A federal court this week blocked implementation of HUD's ICBA-supported final rule amending its interpretation of the Fair Housing Act’s "disparate impact" standard.
As reported by Politico, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued the preliminary injunction on Sunday, a day before the rule was scheduled to take effect. The legal challenge will have to be resolved for the rule to be implemented.
The HUD rule is designed to conform to the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project that disparate-impact cases must demonstrate a causal connection between practices and alleged discriminatory impact.
In an October 2019 comment letter, ICBA expressed strong support for the update for its consistency with the Supreme Court decision and the certainty it provides lenders.
