2016-22589: Equal Access in Accordance With an Individual's Gender Identity in Community Planning and Development Programs

Summary

Through this final rule, HUD ensures equal access for individuals in accordance with their gender identity in programs and shelter funded under programs administered by HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development (CPD). This rule builds upon HUD's February 2012 final rule entitled "Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity" (2012 Equal Access Rule), which aimed to ensure that HUD's housing programs would be open to all eligible individuals and families regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. The 2012 Equal Access Rule, however, did not address how transgender and gender non- conforming individuals should be accommodated in temporary, emergency shelters, and other buildings and facilities used for shelter, that have physical limitations or configurations that require and that are permitted to have shared sleeping quarters or shared bathing facilities. This final rule follows HUD's November 2015 proposed rule, which addressed this issue and solicited public comment on measures to ensure that recipients and subrecipients of CPD funding--as well as owners, operators, and managers of shelters and other buildings and facilities and providers of services funded by CPD--grant equal access to such facilities and services to individuals in accordance with an individual's gender identity. This rule amends HUD's definition of "gender identity" to more clearly reflect the difference between actual and perceived gender identity and eliminates the prohibition on inquiries related to sexual orientation or gender identity, so that service providers can ensure compliance with this rule. The removal of the prohibition on inquiries related to sexual orientation or gender identity does not alter the requirement to make housing assisted by HUD and housing insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) available without regard to actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Lastly, without changing the scope of the requirement to provide equal access without regard to sexual orientation, this rule makes a technical amendment to the definition of "sexual orientation," which HUD adopted from the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) definition of the term in 2012, to conform to OPM's current definition. In order to ensure that individuals are aware of their rights to equal access, HUD is publishing elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register for public comment, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, a document entitled "Equal Access Regardless of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, or Marital Status" for owners or operators of CPD-funded shelters, housing, facilities, and other buildings to post on bulletin boards and in other public spaces where information is typically made available.

The agency’s own summary, as published.

What this changes

Amends 1 part of the Code of Federal Regulations — the standing rules this notice rewrites.

• 24 CFR 5 General HUD Program Requirements; Waivers