On Friday, February 13, NAR submitted comments to HUD on its proposed rule, “HUD’s Implementation of the Fair Housing Act’s Disparate Impact Standard.” The proposed rule would eliminate HUD’s current rule providing guidance for HUD’s implementation of the Supreme Court’s decision in Texas Dept. of Housing & Community Affairs. v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., 576 U.S. 519 (2015). In that case, the Supreme Court held that disparate impact liability was cognizable under the Fair Housing Act. 

NAR argued in its letter (click on the attachment above) that disparate impact liability under the Fair Housing Act is settled law, and that HUD should continue to use this legal doctrine to protect property rights, particularly when discriminatory local government policy limits the use of real estate.