By Renee Williams, NLIHC Senior Advisor for Public Policy
Recently, federal agencies have enacted shorter rulemaking comment periods, deviating from the longer-than-30-day periods that have traditionally been open to the public.
Earlier this month, for example, HUD published its proposal to eliminate its “Fair Housing Act” (FHA) disparate impact regulations (see Memo, 1/20/26). Despite this significant proposed change, HUD has provided 30 days for public comment, with comments due February 13, 2026. Organizations, including NLIHC, have joined a Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (Leadership Conference) letter seeking additional time to comment on the disparate impact rulemaking.
In this context, stakeholders should closely monitor the Federal Register to ensure that they have as much time as possible to provide input on consequential regulatory changes.
Background and Context
Executive Order 12866, a cornerstone 1993 executive order entitled “Regulatory Planning and Review,” states that “each agency should afford the public a meaningful opportunity to comment on any proposed regulation, which in most cases should include a comment period of not less than 60 days.”
HUD echoes this understanding in its own regulations at 24 C.F.R. 10.1, declaring that HUD policy is to “afford the public not less than sixty days for submission of comments” for notices of proposed rulemaking. Despite this, HUD issued a proposed rule to rescind its affirmative fair housing marketing regulations with only a 30-day comment period (see Memo, 6/9/25). And, as noted above, HUD is only affording 30 days for public comment on the removal of HUD’s FHA disparate impact regulations.
Other federal agencies have also provided short comment periods regarding important regulatory changes. The Department of Homeland Security issued a proposed rule on public charge (see Memo, 12/8/25), which provided 30 days to comment on a rulemaking with wide-ranging implications for immigrant families. Additionally, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued two proposals regarding the “Equal Credit Opportunity Act” (ECOA) on the same day (see proposed rules here and here), with simultaneous 30-day comment periods. For one of these two rulemakings, NLIHC joined a comment letter by the Leadership Conference seeking additional time to comment on a wide-ranging proposal that, among other changes, seeks to disavow disparate impact liability under ECOA (see Memo, 12/22/25).
Such moves reflect the current administration’s emphasis on implementing its agenda at a fast pace. For example, on October 21, 2025, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a memo entitled “Streamlining the Review of Deregulatory Actions,” consistent with earlier administrative directives. The memo outlines guidance on how to hasten the speed of “deregulation” and states that, to date, “agencies do not appear to be fully maximizing their energy in carrying out these directives.” In the memo, OMB directs use of the “Administrative Procedure Act's good cause exception “where appropriate” to justify forgoing notice and comment periods when rescinding regulations the administration deems “facially unlawful.”
What Housing Stakeholders Can Do
The input of communities and organizations directly impacted by regulatory changes is vital to the commenting process. However, given the backdrop discussed above, short comment periods on important rulemakings are likely to continue.
Given the importance of maximizing commenting time, housing stakeholders can:
Monitor the Federal Register closely. In particular, stakeholders may wish to familiarize themselves with the “Public Inspection” portion of the site, which posts proposed rules and other agency publications shortly before they are formally published. Public Inspection postings can therefore provide a (very brief) “heads-up” opportunity to begin reviewing text before the public comment period officially opens.
Track the status of future agency publications, including proposed rules, by monitoring the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) dashboard.
Visit regulations.gov and view what comment periods are ending within the next seven days under the “Comments Due Soon” heading.
Read the Advocates’ Guide discussion of the federal regulatory process here.