Why the FHFA’s latest move puts fair housing at risk

Courtesy of Inman News

While much of the country is distracted by the Olympics, the Super Bowl and the daily deluge of headlines, something far more consequential for our industry — and our communities — has quietly occurred.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has finalized a rule repealing the Equitable Housing Finance Plans that governed fair-lending oversight for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks.

This rollback eliminates a critical accountability framework designed to identify barriers to homeownership and proactively address discrimination affecting underserved communities — including LGBTQ+ people.

This decision is not an isolated occurrence.

Changes at the CFPB that affect fair housing

On Feb. 3, 11 U.S. Senators urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to rescind a proposed rule that would effectively end the Equal Credit Opportunity Act’s (ECOA) disparate impact standard. If finalized, that change would prohibit regulators from blocking lending practices that disproportionately harm historically marginalized groups, so long as lenders can claim neutral intent.

Taken together, these actions represent a dangerous step backward for fair housing enforcement.

The Senators’ letter to the CFPB underscores why disparate impact protections matter:

Research consistently shows that borrowers protected under ECOA—including women, people of color, and LGBTQ+ couples—face higher denial rates, worse loan terms, and higher costs than similarly situated borrowers. 

Between 2018 and 2023, Black mortgage applicants were more than twice1 as likely to be denied as White applicants with comparable profiles. Latino and Asian applicants faced significantly higher denial rates as well. 

Sole female applicants were nearly 30% more likely to be denied a mortgage than sole male applicants. And studies show same-sex couples are more than 70% more likely to be denied and often charged higher interest rates and fees than different-sex couples with similar credit characteristics.

These disparities are not theoretical. They are documented. And they persist precisely because discrimination is often systemic — not overt.

That is why the FHFA’s repeal of Equitable Housing Finance Plans is so alarming.

Why data matters for fair housing

When Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac introduced these plans in 2024, the rationale was straightforward: you cannot fix what you refuse to measure.

At the time, Freddie Mac data showed that Black and Hispanic borrowers received just 3.3 percent and 6.8 percent of its loans, respectively. The plans were designed to identify barriers, improve outcomes and ensure that government-sponsored enterprises were accountable for progress — not promises.

As the FHFA’s own Associate Director of Fair Lending James Wylie said then: “If you don’t confront the issue, you’re not going to make progress.”

Today, that philosophy has been abandoned.

Although fair housing laws technically remain in place, LGBTQ+ people are still not explicitly protected under federal law because sexual orientation and gender identity are not enumerated protected classes. The removal of proactive oversight, transparency and planning requirements means discrimination is more likely to go unchecked — and harder to prove after the damage is done.

If the GSEs (government-sponsored enterprises) are no longer required to assess how discrimination and structural barriers affect underserved Americans, how exactly are we supposed to close homeownership gaps? How do we expand access for LGBTQ+ households who already face higher denial rates, fewer protections and less recourse?

We don’t.

Unless we speak up.

That is why the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance has launched an outreach campaign urging U.S. Senators and members of Congress to oppose the repeal of the Equitable Housing Finance Plans and to defend disparate impact protections under ECOA.

If you are an LGBTQ+ real estate professional, a Realtor parent of an LGBTQ+ child (and we believe there are more than 60,000 of you), an ally or simply someone who believes fair housing should mean fair housing for everyone, we need your voice now.

Click here to access step-by-step instructionsto contact your U.S. Senators and Representative and tell them this rollback is wrong.

Silence is exactly what allows these changes to happen.

Progress depends on participation.

Tommie Wehrle is the 2026 National President of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance.