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HUD Empowers Real Estate Agents to Better Support American Homebuyers:

 The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued guidance clarifying that real estate professionals can legally share information about neighborhood crime rates and school quality with homebuyers—as long as it’s done consistently and without discriminatory intent.

Scott Turner emphasized that buyers should have access to important information like safety and school performance when making housing decisions. Craig Trainor explained that “steering” (illegal under the Fair Housing Act) requires intentional discrimination based on protected characteristics (like race, religion, etc.).

Simply providing crime data or school ratings is not a violation if it’s shared equally and without bias. Agencies funded under fair housing programs (FHAP and FHIP) should not treat the sharing of this information alone as discrimination.

HUD is pushing back against prior industry practices where brokerages limited such information out of fear of fair housing violations. The statement criticizes earlier restrictions (especially during the prior administration) that discouraged sharing this data, arguing that those policies reduced transparency for buyers.

HUD’s position now is that consumer access to information and fair housing protections can coexist. Real estate agents can legally discuss crime and school quality, but they must do so consistently and non-discriminatorily for all clients.

https://www.hud.gov/news/hud-no-26-028

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