Recently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) has issued a series of proposed rules that would be harmful to families in federal rental assistance programs. CHAPA has created a Resource Guide designed to help members of the public weigh in on these and future HUD proposals.
HUD is currently in the process of adopting three proposed rules, which are not yet final. The agency is accepting public comments on all three rules and each rule has its own comment deadline in either late April or early May. The proposals would have a huge impact on HUD programs, including by:
- Stopping federal rental assistance from going to families with mixed immigration status;
- Allowing housing authorities and some landlords to impose work requirement rules and time limits on participants in major rental assistance programs; and
- Ending a pre-eviction notice requirement for tenants in certain HUD programs.
If HUD formally adopts these proposals, it will force thousands of families out of rental assistance programs and into housing instability. One thing that people can do to push back on these rules is submit public comments. Not only can anyone submit a public comment, but they can also do so anonymously.
HUD is required to review timely submitted public comments and respond to significant issues raised therein. As a result, even brief, informal comments can make a big difference. For a comment to be impactful, the only thing the commenter needs to do is share their unique perspective.
The aim of CHAPA’s Resource Guide is to help the public: (1) understand the comment process; and (2) write and submit an effective comment. The Guide also includes important information for each pending HUD proposal, like the relevant comment deadline and a link to submit comments.
If you or someone you know is interested in submitting a public comment to HUD, you can access the Resource Guide here: https://bit.ly/CHAPA-HUD-Response.