The Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research in Cleveland is part of a class action lawsuit filed Thursday against DOGE and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development asserting that DOGE had no power to cancel federal grants made to fair housing agencies.
The suit argues that the recently created Department of Government Efficiency didn’t have authority to tell HUD to halt more than $30 million in grants that were authorized by Congress for fair housing programs. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts
DOGE canceled two grants to Cleveland’s Fair Housing Center that totaled $225,000 and made up about 15% of its annual budget, according to Carrie Pleasants, the center’s executive director. HUD had distributed about half of the money to the nonprofit before terminating its contract.
She said the grants were set to pay for radio, television and billboard ads to run in Northeast Ohio to inform people of rights that protect them from discrimination when they buy or rent homes.
The grants would have also paid for training for landlords, informing them how to properly follow fair housing laws. Each year, the Fair Housing Center provides training to 2,500 people, including landlords, property managers and real estate professionals.
DOGE cuts threaten fair housing work across the country
After learning about the cuts last month, the Fair Housing Center had to cancel radio and television ads and training programs. More than 60 fair housing organizations nationally had their funding cut. Some are threatened with closing or have laid off staff. The grants are a primary source of funding for fair housing organizations in 33 states, according to the lawsuit.
The other parties in the lawsuit are the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center, the Intermountain Fair Housing Council in Boise, Idaho, and the Fair Housing Council of South Texas in San Antonio.
The termination of this funding is not only a
Tanesha Seaborn, Director of Education & Outreach at the Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research
disservice to our agency and our clients but also to housing professionals who rely on
our services to stay up to date on their fair housing responsibilities.”
As a class action lawsuit, the four fair housing agencies are suing on behalf of a larger group, or the class, and asking that the court order HUD to restore the funding. This means the suit’s outcome would affect the more than 60 nonprofit housing agencies that had their grants cut in this way. The group also asked the court for an emergency order to “stem the tide of harm” from the decision.
DOGE is an agency authorized by President Donald Trump based on an idea by billionaire Elon Musk, its chief advocate. Proponents of the agency’s work say the goal is to drastically reduce the size of the federal government by going after “waste, fraud and abuse.” None of these were given as the reason for discontinuing the grants.
Lawsuit argues reason for cuts didn’t make ‘any sense’
The nonprofit fair housing agencies got form letters on Feb. 27 from HUD explaining that their Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) grants were being terminated at the direction of DOGE because the funding “no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities.” The lawsuit argues that reasoning doesn’t make “any sense” because Congress has clearly stated the purpose of the grants.
The grants enhance the enforcement of the Federal Housing Administration by enabling fair housing groups to help “identify and remedy” forms of housing discrimination, according to the lawsuit. The duties of fair housing agencies include handling complaints based on laws banning housing discrimination and offering training to landlords to follow these laws.
The grants that were cut were described in the lawsuit as the “lifeblood” of the fair housing groups. In communities across the country, the programs help people and families avoid homelessness, stave off evictions, find safe places to live, ensure that their homes are accessible, and seek redress for discrimination.
Fair Housing Center head ‘heartbroken’ after receiving letter
Pleasants remembers an app on her cellphone alerting her at 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 that she had received an email. It was the HUD letter.
“I was heartbroken for what this might mean for our agency and for our constituents,” she said. “It’s just another way that DOGE creates chaos and confusion. It’s stopping things midstream for us without any explanation.”
One of the grants the Fair Housing Center received was for $100,000 and the other was for $125,000. She said contracts had already been signed with vendors. Most have been understanding about the money, at least temporarily, being placed on hold, Pleasants said.
The grants included funding a collaborative effort with the Fair Housing Center, the Fair Housing Resource Center in Painesville and the Fair Housing Contact Service in Akron for billboard ads, she said. (The Painesville nonprofit said it would have to close this fall after key grants were terminated.) The billboards are scheduled to be installed soon. The radio and TV public service announcements that the Fair Housing Center was going to do on its own won’t move forward unless funding is restored.
All three ads aimed to inform residents of their rights under federal fair housing laws designed to protect people from discrimination when buying or renting. The laws ban discrimination based on race, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability. In Ohio, military status and ancestry are also protected
In addition, the center planned to use the grant to help landlords and others to properly follow fair housing laws. The training deals with overt discrimination. It also deals with subtle forms intended to dissuade renters or homebuyers.
“Housing providers can’t say things like, ‘No kids allowed,’” Pleasants said. “They also can’t say things like, “These bedrooms are too small for your family.”
She said in her 25 years she has never experienced having funding cut off midstream.
“It sets a dangerous precedent, leaving countless individuals without the support they need to overcome housing inequality,” she said in the release. “All of Ohio will bear the brunt of this detrimental decision.”
