HUD Revokes Biden Era 30-Days’ Nonpayment Eviction Notice Rule

On Feb. 26, 2026, HUD published a Notice in the Federal Register proposing to revoke a pandemic era rule requiring public housing agencies (PHAs) and owners of properties receiving project-based rental assistance (PBRA) to give certain tenants 30-day notification along with additional information before terminating their lease for rent nonpayment. When and if HUD finalizes the rule, eviction requirements will go back to the old pre-2021 rules, starting on March 30. Here’s a briefing on what you need to know about this important rule change, which is expected to affect over two million HUD-assisted households.

The Biden Eviction Notice Rules

The story began during the pandemic period of October 2021 when HUD issued Notice H 2021-06 imposing new restrictions on nonpayment evictions at certain PHA and PBRA properties. Owners and industry groups protested, citing the new rule’s negative impact on revenues, administrative burdens, and misalignment with state eviction laws. Then-HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge justified the rule as necessary to keep the roughly 200,000 tenants facing eviction from losing their homes due to delays in receiving federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) relief.

But what began as a national emergency relief measure moved toward permanency in December 2023 when HUD proposed an interim rule to retain the 30-day notice requirement for nonpayment and to require landlords to provide tenants targeted for nonpayment eviction accompanying information, including:

• Monthly itemization of unpaid rent and other unpaid charges or arrearages;
• Instructions on how to cure nonpayments and other lease violations;
• Income recertification instructions; and
• Instructions on how to request a rent hardship exemption or a switch from flat rent to income-based rent.

Landlords also had to provide the 30-day notice in accessible formats to ensure effective communication with individuals with disabilities, and in a form to allow meaningful access for persons who are limited English proficient (LEP). HUD finalized the 2023 Interim Rule in December 2024.

Whom the Rule Affects

The 2024 Final Rule applies and doesn’t apply to the following multifamily housing programs:

New 2026 HUD Rule

The new rule (entitled “Revocation of the 30-Day Notification Requirement Prior To Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent”) revokes both the 2021 Interim Rule and 2024 Final Rule. “The COVID-19 pandemic is long over, and HUD regulations will now reflect that reality,” noted HUD Secretary Scott Turner in the press release announcing the rule.

Take 3 Steps to Comply

Although open to comments until April 27, the interim rule will take effect on March 30, 2026. So, landlords participating in the affected HUD programs must reassess and revise their nonpayment eviction procedures, notice forms, and lease provisions to ensure they comply with pre-2021 HUD requirements and state and local laws. Specifically, there are three things you need to do:

1. Switch to pre-2021 HUD nonpayment eviction timelines. Nonpayment eviction notices will once more be subject to pre-2021 HUD timelines. Those timelines vary by program:

• Public Housing: PHAs must provide at least 14 days’ written notice to terminate for nonpayment of rent [24 CFR 966.4];
• Project-Based Rental Assistance: To terminate for nonpayment of rent, a termination notice must be provided with enough advance time to comply with both the rental agreement or lease and state laws [24 CFR 247.4(c)];
• Project-Based Section 8: When terminating for nonpayment of rent, the time of service must comply with the time stated in the lease and state law [24 CFR 880.607(c)(2); 24 CFR 247.4(c)]; and
• Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation Program: Landlords must provide five working days’ notice before termination of tenancy for nonpayment [24 CFR 882.511(d)(1)(i)].

Compliance Pointer: Note that HUD has also eliminated language from the Biden COVID rules that banned landlords from issuing termination notices before the day after rent is due under the lease. Result: You will once more have discretion to serve notices as soon as rent becomes late, subject to the terms of your lease and state and local law.

2. Revise information provided in nonpayment termination notices. The revocation also directly reduces the information you must provide in the nonpayment termination notice. From now on, you need only state the amount owed, date you calculated the owed amount, and any other information required to serve notice of termination for nonpayment under the lease and state or local law. What you won’t have to provide is all that additional information that the 2024 Final Rule required with the 30-day notice—that is, the monthly cost itemization, income certification, cure of nonpayment, rent hardship exemption, and flat rent to income-based rent request instructions. Of course, you can keep providing that information voluntarily to the extent you deem it helpful.
3. Don’t revise your “other good cause” eviction protocols. It’s important to keep in mind that the new revocation relief applies only to evictions for nonpayment. The uniform 30-day notice and additional information notice requirements will remain in place when evicting tenants for “other good cause” under the PBRA and PBV programs.

Takeaway

For most landlords, the elimination of the pandemic era restrictions on nonpayment evictions is a welcome development that will restore flexibility, boost cash flow, and reduce waiting lists. In addition to describing the measure as “giving HUD-subsidized property managers the flexibility to enforce policies that best serve their constituencies,” the HUD press release cites the support of major industry organization chiefs, including Bob Pinnegar of the National Apartment Association (NAA), Denise Muha of the National Leased Housing Association (NLHA), Lesli Gooch of the Manufactured Housing Institute (MHI), Kris Cook of the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA), Sharon Wilson Géno of the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC), Mark Thiele of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (NAHRO), Troy Garrett of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM), and La Shelle Dozier of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA).

However, there are also potential downsides. Although it created cost and administrative headaches, the old COVID rules at least harmonized the requirements for nonpayment evictions across programs. Once those rules are gone, the requirements for such evictions will once more vary significantly. Moreover, rules within programs will also differ depending on whether the eviction is for nonpayment or for other good cause.

Bottom Line: Be sure you have clear and separate protocols for each type of eviction and carefully train management staff how to determine which rules apply to each situation.

USDA Revokes 30-Day Notice for RHS Nonpayment Evictions

On Feb. 25, the day before HUD published the interim rule, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service (RHS) published a final rule revoking its own minimum 30-day written notice for nonpayment of rent before initiating eviction proceedings in Section 514 and 515 Multi-Family Housing (MFH) direct loan properties. RHS determined that the April 2024 “30-Day Notification of Nonpayment of Rent” final rule was unnecessary because compliance with the existing Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act notice requirement already applies to covered dwellings, and longstanding MFH management practices and recertification processes provide adequate tenant protections.