Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) issued guidelines about housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. The new guidelines makes clear that HUD’s position on such discrimination is that it is prohibited under the Fair Housing Act, although the federal law does not currently specifically state that it covers sexual orientation or gender identity discrimination.

A new development in the HUD guidance is that the agency now indicates that discrimination against transgender or transsexual individuals may be considered sex discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. At least one federal court has also indicated that gender identity discrimination may be covered under laws barring sex discrimination.

Although this guidance provides a way for lawyers fight for clients who have been discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, amending the Fair Housing Act to include sexual orientation or gender identity as illegal grounds for discrimination would do far more to deter such conduct.