Rule2026-04990

Revocation of the 30-Day Notification Requirement Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent; Indefinite Delay of Effective Date

Primary source

Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.

Published
March 13, 2026

Issuing agencies

Housing and Urban Development Department

Abstract

In this document, HUD delays the effective date of the interim final rule published on February 26, 2026, which set an effective date of March 30, 2026, until after HUD issues a final rule in response to received comments. HUD will now treat the interim final rule as a proposed rule.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 49 (Friday, March 13, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 49 (Friday, March 13, 2026)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 12301-12302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04990]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Parts 247, 880, 882, 884, 886, 891, and 966

[Docket No. FR-6529-N-02]
RIN 2501-AE14


Revocation of the 30-Day Notification Requirement Prior to 
Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent; Indefinite Delay of 
Effective Date

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban 
Development (HUD).

ACTION: Interim final rule; delay of effective date.

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SUMMARY: In this document, HUD delays the effective date of the interim 
final rule published on February 26, 2026, which set an effective date 
of March 30, 2026, until after HUD issues a final rule in response to 
received comments. HUD will now treat the interim final rule as a 
proposed rule.

DATES: As of March 13, 2026, the effective date of the interim final 
rule published in the Federal Register on February 26, 2026, at 91 FR 
9449, is delayed indefinitely pending consideration of public comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Scott Knittle, Principal Deputy 
General Counsel, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 
7th Street SW, Washington, DC 20410; telephone number (202) 402-2244 
(this is not a toll-free number). HUD welcomes and is prepared to 
receive calls from individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well 
as individuals with speech or communication disabilities. To learn more 
about how to make an accessible telephone call, please visit <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs">https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs</a>.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 26, 2026, HUD published an 
interim final rule (91 FR 9449) revoking a 2021 interim final rule (86 
FR 55693) and a 2024 final rule (89 FR 101270) that required public 
housing agencies and owners of properties receiving project-based 
rental assistance to provide certain tenants with at least 30-days' 
notification prior to termination of lease for nonpayment of rent. The 
2026 interim final rule solicited comments to be submitted by April 27, 
2026, and was to become effective March 30, 2026.
    Under section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), 
``[w]hen an agency finds that justice so requires, it may postpone the 
effective date of action taken by it, pending judicial review.'' 5 
U.S.C. 705. On March 2, 2026, a complaint was filed in the U.S. 
District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the interim 
final rule.\i\ In key part, the complaint alleges that the interim 
final rule will negatively impact a number of HUD-assisted tenants and 
will cause irreparable harm to them. The complaint also alleges that 
further notice-and-comment was required under 5 U.S.C. 553 and that the 
good cause exception to public comment in 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) was 
inapplicable. In light of the issues currently in litigation, HUD has 
determined that justice requires postponing the effective date of the 
2026 interim final rule.
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    \1\ Jane Addams Senior Caucus, et al., v. U.S. Department of 
Housing and Urban Development, et al., 1:26-cv-00718 (D.D.C.).
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    HUD is now delaying the effective date of the 2026 interim final 
rule until after issuance of the final rule. The final rule will 
consider and respond to comments received in response to the interim 
final rule. HUD will now treat the interim final rule as a proposed 
rule. As the interim final rule will not come into effect until after 
the final rule is published and effective, the interim final rule will 
necessarily be superseded by the final rule and will never come into 
effect. The April 27, 2026, deadline to submit comments is unaltered by 
this document.
    A delay notice issued under section 705 ``does not constitute 
substantive rulemaking . . . and therefore is not subject to notice and 
comment requirements.'' See Sierra Club v. Jackson, 833 F. Supp. 2d 11, 
28-29 (D.D.C. 2012). Even if the APA's notice and comment requirements 
could apply to a stay notice issued under section 705, HUD has 
determined that there is good cause to implement this postponement 
without notice and comment because it is impracticable to seek comment 
when the original March 30, 2026, effective date of the interim final 
rule is imminent. Further, soliciting comments on the propriety of

[[Page 12302]]

the extension of the effective date would be ``impracticable, 
unnecessary, and contrary to the public interest'' when the purpose of 
the extension is to allow for members of the public to submit comments 
on the substantive rule before that rule goes into effect.

Scott Turner,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-04990 Filed 3-12-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on March 13, 2026.

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