The Department of Housing and Urban Development on Thursday announced that it will be expanding protections for LGBTQ+ Americans under the Fair Housing Act, becoming the first federal agency to implement such a policy change in response to an executive order from President Joe Biden. 

On his first full day in office, Biden signed Executive Order 13988, aimed at preventing discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientiation. The order directed executive agencies to conduct a thorough investigation of their internal policies, and to “revise, suspend, or rescind” any that infringed on or targeted LGBTQ rights. 

In HUD’s review of its policies, the agency found that the language of the Fair Housing Act is “comparable in text and purpose” to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which bans discrimination based on sex in the workplace. In a statement released Thursday, the agency said it had previously been “constrained in its efforts” to determine if discrimination lawsuits based on sexual orientation or gender identity were under its legal purview. 

Essentially, HUD’s policy change furthers a Supreme Court ruling last summer that stated gender identity and sexual orientation are protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

“Housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity demands urgent enforcement action,” wrote Jeanine M. Worden, acting assistant secretary at HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “That is why HUD, under the Biden Administration, will fully enforce the Fair Housing Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.” 

“Every person should be able to secure a roof over their head free from discrimination, and the action we are taking today will move us closer to that goal,” she added. 

The changes to HUD’s interpretation of the Fair Housing Act means the agency will be able to investigate complaints of discrimination based on sexual identity or orientation, and enforce punishments when they find such discrimination did occur. 

Already, the agency has ordered its regional offices and grantees to review all complaints submitted since Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20, and to “notify persons who alleged discrimination because of gender identity or sexual orientation that their claims may be timely and jurisdictional for filing under this memorandum.” 

The move is a major reversal of the position under the Trump administration’s housing secretary, Ben Carson. 

The new policy also kills a Carson-era proposal that would have allowed homeless shelters to deny entry to transgender people. That policy was proposed and promoted, but never finalized

The Associated Press contributed to this report.