Attorney General Mayes Secures Full Victory in Lawsuit Challenging the Federal Government’s Attack on Fair Housing Protections

PHOENIX — As part of a coalition of 16 attorneys general, Attorney General Mayes announced that the coalition has secured relief from unlawful conditions the federal government attempted to place on Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) funding. Administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the FHAP provides funding to state and local agencies that enforce fair housing laws. 

In March 2026, the coalition filed a lawsuit challenging unlawful conditions in HUD's Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 FHAP Funding Guidance, which could have limited state and local agencies’ ability to enforce their fair housing laws, including by restricting reimbursement for certain fair housing complaints and threatening agencies that enforce protections beyond those in federal law.

Now, the federal government has conceded to the coalition’s challenge, agreeing to dismiss the lawsuit after confirming that HUD would not seek to impose, implement, or enforce the challenged conditions in the future and that the FY 2025 Guidance is no longer in effect. A letter from HUD also confirms the conditions will not apply to FY 2026 FHAP funding and that HUD does not plan to include them in future guidance.

“The federal government tried to withhold funding to Arizona for enforcing fair housing laws passed by our state legislature,” said Attorney General Mayes. “My office sued to stop this illegal overreach and we won.”

AG Mayes joined California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul who co-led the March 2026 lawsuit. Also joining them were the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Washington.