Tenants and Housing Justice Organizations Sue HUD for Stripping Critical Federal Tenant Protection

WASHINGTON, DC—Tenants and housing justice organizations yesterday filed suit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) over a newly-announced federal rule that will eliminate a critical tenant protection and allow for the rapid eviction of HUD tenants. Jane Addams Senior Caucus (JASC), the North Carolina Tenants Union (NCTU), Maryland Legal Aid, and Lisa A. Sadler are being represented by the National Housing Law Project (NHLP) and the Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia (LASEV).

The rule would go into effect only 30 days after its announcement, bypassing the required public comment period. The plaintiffs are asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to delay the rule from going into effect and preserve the 30-Day Notice rule until further court proceedings.

“The 30-day notice requirement for non-payment evictions is a lifeline for our members. That time means the difference between sleeping in their beds or under an overpass. When tenants face eviction for non-payment, it is often the result of systemic government disinvestment, administrative failures, or landlords gaming a system already stacked against low-income renters. Those thirty days give tenants the time they need to secure rental assistance, complete income recertifications to lower their rent, or access public benefits that allow them to stay housed. Without this protection, tenants are forced to bear the brutal consequences for their landlord’s greed and their government’s negligence,” said Nick MacLeod, Local Organizing Director for the North Carolina Tenants Union. 

“Without the 30-day notice rule, the tenants we serve in Illinois will be at much higher risk of losing their housing due to rent that they don’t even owe. HUD multifamily housing owners make ledger errors and miscalculate balances that families need time to resolve. By rescinding this rule, HUD is forcing our families through an impossible five-day timeline to address administrative errors, pay the erroneous charges, or face homelessness,” said Noah Moskowitz, Organizing Director for Jane Addams Senior Caucus. 

“Rescinding the 2024 HUD rule strips away a critical protection for tenants, especially some of the most vulnerable tenants we represent, in the midst of an affordable housing crisis. Families need more time to correct errors, seek assistance, and secure legal help; not less. Without it, tenants lose a meaningful chance to prevent eviction, and our ability to defend them is significantly weakened,” said Vicki Schultz, Executive Director for Maryland Legal Aid.

On February 26, 2026, HUD published an Interim Final Rule that would revoke its 30-Day Notice rule which protects tenants from unfair and avoidable evictions. The current  rule requires landlords to give notice to some HUD tenants at least 30 days before filing an eviction for the nonpayment of rent, and allow tenants to pay any balance owed during that period. The rule also requires that landlords provide tenants with a ledger showing how their balance was calculated, and critical information about how to obtain a rent decrease if they have lost income. This ensures that tenants have adequate notice of what they allegedly owe, and that they are not evicted due to the housing authority or owner’s miscalculation of their rent. It also ensures that tenants have adequate time to pay off any legitimate balance and remain housed. Without the rule’s protection, HUD tenants in some parts of the country can be evicted for being as little as one dollar short or one day late on rent.

“HUD completely disregarded federal law around rulemaking and they are forcing through a rule that will eliminate the very protections that keep our communities stable during a rampant housing crisis. We’re fighting back to ensure we have enough time to provide input on a rule that will affect nearly four million poor and working people,” said Hannah Adams, Senior Staff Attorney for the National Housing Law Project (NHLP).

“The 30-Day Notice rule gave poor and working families a fair chance to understand what they owe, correct errors, or catch up on rent before facing the devastating consequences of eviction. At a time when communities are already grappling with a housing affordability crisis, weakening these protections will only increase homelessness, destabilize families, and deepen economic inequality,” said Brandon Ballard, Strategic Litigation Attorney for Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia (LASEV).

Housing assistance is a lifeline for HUD tenants, especially since around half of all households are headed by seniors, and nearly a quarter include a person with a disability. Evictions have dire outcomes for a family’s housing options, health, and economic well-being. This includes an increased chance of homelessness, a decrease in annual earnings, and for children, a higher chance of switching schools, with increasing absences and suspensions more likely.

Plaintiffs are also represented by Debevoise & Plimpton LLP.

Read the full text of the complaint and motion for preliminary injunction. 

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The National Housing Law Project’s mission is to advance housing justice for poor people and communities. We achieve this by strengthening and enforcing the rights of tenants and low-income homeowners, increasing housing opportunities for underserved communities, and preserving and expanding the nation’s supply of safe and affordable homes. 

Legal Aid Society of Eastern Virginia (LASEV) provides civil legal representation in federal and state courts to indigent residents throughout the Hampton Roads and Eastern Shore region. LASEV’s mission is to promote the equal application of justice and to remove barriers to fairness for low-income and vulnerable families. In furtherance of that mission, LASEV addresses both individual client needs and systemic injustices that perpetuate poverty and inequality. LASEV’s practice areas include, among others, landlord-tenant disputes, consumer protection, public benefits, domestic violence, family law, estate planning, education-related matters, and civil rights and discrimination cases.

Jane Addams Senior Caucus (JASC) is a power building 501c3 that supports the leadership of Chicago-area seniors and tenant families to transform their housing and communities. We cross neighborhood, racial, religious, and socio-economic lines to find common ground upon which to act on our values: a world where all can age with dignity and safety, free of ageism, racism, and other forms of oppression.

Established in 1911, Maryland Legal Aid is a statewide nonprofit 501(c)(3) law firm that advocates with and for Marylanders experiencing poverty to achieve equity and social justice through free civil legal services, community collaboration, and systemic change. From its 11 offices across the state and through its many community-based clinics, Maryland Legal Aid helps clients preserve and access safe and affordable housing; maintain custody of their children and be safe from domestic violence; and increase their economic security by defending against consumer debt, including foreclosures and tax sales, removing barriers to employment, and accessing critical income supports such as Medicaid, SNAP, unemployment, and other vital public benefits. In its advocacy, Maryland Legal Aid seeks to change systems that perpetuate poverty and inequity.