HUD’s English-only policy slams the door on the American Dream

“One voice” or no voice at all? As of August 2025, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is officially enforcing an English-only policy across its operations. Under direction from the Trump administration’s executive order that declared English the “official language” of the United States, HUD has begun removing all translated materials from its website and communications — unless translation is required by law (like under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Violence Against Women Act).

That means vital documents, guides, and resources that once helped millions of Americans, especially immigrants and non-English speakers, navigate housing assistance programs, rental rights, discrimination complaints, and homebuying resources are now being pulled down. If you don’t read English fluently? Good luck, you’re now on your own.

HUD officials say this is about creating a “unified voice,” but let’s call it what it is: a bureaucratic muzzle that makes it considerably harder for non-English-speaking Americans to access one of the most basic human needs — a place to live.

This move isn’t just tone-deaf; it could be dangerous.

Let’s talk real-world impact

What does this English-only policy actually do? It strips away translated housing materials and guidance for millions of non-English-speaking citizens, many of whom are legal residents, taxpayers, and aspiring homeowners.

HUD has already started purging translated documents from its websites. Until very recently, HUD provided translations in over 200 languages, making this rollback all the more devastating. That includes essential information about fair housing rights, discrimination protections, housing vouchers, and how to apply for assistance.

In other words, if you don’t speak English fluently, trying to navigate one of the most complex, bureaucratic systems in the country just got harder. You want to rent an apartment? Buy your first home? File a discrimination complaint? Apply for Section 8? Then it’s time to brush up on your English or risk being left behind.

This isn’t about unity; it’s about control

This administration’s justification? That America needs “one voice, one language.” Sorry, but unity isn’t achieved by silencing people — it’s achieved by listening to them.

For decades, the federal government has worked to improve access and inclusion. Agencies like HUD have provided vital resources in multiple languages to ensure that no matter where you’re from — or what language you speak — you have a fair shot at stable housing and upward mobility. This policy flushes all that progress down the drain.

Let’s call this what it really is: a modern-day literacy test in disguise.

Who gets hurt? The very people we should be lifting up

This policy disproportionately hurts:

• Immigrants who are legally in the country and working toward homeownership
• Refugees resettling in the U.S. after fleeing persecution
• Elderly residents who never learned English but have lived here for decades
• People in low-income communities who already struggle with access to information

These are not freeloaders — these are folks working two jobs, raising families, paying taxes, and trying to make a better life. They’re here because of the American Dream. But now, because they don’t speak English fluently, they’re being told they don’t get a seat at the table.

In real estate, communication is everything

I’ve trained over 250,000 real estate professionals across the U.S., and I can say this without hesitation: If agents suddenly stopped communicating in Spanish, Mandarin, Haitian Creole, or any number of languages their clients speak, they’d lose trust, lose business, and fail their communities.

Real estate is about relationships. It’s about meeting people where they are, not forcing them to catch up just to be worthy of basic services. So, when HUD, one of the key agencies shaping housing access, removes multilingual support, it sends a message that only one kind of American matters, and that’s unacceptable.

This isn’t just bad policy — it’s bad economics

Let’s talk dollars and sense. Immigrant homebuyers make up a massive and growing share of the real estate market. According to the National Association of Realtors, 10% of homebuyers in recent years were born outside the U.S. Many of them speak English as a second language, or not at all.

By making HUD harder to navigate, this policy chokes off a pipeline of potential homeowners, renters, and future taxpayers. It slows economic growth, depresses housing mobility, and worsens inequality. It’s the equivalent of saying, “We want you to work, pay rent, pay taxes, but don’t expect help understanding your rights.”

Let’s not forget: housing is a civil right

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 wasn’t passed so people could be told what language to speak. It was passed to ensure equal access, equal protection, and equal opportunity, regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, or family status.

If someone can’t read the documents explaining how to file a housing discrimination complaint, how are they supposed to exercise their rights?

We should be moving forward, not backward

Instead of investing in ways to make government services more inclusive and accessible, we’re watching those very services shrink into a one-size-fits-all model that doesn’t fit anyone who doesn’t check the “native English speaker” box.

And don’t get me wrong, language proficiency matters, but so does empathy and compassion, so does access and honoring the dignity of people who are doing their best to build a life here. HUD exists to serve the public not just the English-speaking part of it.

Here’s what we should be demanding

If you believe in the American Dream, if you believe in homeownership as a path to stability and wealth, and if you believe that real estate should be a ladder up, then now is the time to speak up. Here’s what we need:

1. Reverse the English-only mandate at HUD and restore multilingual resources.
2. Invest in better translation services, both online and in-person.
3. Train real estate professionals and HUD partners to support language access at the community level.
4. Hold leadership accountable when policies contradict the spirit of the Fair Housing Act.

Bottom line?

You can’t claim to defend the American Dream and then turn around and make it harder for millions of Americans to even understand how to access it. This isn’t about language. This is about power, privilege, and control. If we stay silent, we’re just as guilty as the ones writing these policies.

Darryl Davis, CSP, has spoken to, trained, and coached more than 600,000 real estate professionals around the globe. He is a bestselling author for McGraw-Hill Publishing, and his book, How to Become a Power Agent in Real Estate, tops Amazon’s charts for most sold book to real estate agents.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of HousingWire’s editorial department and its owners.

To contact the editor responsible for this piece: tracey@hwmedia.com