Trump Admin Says It’s Clearing the ‘Biden Backlog’ of Fair Housing Complaints, But Activists Disagree

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development says it's chipping away at the nation's backlog of Fair Housing complaints. But not all fair housing groups agree with its methods.The FHA said this week it has reduced the backlog of pending Title VIII complaints by 46%. The data, which came with few specifics, follows a jump in complaints reported in 2024, when the National Fair Housing Alliance reported 33,000 claims of discrimination, 5.74% more than in the previous year.But the NFHA also criticized HUD's data at a time when it has both slashed its budget for Fair Housing enforcement and cut staff in that department. HUD, though, noted that it has for years struggled to quickly address complaints. A 2024 report from its Office of Inspector General found it failed to close 70% of its 2020 to 2022 investigations within 100 days, as is required by the Fair Housing Act. That investigation found limited staffing, complexity of case work and uncooperative parties draw out investigations.Nonetheless, HUD claimed it "inherited an inefficient case system from the Biden administration that delayed or politicized investigations and enforcement actions"“HUD is efficiently delivering reli...