On April 28, the Scottsdale REALTORS® Fair Housing Symposium provided attendees with a unique perspective from fair housing advocate Laurie Benner.
“I’m not speaking on behalf of NFHA,” said Benner, who recently left her position at the National Fair Housing Alliance, although she did reference NFHA’s Where You Live Matters chart when she said, “The location of your home determines your access, or lack of access, to everything that you need to live a financially prosperous and healthy life.”
Benner speculated that recently released Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data will show a rollback in Black homeownership rates. “Affordability is a crisis for everyone” Benner continued, “but it impacts certain communities more profoundly than others.” She then shared a list of high-level issues including:
- CFPB has eliminated disparate impact and revised Special Purpose Credit Programs regulations
- The President’s FY27 Budget: eliminates the Fair Housing Initiatives Program and National Fair Housing Training Academy, allocates only $26M for Fair Housing Assistance Programs and $62.6M for the Office of Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity
- HUD sent a cease and desist letter to fair housing orgs prohibiting them from using consumer education materials.
“All of these cuts seek to roll back enforcement of the Fair Housing Act,” said Benner. She went on to explain that although we see declining fair housing complaints, as outlined in NFHA’s annual Fair Housing Trends Report, these numbers are attributable to decreases in legal and regulatory structures and funding resources.
Just days before the event, on April 24, 2026, HUD Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor sent out guidance directing real estate agents to share crime and school statistics with buyers. In Benner’s view, HUD “dismissed the notion that the information could perpetuate bias or violate housing laws.”
NAR has advised caution about the way (schools and crime) are discussed. Subjective commentary, personal opinions, or hearsay about schools or crime have been cited as evidence of discriminatory intent and intentional steering in numerous fair housing legal cases.
– National Association of REALTORS® Washington Report | Apr. 29, 2026
Benner then cited a report by the Consumer Federation of America which concluded that “pocket listings” are an emerging threat to fair access and transparency in the housing market. She added, “These private, exclusive listing networks are not compatible with fair housing.”
“What does this mean in the real estate industry?” Benner asked. “Education, events like this symposium and expanding consumer outreach. Fair housing is still the law of the land, even in the face of federal housing and civil rights retractions.”
Laurie Benner is now Manager of Community Development Advocacy Resources at the National Association of REALTORS®. Previously, she was AVP of Housing & Community Development at the National Fair Housing Alliance and Director of Housing Programs at the Maryland Association of REALTORS®. Laurie is also a consultant, trained mediator and experienced facilitator.