Are you using HUD grant funds to:

• Promote elective abortions?
• Spread “gender ideology”? or 
• Shield illegal aliens from deportation?

These are among the things PHAs will have to certify when completing their Application for Federal Assistance form (SF-424) on the HUD Public Housing Portal by the Oct. 21 deadline. That’s the punchline of the new Notice PIH 2025-22 that HUD published on July 17 to explain what PHAs must do when applying for their annual Operating Subsidy Grants for calendar year (CY) 2026. 

The bulk of the instructions are carryover from previous years. But the certification requirements are both new and burdensome. While HUD claims that the new certifications are necessary to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of grant funds, the agency has seemingly expanded the concept of fraud and abuse to political matters with little to no connection to public housing program accounting and finances. 

Here’s a quick briefing of the new requirements and HUD’s ongoing effort to saddle PHAs with onerous new regulation. 

Background

HUD provides Operating Subsidy Grants to help PHAs cover the costs of maintaining and operating their public housing projects. The grant process follows an annual cycle during which PHAs must submit cost data and calculations for each project using certain electronic forms, including the: 

• Form HUD-52722 Calculation of Utilities Expense Level; 
• Form HUD-57223 Calculation of Total Program Expense Level; and
• SF-424 Application that we mentioned earlier.

HUD uses the data from these forms to determine the Operating Subsidy Grant amount for which the PHA is eligible. That makes it imperative for HUD to ensure that PHAs are submitting accurate and timely data. 

SF-424 Certification Requirements

One of the ways HUD holds PHAs accountable for data accuracy is by requiring them to make specific certifications in the SF-424, including that: 

• They’re in compliance with annual income reexamination requirements;
• Rents and utility allowance calculations have been or will be adjusted in accordance with current HUD rules;
• The amount of Operating Subsidy stated in the SF-424 is an estimate based on the PHA’s eligibility for the Operating Subsidy from the previous funding year;
• They won’t draw down any excess funds when the estimated eligibility exceeds any project’s actual eligibility and will notify the appropriate HUD office; and
• HUD may offset, de-obligate, or require repayment of any Operating Subsidies for any project deemed ineligible or overfunded based on incorrect estimates.

The New PIH 2025-22 Certification Requirements

PIH 2025-22 adds a slew of new certifications to the SF-424. Starting in CY 2026, a PHA will also have to certify that: 

• It complies with the Annual Contributions Contract;
• It will report any actual or apparent HUD award fraud, waste, or abuse of which it’s aware to both the HUD official responsible for the award and the HUD Office of Inspector General (OIG);
• It has or will provide its employees written disclosure of their 41 U.S.C. §4712 whistleblower rights and protections against reprisals for reporting wrongdoing related to a federal grant or contract (see the Model Notice below);
• It won’t use grant funds to promote “gender ideology” (see below);  
• It won’t use any grant funds “to fund or promote elective abortions”;
• It will comply with all applicable federal anti-discrimination laws; 
• It will administer the grant in accordance with all applicable immigration restrictions and requirements; 
• If the PHA is a state or local government agency, that it won’t grant funding “in a manner that by design or effect facilitates the subsidization or promotion of illegal immigration or abets policies that seek to shield illegal aliens from deportation”; and
• It will, unless immigration law exceptions apply, use Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program (SAVE), or an equivalent federally approved verification system, to prevent any federal public benefit from being provided to an ineligible alien who entered or is in the U.S. illegally.

DEEP DIVE

What Is “Gender Ideology”?

“Gender ideology,” according to Trump Executive Order 14168, “replaces the biological category of sex with an ever-shifting concept of self-assessed gender identity, permitting the false claim that males can identify as and thus become women and vice versa, and requiring all institutions of society to regard this false claim as true. Gender ideology includes the idea that there is a vast spectrum of genders that are disconnected from one's sex. Gender ideology is internally inconsistent, in that it diminishes sex as an identifiable or useful category but nevertheless maintains that it is possible for a person to be born in the wrong sexed body.” 

Practical Impact of PIH 2025-22 

These additional certification requirements are a big deal because certification isn’t just a check-the-box exercise. PHAs must carefully verify and document that what they certify is actually true, knowing that false or fraudulent statements could lead to charges of perjury and/or criminal, civil, or administrative penalties, in addition to loss of grant funds.

