On December 1, 2023, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) posted a notice of proposed rulemaking to require public housing agencies (PHAs) and owners of properties receiving project-based rental assistance (PBRA) to provide their residents with written notice at least 30 days prior to filing for eviction due to nonpayment of rent.
The National Apartment Association (NAA) will submit industry comments by the January 30, 2024 deadline. NAA remains opposed to federal interference into eviction processes governed by states that already robustly protect renters and ensure both parties retain access to local courts, their only legal avenue to resolve landlord and tenant disputes.
This proposed rule continues to complicate the local process, adds to delays in resolutions while housing providers remain unpaid and puts the viability of PBRA-funded communities more at risk. Affordable housing providers already manage these communities for their residents on extremely thin margins.
This development will make it even more difficult to eliminate the federal CARES Act notice-to-vacate requirement for federally-backed and federally-assisted housing which remains a contested issue in eviction courts today. Congress must pass H.R. 802, the “Respect State Housing Laws Act,” to make clear that this temporary federal notice requirement ended following the end of the CARES Act eviction moratorium in 2020.