Biden Admin. Rule Eases Path for Housing Discrimination Suits

Federal housing regulators restored an Obama-era rule allowing the government and private plaintiffs to bring fair housing lawsuits based on disparate impact and perpetuation of discrimination claims.

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development on Friday issued a final rule that restored a 2013 agency discriminatory effects standard that established a three-part test for bringing disparate impact claims. The disparate impact theory involves using data to quantify the impact of housing, lending and other policies on racial, ethnic, and religious minorities; women; disabled people; and other classes of protected people.

The Trump administration replaced the 2013 rule with a ...