Policy & Advocacy
Housing Equity advocates for housing justice, fair housing rights, and equal opportunities for underserved communities in Minnesota, particularly Somali, Oromo, Ethiopian, and other immigrant and refugee families.
Our focus is combating housing discrimination, predatory lending practices, including abusive Contract for Deed arrangements, and barriers to affordable homeownership.
Through community awareness and policy advocacy, we work to protect vulnerable families, strengthen consumer rights, and promote fair and equitable housing opportunities for all.
Housing Equity is dedicated to ending housing discrimination and fostering diverse, inclusive communities through advocacy.
Housing Equity’s Policy and Advocacy team weighs in with the federal government to create and affect policy that expands equal access to fair housing choice for all. Housing Equity supports policy initiatives that advance our goals of eliminating discrimination in housing and expand equal access to homeownership opportunities.
Housing Equity also co-chairs, with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Fair Housing Task Force. The Fair Housing Task Force is a coalition of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights consisting of civil rights, housing and community development, and other advocacy organizations. The Fair Housing Task Force meets to address the most pressing contemporary issues related to the enforcement of the Fair Housing Act and to advocate for policies that promote equal access to housing opportunities.
Housing Equity Policy Priorities for the 119th Congress & the Trump Administration (2025-2027):
Safeguarding Civil Rights and Advancing Fair Housing, Equitable Opportunities, and Thriving Communities
Over the next two years, Housing Equity will prioritize these policy reforms to ensure fair and equitable housing opportunities for all. Access to a safe and affordable home near well-resourced schools, reliable transportation and internet, healthy foods, quality healthcare, fresh air, clean water, and living-wage jobs are basic to the American Dream and our nation’s future. With too many people struggling to make ends meet due to a lack of fair and affordable housing and growing racial and economic inequality, access to equitable housing opportunities can transform our society, increase prosperity, and create new promises for future generations. The Fair Housing Act was intended to remove all barriers to fair housing, whether from intentional bigotry or harmful practices and policies. Discrimination and inequality drain our economy. They distort markets, restrict resources, set up unbalanced opportunities, drive inflation, and limit productivity. By eliminating bias from our markets, we can ensure that they function fairly and allow us all to share in our nation’s collective economic growth and prosperity. We can build a world in which a person’s zip code does not determine their destiny and where the promises of our nation’s civil rights laws reach everyone. We hope you will join Housing Equity and its members in supporting the following fair and equitable housing priorities:
1. Preserve checks and balances;
2. Protect established rights and freedoms;
3. Promote fair and affordable housing for all households and communities; and
4. Support robust civil rights protections for automated systems, including artificial intelligence (AI)
Housing Equity Policy Priorities
Federal Nominations
Housing Equity examines the records of federal nominees and evaluates their fair housing and lending experience and expertise to ensure they will carry out their responsibilities in accordance with our nation’s civil rights laws and regulations.
Federal Budget and Appropriations
Housing Equity tracks the federal budget process and advocates for the highest possible appropriations for key fair housing and other housing programs run through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Expanding the Fair Housing Act
Today, it is legal for a housing provider in a majority of states across the country to deny housing to people because they are gay, lesbian, transgender, unmarried, or a recipient of housing subsidies. Housing Equity has been a strong advocate for the expansion of the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, and source of income.