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An agency that represents Massachusetts tenants in housing discrimination cases is suing the Trump administration, arguing that it illegally canceled grant funding that it relies upon to represent tenants.
The Massachusetts Fair Housing Center recently received grant termination notices from the Department of Government Efficiency, canceling nearly $425,000 a year that it receives as part of a three-year award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Holyoke-based agency stands to lose nearly half of its annual budget as a result of the cuts, according to a complaint by attorney Daniel Ordorica of Springfield filed in U.S. District Court.
“MFHC currently represents about 50 such clients and accepts above five new cases per week, but the grant cancellation will force it to stop accepting any new clients for legal cases and housing search assistance,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit names HUD and DOGE as defendants and seeks a temporary restraining order preventing HUD from terminating the grants. It claims that HUD acted “arbitrarily and capriciously by failing to provide a reasoned explanation” for the cancellation.
Judge Richard Stearns gave the defendants a deadline of Friday to submit a response, according to court records.
Approximately $30 million in HUD grants have been cancelled to fair housing agencies by the Trump administration. On Feb. 27, HUD sent termination notices for 78 grants previously awarded under the Fair Housing Initiatives Program.
The program is designed to enforce the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination based upon race, gender, religion, national original, family status or disability.
The grants augment other sources of funding to agencies, enabling them to pursue a wider range of services, said Ashley Grant, a former legal director of the Massachusetts Fair Housing Center and now director of fair housing enforcement at Suffolk University Law School.
“What’s unique about the HUD funding is that it allows them to do broader work. Often legal services may only get involved when there’s an eviction,” Grant said.
Founded in 1989, the MFHC represents tenants in western Massachusetts and parts of Middlesex County. It pursues legal actions in state and federal courts, along with complaints submitted to the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
One of its specialties is representing families who face housing discrimination because of Massachusetts’ requirement that landlords remove lead paint in apartments with young children. That service has been suspended as a result of the cuts, according to the lawsuit.
MFHC has nine full-time employees and an annual budget of under $900,000, according to the lawsuit. The recently-canceled grants comprise 47 percent of its annual budget, and could force it to lay off approximately half of its employees.
Services paid for by the grant include a testing program for housing discrimination, housing placement and counseling, and outreach and education to protected classes, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint also represents fair housing agencies in Idaho, south Texas and Ohio.
