Certification of Tribal Housing Counselors

Issuing agencies

Abstract

HUD's Housing Counseling Program provides counseling to individuals seeking information about financing, maintaining, renting, or owning a home. Established by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, entities and individual counselors that participate in the Housing Counseling Program are required to be certified by HUD as competent to provide counseling services. In 2016, HUD implemented such housing counselor certification requirements for most HUD programs but agreed to conduct consultation with Tribes before implementing them for Tribes. On January 26, 2023, HUD published a proposed rule that provides an alternative regulatory standard for the counselor certification that accounts for the unique status of Tribal land and housing programs in Indian country and recognizes the importance of Tribal expertise. After consulting with Tribes and considering public comments received in response to the proposed rule, this final rule adopts the proposed rule with minor changes.