HUD Announces Major Cuts and Changes in Housing Policies
Recent reports from the Washington Post reveal that top HUD officials are planning significant changes in housing policies, including the eviction of undocumented immigrants from public housing and the implementation of time limits and work requirements for other residents.
Among the proposed cuts are reductions in funding for homeless initiatives, energy efficiency projects, and climate resilience measures for HUD properties. Additionally, there are plans to cut funding for affordable housing inspections and close smaller field offices in rural areas.
- The Office of Community Planning and Development, which focuses on veteran housing and disaster recovery, is facing an 84% cut by late May.
- The Office of Public and Indian Housing, serving over 3.5 million households, is set to be cut by 50%.
- The Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will see a nearly 77% reduction.
- Most oversight and accountability work for public housing authorities will need to be done remotely due to the budget cuts.
Interestingly, the directives have not been issued by HUD Secretary Scott Turner but by Scott Langmack, a senior adviser from DOGE who also works as the COO of real estate tech firm Kukun. Langmack is reportedly keen on integrating AI into HUD’s processes.
DOGE claims to have identified $1.9 billion in HUD funds that were recovered after being misplaced during the Biden administration. Turner has also announced over $260 million in savings since taking office.
Turner, in a statement, emphasized the need to refocus HUD on supporting communities and affordable housing. He aims to reduce regulations to make homeownership more accessible and promote prosperity in underserved areas.
Under Turner’s leadership, HUD plans to play a key role in bringing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac out of conservatorship and revising its gender identity policy to align with the administration’s priorities.