What Ohio Landlords Need to Know About HUD’s 2026 Fair Housing Guidance Changes

by | Apr 10, 2026 | Fair Housing, Owner Education, Property Management Education | 0 comments

HUD document stamped withdrawnHUD just pulled the playbook that landlords and property managers have relied on for years. But the law it was built on hasn’t moved an inch. Here’s what Ohio landlords need to understand right now.

Disclaimer: This article is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified Ohio attorney for guidance on your specific situation.

TL;DR

In April 2026, HUD formally withdrew eight fair housing guidance documents covering criminal records screening, assistance animals, digital advertising, and more. The Fair Housing Act itself has not changed, and private lawsuits remain fully available. Ohio landlords should not treat this withdrawal as permission to relax screening or accommodation standards. If your policies were legally sound before, keep them. If they weren’t, this withdrawal doesn’t fix them.

What HUD Actually Withdrew (and When)

On April 3, 2026, HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) pre-published a Federal Register notice withdrawing eight guidance documents from active use. The formal notice appeared in the Federal Register on April 6, 2026, though the effective date of the withdrawal was September 17, 2025.

The withdrawn documents covered a wide range of compliance topics that had shaped how landlords, property managers, and housing providers operated for years (some for nearly two decades). Here’s what was pulled:

  • Criminal records in screening (June 2022): guidance requiring individualized assessment of criminal history rather than blanket bans
  • Assistance animals (April 2013 and January 2020): guidance on reasonable accommodation obligations, documentation limits, breed restrictions, and the distinction between service animals and emotional support animals
  • Digital advertising (April 2024): guidance on how the Fair Housing Act applies to online and algorithm-driven advertising, including AI-targeted ads
  • Source-of-income testing (February 2024): guidance allowing Fair Housing Assistance Program funds to be used for testing source-of-income discrimination
  • Limited English proficiency (January 2007): guidance on national origin discrimination affecting persons with limited English proficiency
  • LGBTQ+ protections (February 2021): guidance implementing Executive Order 13988 on sex discrimination protections for sexual orientation and gender identity
  • Special-purpose credit programs (December 2021): guidance on structuring credit programs designed to address historic inequities

HUD stated that these documents were “sub-regulatory guidance, not binding law” and should no longer be relied upon as authoritative. The agency also noted that if any guidance is deemed necessary after further review, it may be reissued. Handbooks and internal training materials referencing these documents are being revised.

The withdrawal list is not necessarily final. HUD may revise or reissue guidance. This is not the last word.

What This Means for Ohio Landlords Right Now

The most important thing to understand: the Fair Housing Act has not changed. What changed is HUD’s interpretive roadmap for applying it. The statute is federal law, passed by Congress. The guidance documents were HUD’s explanation of how it believed that law should be implemented. Withdrawing the explanation doesn’t rewrite the law.

As Navigate Housing noted in its analysis, housing providers should shift from a guidance-based mindset to a statute-based mindset. The practical obligations haven’t disappeared; the agency’s how-to manual has.

Here’s what this means for the three areas Ohio landlords care about most:

Criminal history screening. The 2022 guidance requiring individualized assessment of criminal records is withdrawn. But blanket criminal history bans still carry significant legal risk. Greystar settled a fair housing complaint in January 2026 over automatic rejections based on criminal history, and that case was driven by state law and private litigation (not HUD guidance). The safest approach remains individualized assessment: consider the nature and severity of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and its relevance to tenancy.

Assistance animals. The withdrawn 2020 guidance (FHEO 2020-01) had provided a framework for evaluating accommodation requests, including what documentation landlords could and couldn’t require. That framework is gone, but the Fair Housing Act’s reasonable accommodation requirement is statutory (not guidance-based). Landlords still cannot impose blanket pet bans on individuals with disabilities who need an assistance animal, and they still cannot charge pet fees or deposits for approved assistance animals. What’s less clear now is exactly what documentation process is appropriate, which makes it more important than ever to consult an attorney when complex accommodation requests arise.

Advertising. The 2024 guidance on digital advertising (including AI-driven targeted ads) is withdrawn. But the Fair Housing Act’s prohibition on discriminatory advertising (Section 3604(c)) is statutory. Landlords who use targeted digital advertising should still ensure their ad targeting doesn’t exclude protected classes, regardless of whether HUD’s specific guidance on this topic is in effect.

Beyond these specific areas, HUD has separately proposed rescinding its disparate impact regulation entirely. That proposed rule (published January 14, 2026) would eliminate HUD’s regulatory framework for evaluating whether a housing practice has an unjustified discriminatory effect. If finalized, disparate impact claims would be left to the courts to develop. This signals a broader shift: HUD is moving away from being an enforcement-driven how-to manual and toward a narrower focus on cases involving clear, intentional discrimination.

HUD is stepping back from the guidance business. But the Fair Housing Act isn’t going anywhere, and neither are private lawsuits.

The Bottom Line: What Should You Actually Do?

Don’t change your policies based on this withdrawal alone. If your screening criteria, accommodation procedures, and advertising practices were legally defensible before April 2026, they’re still your best protection. Relaxing standards because the guidance was pulled creates new risk without eliminating old risk.

Document everything. Consistent, written policies applied equally to all applicants remain the gold standard for Fair Housing compliance. This was true when the guidance was in effect, and it’s true now. Written criteria, documented decisions, and a repeatable process are what hold up in court.

Remember that private lawsuits remain fully available. HUD’s own withdrawal notice states that complainants may still file civil actions in federal or state court within two years of an alleged discriminatory practice. Reduced HUD enforcement activity does not mean reduced legal exposure. State and local fair housing laws (including Columbus’s 12 protected classes and Ohio’s additional protections for ancestry and military status) operate independently of federal guidance.

Consult a qualified Ohio real estate attorney if you’re unsure how these changes affect your specific policies, particularly around assistance animal accommodations and criminal history screening, where the withdrawn guidance had provided the most detailed procedural frameworks.

For owners who want to ensure their screening, accommodation, and compliance processes are handled correctly without navigating this shifting landscape themselves, professional property management builds these protections in by default. RLPM applies consistent, documented screening criteria to every applicant, handles accommodation requests through established procedures, and monitors regulatory changes so individual owners don’t have to.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Did the Fair Housing Act change?
No. The Fair Housing Act is federal law passed by Congress. HUD withdrew interpretive guidance documents, not the statute itself. All statutory obligations remain in full effect.

Can I now use blanket criminal history bans in screening?
Not safely. The Greystar fair housing settlement in January 2026 demonstrates that blanket bans carry significant legal risk through private litigation and state enforcement, independent of HUD guidance.

Do I still have to accommodate assistance animals?
Yes. The Fair Housing Act’s reasonable accommodation requirement is statutory. The withdrawn guidance provided procedural details, but the underlying legal obligation has not changed.

Will HUD reissue any of the withdrawn guidance?
Possibly. HUD stated that guidance deemed necessary after further review may be reissued. The withdrawal list is not necessarily final, and the agency is continuing to review its guidance needs.

Does this affect Columbus-specific protections?
No. Columbus City Code protections (including source of income, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, and age) are local law and operate independently of HUD guidance. Ohio’s state-level protections for ancestry and military status are also unaffected.

Want Compliance Handled by Professionals?

RLPM monitors regulatory changes, applies consistent screening criteria, and handles accommodation requests so you don’t have to navigate this yourself.

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