HUD Delays Effective Date of 30-Day Notification Requirement Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent

By: Tushar Gurjal, Senior Policy Manager

March 12, 2026 – Today, a pre-publication copy of a notice titled “Revocation of the 30-Day notification Requirement Prior to Termination of Lease for Nonpayment of Rent; Indefinite Delay of Effective Date” was published in the Federal Register. The notice changes the effective date of the previously published interim final rule that eliminated the 30-day notice requirement for nonpayment of rent on March 30, 2026. Instead of taking place on March 30, the new effective date is delayed indefinitely pending consideration of public comments received. Comments are still due on April 27, 2026.

The Department is treating the interim final rule that it had previously published as a proposed rule that will lead to a separate final rule. The Department states that “[a]s the interim final rule will not come into effect until after the final rule is published and effective, the interim final rule will necessarily by superseded by the final rule and will never come into effect.”

The rationale for HUD’s change appears to be litigation that the Department is facing. In originally publishing an interim final rule, the Department relied on a “good cause exception” to the normal notice-and-comment period before issuing a final rule. The complaint in the litigation that HUD was facing asserted that this was an improper use of the “good cause exception.” In response, “. . . HUD has determined that justice requires postposing the effective date of the 2026 interim final rule.” The Department also notes that a delay does not constitute substantive rulemaking so this notice to delay the effective date is not subject to notice and comment requirements.

The full text of the pre-published notice can be found here.