HUD Issues Interim Final Rule Rescinding 30-Day Termination Notice Requirement for Nonpayment of Rent; Comments Due April 27

By Renee Williams, NLIHC Senior Advisor for Public Policy

On February 26, HUD took steps to repeal the requirement that public housing agencies (PHAs) and project-based rental assistance (PBRA) owners provide households with a 30-day termination notice prior to filing an eviction action for nonpayment of rent. These changes mean that certain tenants in HUD-assisted housing will have less time to catch up on rent to avoid eviction. According to a HUD press release, over 2 million HUD-assisted households will be impacted by this rule change. 

This rulemaking, entitled “Revocation of the 30-Day Notification Requirement Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent,” is designated as an Interim Final Rule (IFR). Accordingly, the regulatory changes will go into effect on March 30, 2026, during the comment period. As part of this IFR, HUD is also rescinding HUD regulations that specify information that must be included in nonpayment termination notices and other changes finalized by HUD in 2024. 

The public comment period lasts 60 days, with comments due April 27, 2026, at 11:59 pm ET. Comments can be submitted via regulations.gov.  

NLIHC strongly opposes the IFR; please monitor future issues of Memo for information regarding submitting comments in response to the IFR. 

Brief Background 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, HUD issued an IFR in 2021 allowing HUD to require PHAs and owners to provide at least 30 days’ notice for nonpayment of rent and additional information to tenants in public housing and PBRA properties. In 2023, HUD issued a proposed rule that would retain the 30-day notice requirement for nonpayment, and that would require certain information to be provided to tenants; however, the 2023 proposed rule framed such requirements beyond the COVID-19 (or national emergency) context. For additional background, see Memo, 12/11/23. 

In December 2024, HUD published a final rule, “30-Day Notification Requirements Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent” (2024 Final Rule). The 2024 rule requires tenants to receive a written termination notice at least 30 days before a formal judicial eviction is filed due to nonpayment of rent.  

The 2024 Final Rule applies to “public housing, Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance, Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract, Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC), Section 811 PRAC, Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Program (811 PRA), and Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contract Projects (SPRAC).” HUD’s 2024 rule does not apply to Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs) or Project-Based Vouchers (PBVs). 

The 2024 Final Rule also requires that PHAs and owners provide certain information in the 30-day termination notice, such as an itemized listing of rent owed and how to recertify income. Under the 2024 rule, if a tenant pays back rent owed during the 30-day period, the housing provider cannot evict the tenant for nonpayment of rent. HUD’s 2024 Final Rule includes other protections such as requiring housing providers to wait until the day after the rent is due to serve the 30-day notice. The 2024 Final Rule also allows HUD to require additional information be provided in the notice during a presidentially declared emergency. 

HUD 2026 IFR 

The 2026 IFR states that it is rescinding both the 2024 Final Rule and 2021 IFR. This means that timelines between notice and eviction for nonpayment of rent will now be a matter of individual program requirements, lease provisions, and state law. For example, the IFR explains that tenants in public housing will receive a termination notice for nonpayment of rent 14 days before eviction, rather than 30 days under the 2024 Final Rule. For the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Program, that notice period will decrease to five working days. In addition, the 2024 rule protections, such as the additional information provided as part of the termination notice, are being rescinded. 

In support of these changes, HUD cites prior comments from the 2023 rulemaking that associated additional notice time with negative financial impacts for PHAs and owners. HUD does acknowledge that “the 30-day notice provided tenants with longer runways to undertake remedial actions to become current with their rent,” but claims that increased rental arrears over time “suggest[] many tenants did not avail themselves of such options.” HUD also cited waitlists for affordable housing and asserts that the 2024 IFR will improve affordable housing access by “opening up housing opportunities” for those on waiting lists.  

What to Expect 

Although the comment period for this IFR ends on April 27, 2026, the changes go into effect on March 30, 2026.  

Submit comments via regulations.gov by April 27, 2026, at 11:59 pm ET.