What Changed—and What It Means for Your Real Estate Practice
Federal fair housing policy changed significantly during 2025 and the first seven months of 2026. Some changes affect the information real estate professionals may provide. Others change how the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development intends to investigate or enforce certain complaints.
These developments do not repeal the Fair Housing Act. They also do not eliminate state or local fair housing laws, private legal claims, court decisions, brokerage policies, or the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.
School Quality and Neighborhood Crime Information
On April 24, 2026, HUD clarified that the Fair Housing Act does not automatically prohibit a real estate professional from providing truthful, nonracial information about school quality or neighborhood crime.
HUD specifically addressed situations in which agents, brokers, associations, and listing services had avoided answering these questions because they believed any discussion of schools or crime could create a fair housing violation.
The clarification does not eliminate the prohibition against steering. An agent should provide information equally and consistently, use objective sources, and avoid converting factual information into a personal recommendation about where a consumer should or should not live.
Example an agent may encounter
Buyer: “How are the schools in this neighborhood?”
The agent should not decide whether a school is “good enough” for that buyer or make assumptions based on the buyer’s race, religion, family status, national origin, or another protected characteristic.
The agent may direct the buyer to objective school information, such as the appropriate state education agency, school district, published report cards, enrollment boundaries, and other consistently provided sources.
Buyer: “Is this a safe neighborhood?”
Instead of offering a personal opinion, the agent may provide or direct the buyer to consistently used crime-data sources, local law-enforcement information, and other objective public records. The consumer then evaluates that information according to their own priorities.
Operational standard for the agent
Use the same process for every consumer. Maintain a standard list of objective school and crime-information sources. Do not select different sources—or provide different levels of assistance—based on who the consumer is or where the agent believes that person belongs.
Assistance Animals and Withdrawn HUD Guidance
HUD’s 2026 Assistance-Animal Enforcement Standard
On May 22, 2026, HUD issued new enforcement guidance concerning animal-related reasonable-accommodation complaints under the Fair Housing Act.
Under this enforcement policy, HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will generally find reasonable cause and recommend charges only in cases involving animals individually trained to perform work or tasks directly related to a person’s disability.
HUD stated that providing emotional support, comfort, well-being, or companionship does not constitute trained work or a trained task under the standard described in the memorandum.
This is an important federal enforcement change, but it should not be treated as a universal instruction to reject emotional-support-animal requests. HUD’s memorandum does not eliminate private rights of action. State laws, local ordinances, other federal statutes, and court decisions may produce different or broader obligations.
Example an agent or property manager may encounter
Applicant: “I have an emotional-support animal, and the property has a no-pet policy.”
The agent should not independently approve the request, reject it, demand unauthorized documentation, describe the animal as “just a pet,” or promise that a fee will or will not apply.
The proper response is to document the request and immediately refer it through the brokerage’s established accommodation procedure.
Withdrawal of Earlier HUD Guidance
Effective September 17 and September 25, 2025, HUD withdrew multiple Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and Office of General Counsel guidance documents. Public notices were subsequently published in the Federal Register during 2026.
The affected subjects included assistance animals, digital advertising, criminal-record policies, limited English proficiency, appraisal discrimination, land-use practices, sexual orientation and gender identity, special-purpose credit programs, and other fair housing enforcement matters.
HUD stated that the withdrawn documents were removed from active use and should no longer be relied upon as authoritative federal guidance.
What the withdrawal does not mean
- It does not repeal the Fair Housing Act.
- It does not legalize intentional housing discrimination.
- It does not eliminate applicable state or local protections.
- It does not eliminate private lawsuits or relevant court decisions.
- It does not replace brokerage policy or the REALTOR® Code of Ethics.
Example an agent may encounter
A landlord asks an agent to publish an advertisement containing language that may discourage a protected group from applying. The landlord claims that earlier digital-advertising guidance was withdrawn and therefore the wording is now permitted.
The agent should not make that legal determination. The withdrawal of a guidance document does not authorize discriminatory advertising. Stop publication and refer the proposed language to the broker.
What REALTORS® Should Do Now
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing
During 2025, HUD reduced federal planning and reporting requirements associated with its Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing policy and returned more planning authority to state and local governments.
These changes primarily affect participating governments, public housing agencies, HUD grant recipients, and other entities administering covered federal programs. They generally do not change a real estate agent’s responsibilities during an ordinary buyer, seller, landlord, or tenant transaction.
The Fair Housing Act and other applicable nondiscrimination requirements remain in effect. Agents must continue providing consistent professional service without making housing opportunities, information, marketing, negotiations, or representation dependent upon a person’s protected characteristics.
A Practical Compliance Process
- Use objective information. Identify reliable sources before a consumer asks about schools, crime, demographics, accessibility, or other neighborhood characteristics.
- Apply the same procedure consistently. Do not change the information, effort, options, listings, or communication provided based on the consumer’s protected characteristics.
- Avoid personal conclusions. Give consumers access to relevant information and allow them to decide what satisfies their own needs.
- Document sensitive requests. Maintain a factual record of accommodation requests, discrimination concerns, advertising instructions, and the guidance received from the broker.
- Do not independently interpret withdrawn guidance. When an older policy or form relies upon rescinded material, obtain brokerage and legal review before changing the procedure.
- Check state and local requirements. Federal enforcement policy may not represent the complete legal standard in the agent’s market.
When the Agent Should Stop
Contact your broker whenever a situation involves a discrimination complaint, accommodation request, disputed assistance animal, questionable advertisement, protected characteristic, steering concern, or conflict among federal law, state law, local law, ethical duties, and brokerage policy.
The agent’s responsibility is not to provide a legal ruling. The agent’s responsibility is to recognize the issue, preserve the relevant information, avoid making the situation worse, and obtain qualified guidance.
Download the One-Page REALTOR® Reference
Keep the condensed 2026 Fair Housing Updates and Clarifications sheet available for quick reference and broker discussions.
Download the Fair Housing HandoutHUD Fair Housing Act overview
HUD announcement concerning Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing