HUD recently issued a final rule titled “30-Day Notification Requirements Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent.” This regulation standardizes the eviction notice process for PHAs and certain Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) properties. This rule is HUD’s latest effort to decrease housing instability and address increasing rates of homelessness among low-income families. The rule became effective on Jan. 13, 2025.

HUD first looked to modify the eviction process for PHAs and PBRAs in response to challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2021, HUD published an interim final rule providing a 30-day notice period before filing an eviction for nonpayment of rent. This was part of a broader federal effort to help reduce the financial hardships families were facing due to the pandemic.

Before the interim final rule, notice periods for eviction in HUD programs were all over the map. Public housing required 14 days’ notice, while Section 8 programs sometimes required as little as five business days. Further complicating matters, state and local laws created a patchwork of requirements, with only Washington, D.C., universally requiring 30 days’ notice for nonpayment-related evictions.

This final rule seeks to make HUD’s eviction processes more consistent and to ensure that tenants receive sufficient notice and opportunity to resolve issues related to nonpayment of rent before being subjected to eviction. We’ll go over the notification requirements and which sites are affected by the final rule. 

Applicability

The final rule applies to HUD-subsidized public housing. The rule would also apply to the following multifamily housing programs:

• Section 8 Project Based Rental Assistance;
• Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract (PAC);
• Section 202 Project Rental Assistance Contract (PRAC);
• Section 202 Senior Preservation Rental Assistance Contract (SPRAC); and
• Section 811 Project Rental Assistance Contract.

The applicability of the final rule doesn’t extend to Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), Project-Based Vouchers (PBVs), or units in Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) sites with PBVs. HUD explained that these exclusions were due to challenges with owner recruitment and the varying enforcement practices shaped by state and local laws. 

What to Include in 30-Day Notice

HUD’s final rule requires PHAs and PBRA owners to give residents at least 30 days’ written notice before a formal eviction can be filed for nonpayment of rent. Under the rule, owners must wait until the day after rent is due, as outlined in the lease agreement, before issuing a termination notice. Although the regulation establishes a 30-day minimum notice period, it allows owners to provide longer notice periods at their discretion.

Some states, localities, and territories may have additional timing requirements for serving notices on tenants for nonpayment of rent. The timing for the service of nonpayment of rent notices required under state or local law may run at the same time as the timing requirements of this 30-day notice, unless state or local law requires that the notice be consecutive. HUD notes the requirements under this rule don’t preempt any state or local law that provides greater or equal protection for tenants.

Itemized amounts. The final rule requires the 30-day notice to include an itemized amount, which is separated by month, of alleged rent owed by the tenant, along with any other unpaid charges, which are referred to as arrearages in HUD’s notice. These other unpaid charges must be allowed by HUD and be included in the lease. The notice must give the date by which the tenant must pay the amount owed before a formal judicial eviction can be filed for nonpayment of rent. 

The unpaid charges, which might include late fees or other fees, must also be itemized separately from the alleged rent amount owed by the tenant. If a tenant pays the full amount of rent owed during the 30-day notice period, eviction proceedings cannot move forward. Any remaining unpaid fees, while still due, do not justify an eviction.

It’s important to note that the protections in this rule don’t apply to other types of evictions that result from non-rent lease violations, such as nonpayment of arrearages, if allowed under the applicable HUD program and specified in the lease.

Instructions to cure. A PHA or owner must not proceed with filing an eviction if the tenant pays the alleged amount of rent owed within the 30-day notification period. The final rule requires that the 30-day notice include instructions on how tenants can cure lease violations for nonpayment of rent. Specifically, this includes information on how much back rent and arrearages the tenant owes, information on how to pay that rent and any arrearages, and information specific to HUD programs on how to adjust rent owed if a resident’s situation has changed. 

The rule also requires that the 30-day notice include information on how tenants can recertify their income, and how tenants can request a minimum rent hardship exemption or request to switch from flat rent to income-based rent. In practice, a resident cures a lease violation for nonpayment by paying the back rent owed. According to HUD, these instructions will allow tenants to clearly understand how to take steps to avoid the termination of their lease—which in most cases allow tenants and housing providers to avoid an eviction. HUD believes that this is sufficient to ensure that tenants have the necessary information to cure any nonpayment issues and/or request hardship exemptions.

The final rule doesn’t require that the 30-day notice contain information on other, non-federal, legal, and rental assistance resources. There are numerous organizations and programs that may be available to tenants, but HUD deemed it impractical for HUD or housing providers to provide an exhaustive list of these resources. However, HUD encourages PHAs and owners, and sees it as beneficial to both parties, to share with residents their knowledge of any rental assistance resources.

Accessibility. The 30-day notice must be provided in accessible formats to ensure effective communication for individuals with disabilities, and in a form to allow meaningful access for persons who are limited English proficient (LEP). PHAs and owners must comply with the nondiscrimination requirements contained in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 along with HUD's regulations implementing those laws. 

With regard to reasonable accommodations, the final rule doesn’t require that the 30-day notice include information on tenants’ right to request a reasonable accommodation; however, HUD says it plans to provide guidance on reasonable accommodations that PHAs and owners can use to assist tenants. 

As mentioned in the proposed rule, there are instances in which a tenant may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation in cases of nonpayment of rent. For example, if a housing provider usually requires rent be paid on the 1st of the month, but a tenant receives disability-related government assistance later in the month, the housing provider may be required to accept a tenant's request to pay rent on this later date as a reasonable accommodation.

Providing other information during national emergency. The final rule says that in the event of a presidentially declared national emergency, PHAs and owners would also need to provide tenants with other specified information, as required by the Secretary, to prevent eviction for nonpayment of rent. A “national emergency” would be similar to the one declared during the COVID-19 pandemic, as distinct from a “national disaster,” such as a hurricane. This rule gives HUD flexibility in the case of any presidentially declared national emergency to require additional information in the 30-day notice. 

Lease Amendment

HUD’s final rule requires that PHAs and PBRA owners amend their current and future lease agreements regarding the new 30-day notice requirement for nonpayment of rent. The rule ensures that tenants understand their right to a written 30-day notice before the filing of any judicial eviction.

PHAs and owners will also need to provide tenants with notification of changes to the lease. HUD regulations require that an owner, when modifying a lease, serve appropriate notice to tenants at least 30 days prior to the last date on which a tenant has the right to terminate tenancy. This provision applies to PBRA projects. HUD regulations also require a PHA to provide at least 30 days’ notice to tenants of proposed changes to the lease, and an opportunity for tenants to present written comments.

Compliance Timing

The rule took effect on Jan. 13, 2025, with a phased implementation schedule. Public housing agencies have up to 18 months to modify their leases and comply, while PBRA property owners need to comply no later than 14 months from the date that HUD publishes final model leases that incorporates these requirements. 

In other words, HUD is not requiring PHAs and owners to update leases at once, but PHAs must do so within 18 months of the effective date of the rule, and for PBRAs, 14 months from the date HUD publishes a final model lease incorporating the new requirements. HUD says it will produce model leases within a year of the effective date of this rule for PBRA programs that will incorporate HOTMA regulations and the changes implemented by this rule. HUD may implement additional guidance in the future to assist PHAs and owners with the implementation of this rule.

In addition, HUD says it plans to issue sample 30-day-notice language in English and Spanish that PHAs and owners may use. PHAs and owners would also be permitted to draft their own notices if those notices included the required contents as laid out in the final version of the rule.