Massachusetts judge says HUD failed to justify changes to a decades-old program that supports nonprofit organizations investigating and addressing housing discrimination
WASHINGTON — A federal judge in Massachusetts has blocked a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development plan to overhaul the federal program that funds nonprofit fair housing organizations, a decision that will allow more than 100 community-based groups to continue providing services while the case proceeds.
U.S. District Judge Myong J. Joun granted a temporary restraining order sought by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) and the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, represented by civil rights law firm Relman Colfax. The order sets aside HUD’s fiscal year 2025 funding notices and directs the agency to distribute the money using the structure it used the previous year.
The Fair Housing Initiatives Program, or FHIP, provides federal funding to private nonprofit organizations that investigate housing discrimination, conduct testing, assist people who believe they have experienced discrimination and educate communities about fair housing rights. HUD says participating organizations can also provide information and assistance to people facing potential discrimination.
According to NFHA, FHIP-funded organizations collectively handle about three-quarters of housing discrimination complaints filed in the country. The organizations include more than 100 local and regional nonprofits that have traditionally received federal grants through the program.
Judge questions HUD’s rationale
The dispute centers on changes HUD made to its fiscal year 2025 funding structure. Instead of continuing the traditional grant structure, HUD proposed directing much of the $56 million in congressional funding toward five larger awards.
According to court filings and reporting on the decision, $46 million of the $56 million would have been directed to five grants, while two major components of the traditional program—the Private Enforcement Initiative and Education and Outreach Initiative—would have been eliminated from the FY2025 funding structure.
The judge found that HUD had not adequately explained the sweeping changes or accounted for their impact on organizations that had relied on FHIP funding for years.
The decision follows a series of legal disputes over the program. In March 2025, another federal judge in Massachusetts ordered HUD to reinstate 78 FHIP grants that had been terminated. Later that year, a separate court also blocked HUD’s refusal to administer FY2024 FHIP funding.
Massachusetts organization among plaintiffs
The Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, based in Holyoke, was one of the organizations challenging HUD’s changes. Founded in 1989, the center serves Western and Central Massachusetts and has historically relied on FHIP funding for its fair housing work.
“We opened in 1989 with one of the first fair housing grants this program ever made, and we’ve never stopped advancing fair housing,” said Vineeth Hemavathi, executive director of the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center. “Today’s ruling means the people who need us in the state still have somewhere to turn.”
Lisa Rice, president and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance, said the ruling will allow local organizations to continue assisting people who believe they have faced discrimination.
The court’s ruling does not end the legal dispute. NFHA and the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center are also challenging HUD’s fiscal year 2026 funding notices, which the groups say impose additional restrictions that could prevent nonprofit fair housing organizations from receiving federal funding.
HUD’s current FHIP program includes funding for private nonprofit organizations conducting complaint intake, testing, investigations, referrals and enforcement of fair housing claims.
For now, the Massachusetts ruling preserves the previous funding structure for the FY2025 program while the broader legal challenge continues.
