HUD proposes eliminating gender identity protections in federal housing

The Trump administration has proposed a sweeping rollback of civil rights protections for transgender and gender non-conforming people in federally funded housing programs, marking a significant shift in housing policy that advocates warn could increase homelessness among vulnerable populations.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development published the proposed rule on April 28, which would remove references to "gender" and "gender identity" from nearly 50 housing regulations and replace them with "sex," defined as biological male or female status. The changes would effectively repeal Obama-era protections established through the 2012 and 2016 Equal Access Rules that ensured housing programs served people without regard to gender identity.

Under the proposal, facility operators receiving federal funding would be permitted to "require reasonable assurances and evidence to confirm the sex of an individual seeking service" in single-sex or sex-specific facilities, including emergency shelters and housing with shared bathrooms or sleeping areas.

HUD Secretary Scott Turner defended the proposal in a statement, saying the revisions would "bring biological truth and sanity back to HUD's policies." The agency argued the changes align with President Trump's January 2025 executive order on biological sex in federal policy.

The proposal faces immediate criticism from housing advocates and civil rights organizations. The National Housing Law Project warned the changes would force federally funded shelters to deny access to unhoused transgender people and permit housing discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.

"Not only will the proposed policies directly harm families and communities, they will increase costs for state and local governments, hospital systems, and social services agencies," said Deborah Thrope, the group's Chief Program Officer, in a statement.

The timing concerns advocates given research showing transgender adults face disproportionate homelessness rates. Nearly one-third of transgender respondents in a 2022 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality reported experiencing homelessness. A UCLA Williams Institute analysis found transgender adults were several times more likely than cisgender straight adults to have experienced homelessness in the past year.

The proposed rule would apply to all HUD programs, including Community Planning and Development programs, public housing, Section 8 assistance, and supportive housing initiatives. Nebraska, which lacks statewide gender identity protections in housing, could see significant impacts on shelter services and federal housing assistance programs.

The public comment period remains open through June 29, 2026. The proposal could trigger legal challenges from states that adopted gender identity protections, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York, which have enacted housing laws protecting transgender people.