For the first time in its history, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will require grant applicants seeking HUD funding to comply with state and local anti-discrimination laws that protect lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. In HUD’s published notice, it listed general requirements of the new rule that will apply to all of the Department’s competitively awarded grant programs for fiscal year 2010.

“We’re using every avenue to shut the door against discrimination,” said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. “Today, we take an important step to insist that those who seek federal funding must demonstrate that they are meeting local and state civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

HUD requires all applicants for competitive grant funding to comply with applicable federal fair housing and civil rights requirements, including those expressed in Fair Housing Act; Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Under the new rule, HUD goes a step further by also expecting applicants to comply with state or local laws banning housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Florida does not have a statewide ban on housing discrimination based on sexual orientation, but some local governments within the state do, such as the city of Miami. Sexual discrimination in housing is also banned under the National Association of Realtors®’ Code of Ethics.

According to HUD, about 20 states and the District of Columbia do have laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. In addition, 12 states and the District of Columbia prohibit discrimination based on gender identity.

In other actions to block discrimination against LGBT individuals, HUD says it will:

• Propose new regulations to clarify that the term “family,” when used to describe eligible beneficiaries of HUD’s programs, includes eligible lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and couples.

• Instruct the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and its lending community to base FHA-insured mortgage loans on the credit-worthiness of borrowers and not on factors such as sexual orientation or gender identity.

• Commission the first-ever national study of discrimination against members of the LGBT community in the rental and sale of housing. The Department is currently seeking online public comment from interested parties on how to design the study.

• Provide enhanced customer services for members of the public who bring fair housing complaints to the Department’s attention based on LGBT status. Specifically, in places where state or local laws already prohibit LGBT-related housing discrimination, HUD staff will direct the complaints to the appropriate state and local anti-discrimination offices. HUD staff will also be trained to identify allegations that come under the Fair Housing Act, such as HIV/AIDS-related discrimination, and consider grounds for enforcement action under current law.

HUD’s new policy is available online (PDF format) at: http://www.hud.gov/offices/adm/grants/nofa10/gensec.pdf