The National Housing Law Project Condemns Trump’s Unlawful Action Making it Easier to Evict HUD Tenants at the Last Minute

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) today released the following statement by Eviction Initiative Project Director Marie Claire Tran-Leung in response to Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) publishing an Interim Final Rule that would allow for the rapid eviction of HUD tenants by revoking its 30-Day Notification Requirement final rule in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act:

“Trump’s HUD abruptly and unlawfully reversed course on a critical tenant protection that was years in the making. The previous rule reflected hundreds of comments from advocates, tenants, and housing providers, and covered nearly four million poor and working people living in public housing and Section 8 project-based rental housing. HUD’s 30-day notice rule protected tenants from getting unfairly evicted with almost no notice. It also helped prevent people from being evicted for reasons outside of their control, like their public housing authority miscalculating their rent. This rule gave extra stability to some of our country’s poorest tenants, including millions of children, who will now be at even higher risk. Without the protection of the 30-day notice rule, HUD tenants across the country could be evicted with as little as three days’ notice, and lose their homes for being one day late or $1 short.

“Instead of fixing the housing crisis, Trump’s unlawful action takes away our freedom and gives more control over our homes to landlords. The private equity-backed corporate landlord lobby has been determined to strip this protection as soon as it was finalized. Today’s action gives them what they want, and guarantees evictions, homelessness, and mass instability for their tenants. 

“No matter our race, place, or party, we all deserve the freedom to live in a safe and affordable home and take care of our families without fear of being evicted. We’re considering every option to challenge this unlawful action, and we’ll continue fighting to protect tenants and keep them stably housed.”

HUD’s 30 Day Notice rule reflected expertise by NHLP and the Housing Justice Network.