A significant number of Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regional and field offices are expected to be eliminated, according to sources.
The Seattle regional office, which covers Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, is being eyed for closure, according to Antonio Gaines, president of the American Federation of Government Employees National Council 222, which represents about 5,300 HUD employees.
The San Francisco office may also be at risk of closure, but there have been some reports that it could be relocated to San Diego, Gaines tells Affordable Housing Finance, noting that such a move would keep a regional office in the they state but in a more conservative locale.
In addition, Gaines says he has heard that about 31 field offices are on the chopping block, leaving some states without a HUD presence. That’s significant because local offices work with affordable housing developers and owners on loans and numerous other matters.
Another affordable housing industry executive also confirmed hearing the same reports. In addition, CityLab offered additional details in a March 5 article.
Gaines says he believes closing field offices would violate a statutory requirement to have an office in every state. If HUD decides not to have a field office in a state, it must perform a cost benefit analysis and examine how constituents will be impacted, but that has not happened, according to Gaines.
“There is a series of requirements that the agency is supposed to adhere to that they are not following,” he says.
A HUD spokesperson said recent reports on office closures are not accurate. “No decisions have been finalized. The department is exploring consolidation while continuing to prioritize service,” stated the spokesperson.
The union and housing advocates continue to brace for widespread layoffs at the agency as the administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency look to cut federal spending.
Gaines says he was recently informed that about 146 people were being terminated in HUD’s Office of Field Policy and Management, the division considered the “first contact for services and information.”
This is believed to be just the beginning, with the Trump administration targeting about a 50% reduction in HUD’s workforce, according to Gaines.
He says his recent reports show that 606 employees have taken the administration’s “fork-in-the-road” option, a deferred resignation offer. A good number of these workers were in HUD’s housing office as well as the public and Indian housing office.
In addition, probationary employees were dismissed earlier, but HUD has not shared the number of these laid-off workers, according to Gaines.
