HUD Targets College Affinity Housing

The Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a ‘Dear Colleague’ letter on June 23, 2026, urging colleges to dismantle affinity and multicultural housing programs, claiming they violate the Fair Housing Act. Affinity and multicultural housing are voluntary, opt-in living communities that allow students to live with peers who share similar identities or interests. Inside Higher Ed reports that Craig Trainor, HUD’s Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing, singled out programs like Cal State LA’s Halisi Scholars Black Living-Learning Community, despite the fact that such communities are generally available to students of all backgrounds. Legal experts widely dismissed the letter as an intimidation tactic to pressure institutions into preemptively eliminating programs, noting that since most affinity housing is voluntary and inclusive, it does not meet any reasonable definition of unlawful segregation. The move mirrors the administration’s February 2025 ‘Dear Colleague’ letter targeting DEI programs in higher education, which was subsequently blocked by two federal courts.