OAKLAND, Calif. — California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a lawsuit today against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, alleging unlawful actions that significantly weaken fair housing enforcement, as he co-leads a coalition of 16 attorneys general, according to the California Department of Justice.

The lawsuit, to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenges HUD guidance issued in September 2025 that threatens to decertify state and local fair housing agencies if they consider protections beyond those required by the federal Fair Housing Act, according to the California Department of Justice. Even though it had been dismissed, the federal government has asked the Board of Immigration Appeals to resume his deportation proceedings.

The guidance also imposes new funding conditions that the coalition argues are unlawful, according to the California Department of Justice.

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on seven protected traits: race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status and disability, according to the California Department of Justice.

However, the law establishes a floor for protection, allowing states to expand protections. California has added protections for gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, ancestry, source of income, and veteran or military status, according to the California Department of Justice.

“HUD, without legal authority, is effectively undermining state laws that offer stronger protections than federal law,” Bonta said in a statement, according to the California Department of Justice.

“My fellow attorneys general and I are united in our answer: not on our watch.”

For decades, HUD has partnered with state and local agencies through the Fair Housing Assistance Program, funding agencies whose laws are “substantially equivalent” to the Fair Housing Act and referring discrimination complaints to them, according to the California Department of Justice.

The new guidance threatens to decertify and defund agencies that consider broader state protections.

The guidance imposes several conditions on FHAP funding, including:

Prohibiting agencies from pursuing claims based on “disparate impact” liability, even where state law recognizes this theory.

Imposing an abortion-related funding condition without explaining what constitutes “promoting” abortion.

Banning funds from being used to “subsidize” or “promote” illegal immigration without defining these terms.

Prohibiting funds from promoting “gender ideology” using language so imprecise that agencies “would be required to guess what it means,” according to the California Department of Justice.

The coalition argues the guidance violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution and is seeking to halt its implementation, according to the California Department of Justice.

In California, the Civil Rights Department collaborates with HUD under the Fair Housing Assistance Program. In December 2025, the department announced reforms at more than two dozen apartment complexes following an investigation that identified potential discrimination against applicants with criminal justice system involvement, the exact type of claim the guidance would prohibit, according to the California Department of Justice.

The attorneys general note that these conditions come after HUD significantly reduced its fair housing enforcement capabilities by slashing staff and reducing the number of discrimination cases it prosecutes, according to the California Department of Justice.

Bonta and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul are co-leading the lawsuit, joined by Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington, according to the California Department of Justice.

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Categories: Breaking News Housing State of California Tags: Administrative Procedure Act Civil Rights Fair Housing Housing Discrimination HUD Rob Bonta