Comment Submitted by Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico

Comments of Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico FR-6518-P-01 Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Revisions Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico respectfully submits these comments in strong opposition to HUD’s proposed rule titled Equal Access to Housing in HUD Programs Revisions. By restricting the definition of sex and establishing a burdensome identity validation process, this proposed regulation violates intimacy and harms all residents of public housing, regardless of their identity. I. Introduction Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico (“ALPR”) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing access to justice and defending the right to safe and dignified housing in Puerto Rico. ALPR provides direct legal services, legal education, and policy advocacy related to federally assisted housing, emergency housing programs, and access to shelter, including for historically marginalized communities. ALPR submits these comments in strong opposition to HUD’s proposed rule rescinding protections related to gender identity and sexual orientation in federally assisted housing and shelter programs. II. Weakening Equal Access Protections Will Increase Housing Instability and Homelessness HUD’s proposed rule substantially weakens existing protections that ensure equal access to housing and shelter for LGBTQI+ individuals, particularly transgender and gender nonconforming people. The proposal removes protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation and authorizes providers to seek “reasonable assurances or evidence” of a person’s sex as a condition for access to certain facilities. These changes are not related to HUD’s responsibility regarding promoting equal access to housing. On the contrary, they will increase barriers to shelter access, deepen housing instability, and expose already vulnerable communities to greater risks of homelessness, discrimination, and violence. The rule also creates significant concerns regarding privacy and dignity by encouraging intrusive scrutiny into a person’s appearance, identity, or body, regardless of their sex or identity. III. The Rule Fails To Consider the Realities Faced by LGBTQI+ Communities Experiencing Homelessness LGBTQI+ communities, particularly transgender individuals and transgender women of color, face disproportionately high rates of housing discrimination, family rejection, violence, and homelessness. HUD acknowledges within the proposed rule that some individuals may be denied access to shelters consistent with their gender identity and may therefore need to seek alternative shelter arrangements. For many people experiencing homelessness, those alternatives simply do not exist. Access to shelter is the line between safety and unsheltered homelessness. Policies that make shelter access more restrictive increase vulnerability, instability, and exposure to violence. Individuals may face an impossible decision: between undignified shelter conditions and homelessness. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- See attachment