HUD Publishes Notice for Public Comment Justifying Changes to the CoC NOFO

By: Steven Molinari, Policy Analyst

September 11, 2026 — Today, HUD published a notice for public comment titled “Notice of Research Justifying Additional Incentives for Certain Activities To Reduce Homelessness.”

The notice follows a recent court ruling that vacated the issuance of the fiscal year 2026 (FY26) Continuum of Care (CoC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in its entirety. In the ruling, the court found that HUD violated the law by not providing a public notice-and-comment period when making changes to the NOFO in deemphasizing its Housing First approach through the use of its $1.3 billion set aside for transitional housing. 

This means that either HUD would have to issue a new NOFO or publish a notice for public comment in regards to the changes before reissuing the same NOFO.

According to HUD, they do not concede the lawfulness of the court order and believe that they could implement all of the parts of the FY26 NOFO without going through the notice-and-comment period. However, HUD notes that they are publishing this notice to reinforce its ability to establish the set-aside.

The notice announces specific activities HUD has determined to be proven effective at reducing homelessness, strongly emphasizing transitional housing and supportive services only projects.

In addition, HUD provides reasons why they believe investment in permanent supportive housing and re-housing activities have not been effective when implemented to the exclusion of other types of assistance and services.

Comments to the notice are due by October 13, 2026.

To view the full notice, see here.