On July 28, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted in part a temporary restraining order requiring HUD to comply with its statutory obligations under the Fair Housing Act and develop a detailed plan to award millions of dollars in Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) grants by the Sept. 30 deadline. The plaintiffs, two fair housing organizations that have worked closely with HUD through the FHIP program, alleged HUD took the “unprecedented step” of halting its grantmaking activities, and expressed concern that the agency would fail to distribute those congressionally appropriated funds for the current fiscal year by the statutory deadline. HUD previously acknowledged that, although it took longer to process FHIP grants and paused grantmaking activity, it still intends to meet the statutorily mandated deadline.
While the court found the plaintiffs were entitled to some emergency relief, it declined to grant all requested remedies, instead ordering HUD to comply with statutory requirements and submit a detailed plan. The court indicated it would revisit the plaintiffs’ remaining requests if it became clear HUD would not meet the statutory deadline.
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