August 19, 2026
The HUD Equal Access Rule, established in 2016, protects equal access to HUD-funded housing, including protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation. While the rule remains in federal regulations, HUD halted its enforcement in 2025 following an executive order directing agencies to recognize sex based on biological sex. In April 2026, HUD proposed changes to align the rule with the executive order. NCCADV participated in the public comment process, which closed in June 2026. The proposed changes are not yet final.
The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes to remove “gender” and “gender identity” from HUD regulations, effectively gutting the Equal Access Rule. The original rule guarantees equal access to programs and services funded by HUD regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status. Advocates submitted more than 23,000 comments. Each public comment receives agency review and may be posted on Regulations.gov. HUD is expected to publish the final rule in November of this year. NCCADV will provide more updates in the coming months.
HUD’s Proposed Rule Would Increase Housing Barriers for Survivors
Domestic violence programs throughout North Carolina have named housing access, from emergency shelter to permanent housing as a primary need for survivors of domestic violence. HUD’s proposed rule would increase housing barriers for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. North Carolina already faces a severe shelter and housing shortage. The North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCCADV) published a 5-Year Trend Report tracking full shelter days across the state where every shelter bed across the state was occupied. The full shelter days averaged 162 days per year where every bed in the facilities were full.
Survivors Describe the Human Impact of Limited Housing
In 2026 interviews with survivors, as part of a statewide needs assessment, NCCADV heard about how the ongoing housing and shelter limitations led to high rates of survivors returning to dangerous situations or facing extended periods of instability. One survivor shared:
“I lived homeless in a tent in a bush in Charlotte for over a year… I couldn’t get into any housing, and I was refused help everywhere I went.”
Another survivor described seeing many others return to abusive relationships because they had nowhere else to go.
They “went back to their abuser. It’s unbelievable. They had nowhere to go… right now the number one reason women like me were homeless [is] because we have nowhere to go.”
LGBTQIA+ Survivors Face Additional Barriers to Safety
Advocates for survivors have long supported full and equal access to housing and shelter for the LGBTQIA+ community, including transgender survivors. They have rejected the false and harmful claims that allowing transgender people to access spaces consistent with their gender identity threatens the safety or privacy of survivors. LGBTQIA+ survivors— and especially transgender people, face alarming rates of sexual and domestic violence and are at increased risk of trafficking. Without safe or accessible housing options, LGBTQIA+ survivors will be forced to live on the street or in unsafe living situations where they are susceptible to further violence and victimization.
The Proposed Rule Would Harm Survivors & Their Children
North Carolina researchers have found that often, due to prior experiences with service providers that may have been harmful, they are reluctant to seek services from DV service providers. Despite this research, between 2020 and 2023 NC had an 87% increase in the number of survivors identifying as LGBTQ when accessing services from DV agencies. Protecting access to shelter and housing for all survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, is necessary to ensure that all survivors are safe.
To read NCCADV’s full comment on the proposed HUD Rule visit our Resource Library
