HUD General Counsel withdraws the 2021 Bostock fair-housing memo and other fair housing guidance

A Sept. 25, 2025 memo from HUD's General Counsel to the acting head of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity says a list of legal guidance documents no longer express the Office of General Counsel's official legal opinion, citing changes in case law, executive orders and agency priorities. The list includes the Feb. 9, 2021 memo applying Bostock to the Fair Housing Act, which had said the Act's sex protection covers sexual orientation and gender identity. Other withdrawn items involve criminal records, limited-English proficiency, land use, source of income and appraisals. The memo says replacement guidance will be issued later.