EPIC urges HUD to rescind rulemaking that would completely withdraw HUD's Disparate Impact Rule
EPIC urged HUD to withdraw its proposed rule to rescind the Disparate Impact Rule, which addresses policies that unintentionally discriminate against protected classes, such as through rent screening algorithms. EPIC argued that the elimination of this regulation would weaken protections against discriminatory practices and criticized the abbreviated comment period for such a significant change. The organization emphasized the importance of the rule in regulating automated decision-making tools impacting housing fairness.
Updates
EPIC urges HUD to rescind rulemaking that would completely withdraw HUD’s Disparate Impact Rule
February 24, 2026
On February 13, 2026, EPIC submitted comments calling on HUD to withdraw its notice of proposed rulemaking that entirely removes HUD’s discriminatory effects regulation and leaves core questions regarding interpretability of the disparate impact standard under the Fair Housing Act to the courts. The disparate impact rule is critical to address facially neutral policies and practices that nonetheless have a discriminatory effect on protected classes such as race and gender. For example, technologies like rent screening algorithms operate without any explicit “discriminatory intent” but disproportionately affect housing availability for poor communities of color.
The proposed rule would undermine longstanding protections by abandoning established legal tests, enabling HUD to apply ad hoc interpretations of disparate impact liability all while removing a crucial source of guidance for the public. EPIC explained that the NPRM should not go forward as (1) HUD’s abbreviated comment period was unjustified, especially for such a sweeping change, and (2) Disparate Impact liability was crucial to combat against discrimination as automated decision-making tools continue to proliferate in the housing sector.
EPIC routinely advocates to protect consumers against opaque, inaccurate, and biased decisions made by automated decision-making tools or systems, including those that affect housing decisions.
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