New Rule Rescinds a 30-day Eviction Notice Requirement That Puts Millions of Low-Income Renters at Greater Risk of Homelessness
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has found itself back in court defending a move that seeks to make it easier to evict people who receive project-based rental assistance.
On March 2, advocates from the North Carolina Tenants Union, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, and Maryland Legal Aid teamed up to sue HUD over a recently promulgated rule rescinding HUD’s previous eviction protections for tenants. Under HUD’s rules, the agency must provide a 30-day notice to tenants facing eviction, maintain a ledger of unpaid rent and other charges, and give the tenant an opportunity to cure any arrearage. HUD’s new rules scrapped those protections entirely, according to the lawsuit.
Advocates argued in the lawsuit that the new rule would destroy a “vital safety net” that keeps millions of people housed. One person who could be affected by the rule change is plaintiff Lisa Sadler, who lives in a Section 8 property in Lansing, Michigan. Sadler had faced eviction two times in the last five years because of nonpayment of rent. Without HUD’s 30-day eviction rules, she would likely have lost her home, according to the lawsuit.
Overall, the lawsuit says the rule change could impact more than 2 million people living in 1.2 million households, many of whom are senior citizens, families with children, and households that include a member with a disability.
“If allowed to take effect, HUD’s lawless rescission under the 2026 IFR will strip millions of poverty-stricken individuals and families of the 2024 Final Rule’s protections afforded by the 2024 Final Rule and will cause irreparable harm to Plaintiffs—including homelessness, loss of eligibility for HUD-subsidized housing, threats to their mental and physical health, and impairment of their core business activities,” the lawsuit reads in part.
For its part, HUD has argued that rescinding the 30-day notice rule would be financially beneficial for landlords and minimally harmful to tenants. However, advocates contend that HUD’s argument “takes the exact opposite approach” from when the agency promulgated the 30-day notice rule in the first place.
Legal Challenges Mount Against HUD Policy Changes
The lawsuit, which was filed in the District Court for the District of Columbia, is just the latest in a long line of legal actions advocates have taken to stop HUD from causing harm to low-income households. HUD has also attempted to rewrite its guidelines for the Continuum of Care grant program, the largest single source of federal funding for homeless services and sought to unilaterally withhold fair housing funds from local nonprofits.
Federal judges have stopped HUD’s actions thus far, although the agency has made it clear that it will continue looking for ways to implement its proposed rule changes.
These actions are happening at a time when homelessness is growing across the U.S. As of 2024, there were more than 771,000 people experiencing homelessness, which represents an 18% increase when compared to 2023. Families with children and senior citizens are the two fastest-growing subpopulations of people who are homeless, which speaks to the economic pressures that many low-income households face.
Housing Shortages and Rising Rents Are Increasing Pressure on Low-Income Households
One of the greatest challenges these households face is the rising cost of housing. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the U.S. has a shortage of roughly 7.2 million homes for extremely low-income renters. Moreover, there is no state in which workers earning the local minimum wage can afford rent. That means low-income earning households are more likely to be extremely rent-burdened, meaning they pay half or more of their income on housing expenses.
At the same time, there is a stark shortage of federally subsidized housing. The lawsuit mentions that approximately two-thirds of people who qualify for federal subsidies do not receive them because of the shortage of affordable homes.
There is also a lack of federal and state protections for renters facing evictions, which makes HUD’s 30-day rule necessary to prevent people from losing their homes, according to the lawsuit. For instance, at least 9 states allow landlords to file “unconditional quit notices” against a tenant, giving them no ability to cure rent arrears before they lose their home. Another 10 states only offer tenants three days to cure nonpayment, according to the lawsuit.
“For these vulnerable and low-income households, access to federally subsidized housing is an essential lifeline, providing the stable, safe, and affordable home that makes it possible to keep a job, keep up with medical appointments, attend school, and meet basic needs in a rental market that is otherwise out of reach,” the lawsuit reads.
Evictions Can Trigger Long-Term Housing Instability
An eviction can be devastating for low-income households as well. Not only does an eviction cause a household to lose their housing, but it can also make it more difficult for them to access new housing options in the future. This can also lead to worse health outcomes for families and poor educational outcomes for school-aged children, which further complicate their journey back to stable housing.
“The removal of these protections increases the likelihood that a family who receives an eviction notice will, in fact, be evicted,” the lawsuit argued. “Evictions, in turn, increase the risk of homelessness and housing instability, which have well-established long-term harms that disproportionately impact vulnerable populations, including people with disabilities, seniors, and people of color.”
Advocates Call for Stronger Housing Protections
The pandemic proved that we need to rethink housing in the U.S. It also showed that aid programs work when agencies and service organizations are provided with sufficient funds and clear guidance on how to spend aid dollars.
Contact your representatives. Tell them you support fair housing protections. We must ensure everyone has access to a safe and affordable home. These protections have proven effective at keeping people housed. This is the first step to ending homelessness once and for all.