
        across the housing and mortgage lending markets as a whole.
    (b) Administration.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall enter into agreements with qualified fair housing enforcement 
organizations, as such organizations are defined under subsection (h) 
of section 561 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1987 (42 
U.S.C. 3616a(h)), for the purpose of conducting the testing required 
under subsection (a).
    (c) Program Requirements.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) submit to the Congress an evaluation by the Secretary 
        of the effectiveness of the program under this section; and
            (2) issue regulations that require each application for the 
        program under this section to contain--
                    (A) a description of the assisted activities 
                proposed to be undertaken by the applicant;
                    (B) a description of the experience of the 
                applicant in formulating or carrying out programs to 
                carry out the activities described in subsection (a); 
                and
                    (C) a description of proposed procedures to be used 
                by the applicant for evaluating the results of the 
                activities proposed to be carried out under…

Auto-Whip

Where House representatives currently stand

Built from official statements, public releases, and voting records where they exist. Members without enough evidence are marked as no position.

448 tracked

Support

448

No Position

Oppose

Support

Members whose public record points toward backing the bill.

No members in this group yet.

Opposition

Members whose public record points toward opposition.

No members in this group yet.

No Position

Members we are still tracking, but without enough public evidence yet.

448

Alma Adams

D-North Carolina · District 12

No position

Housing Fairness Act of 2025

Legislative Progress

Plain-Language Summary

Key Provisions

★ Why this matters

● Who this affects

Bill Text

Where House representatives currently stand

Support

Opposition

No Position

Party Positions

Democratic Party

Republican Party

Take Action

Active Organizations

Housing Fairness Act of 2025

Legislative Progress

Plain-Language Summary

Key Provisions

★ Why this matters

● Who this affects

Bill Text

Where House representatives currently stand

Support

Opposition

No Position

Party Positions

Democratic Party

Republican Party

Take Action

Active Organizations