Big Picture Takeaway

An administration dedicated to cutting regulatory red tape has taken a completely different approach to the business of public housing. Thus, PIH 2025-22 is only the latest in a string of HUD notices imposing cumbersome new accounting, financial reporting, and grant management requirements on public housing providers: 

PIH 2025-14, published on May 22, 2025, sets new rules and restrictions on use of operating funds, Financial Data Schedule (FDS) reporting, and internal recordkeeping and controls (see Comply with New Rules for the Use and Reporting of Public Housing Operating Funds).

PIH 2025-17, published on May 29, authorizes HUD to order “manual review” in the electronic Line of Credit Control System (eLOCCS) of a PHA that doesn’t comply with grant terms or award conditions. 

PIH 2025-20, published on July 9, adds burdensome requirements to the Operating Fund financial reporting (SF-425) process, including the obligation of PHAs to: 

• Provide an explanation if their cash on hand exceeds the amount they’ll spend within three days of submitting a form;
• When paying for operating expenses, first use program income and then the operating subsidy; 
• Submit an SF-425 in the Public Housing Portal every year for every individual operating fund grant received; 
• Either obligate all grant funding by the end of the grant term or return it to HUD; and
• Liquidate all obligations by April 30 following the end of a grant term.

And there’s more to come. The two most recent HUD notices indicate that the agency is working on a new mandatory PHA expenditure reporting system. So, be sure to stay tuned. 

MODEL NOTICE

Model Whistleblower Rights Notification for Employees

Among the new SF-424 certifications that public housing providers will have to make starting in CY 2026 is that they comply with 41 U.S.C. §4712, a law that bans PHAs and other companies that do business with the federal government from firing or taking other retaliatory actions against an employee for reporting wrongdoing related to a federal grant or contract to the authorities. One of the key provisions of the law, which the SF-424 certification will have to specifically mention, is the obligation to give employees written notice of their whistleblower rights under the law. Such notice must be “in the predominant native language of the workforce.” Here’s a Model Notice that you can translate and/or adapt for your own business. 

NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES 

OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW

Policy: [Name of business] is committed to and has adopted policies, procedures, and protocols to ensure that all aspects of its federally assisted housing operations comply with Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and to prevent any and all forms of fraud, waste, and abuse. Employees are reminded that any person who becomes aware of the existence or apparent existence of fraud, waste, or abuse of any HUD award must report such incidents to both the HUD official responsible for the award and to HUD’s Office of Inspector General (OIG). The HUD OIG is available to receive allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse related to HUD programs via its hotline number (1-800-347-3735) and its online hotline form. 

Purpose: Under federal laws, employees of a government contractor, subcontractor, grantee, and subgrantee—as well as a personal services contractor—who make a protected disclosure about a federal grant or contract cannot be discharged, demoted, or otherwise discriminated against. The purpose of this Notice is to inform employees of their whistleblower rights under a specifical federal law called Enhancement of Contractor Employee Whistleblower Protections, Public Law 112-239, Section 828, as amended by Public Law 114-261, codified at 41 U.S.C. § 4712. 

Protected Whistleblower Disclosures: Whistleblower protections under 41 U.S.C. §4712 apply as long as employees reasonably believe the information they disclose is evidence of: 

1. Gross mismanagement of a federal contract or grant; 
2. Waste of federal funds; 
3. Abuse of authority relating to a federal contract or grant; 
4. Substantial and specific danger to public health and safety; or 
5. Violations of law, rule, or regulation related to a federal contract or grant.

Recipients of Protected Disclosures: For the above whistleblower protections to apply, the disclosure must be made to any of the persons or entities listed below: 

• A Member of Congress or a representative of a committee of Congress; 
• HUD or another federal Inspector General; 
• The Government Accountability Office; 
• A federal employee responsible for contract or grant oversight or management at HUD or another relevant agency; 
• An authorized official of the Department of Justice or other law enforcement agency; 
• A court or grand jury; 
• A management official or other employee of the contractor, subcontractor, or grantee who has the responsibility to investigate, discover, or address misconduct.

Remedies: A person who believes they have been subjected to reprisal for a protected action may submit a complaint to the HUD OIG or the OIG of the federal agency that issued the grant or contract. Complaints must be filed no more than three years after the date on which the alleged reprisal took place.