A Deluge of Dreck from HUD: Three different harmful rulemakings from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have cleared the inter-agency review process at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) since the last PRRAC Update. All are likely to appear in the Federal Register soon, and advocates, researchers, tenants, and other stakeholders will be able to submit public comments on Regulations.gov. On January 23, 2026, an interim final rulethat is expected to repeal HUD’s current rule implementing the CARES Act’s 30-day notice requirement for evictions of tenants from covered federally-assisted properties and a proposed rule that is anticipated to enable owners of HUD-assisted properties and public housing authorities to impose time limits and work requirements on tenants received OMB approval. When an agency issues an interim final rule, it accepts comment on what it has published, but the rule takes effect without waiting for the agency to have reviewed and addressed the comments that it receives. On January 28, 2026, a proposed rule that is expected to prohibit owners of HUD-assisted properties and public housing authorities from providing prorated assistance to families with mixed immigration status passed that hurdle. Last September, ProPublica reported on leaked versions of the proposed rules regarding mixed-status families and time limits and work requirements. During the first Trump Administration, HUD proposed a rule that would similarly bar mixed-status families from federally-assisted housing but was not able to finalize it. The housing justice movement – mobilized through the Keep Families Together campaign led by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the National Housing Law Project – submitted tens of thousands of comments in opposition to the proposed rule at that time.
Other news and resources
PRRAC on HUD’s Letters to Cities in Shelterforce: On January 30, 2026, PRRAC Executive Director Thomas Silverstein published an op-ed in Shelterforce explaining why the threatening letters that HUD sent to the cities of Boston and Minneapolis regarding their compliance with the Fair Housing Act are unmoored from law and fact.
GAO Report Shows Unaccounted for Costs of Department of Education Office of Civil Rights Staff Reductions: A January 29, 2026 report from the Government Accountability Office illustrates the high and unaccounted for cost of the loss of staff at the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.
Opportunity Insights Research on the Impact of HOPE VI: In January 2026, Professor Raj Chetty and his colleagues at Opportunity Insights published a paperregarding the impact of mixed-income public housing redevelopment through the erstwhile HOPE VI program on the economic mobility of children living at redeveloped sites.
A Break from the Parade of Horribles – Super Bowl Halftime Show Edition: This is no slight to Bad Bunny, whom everyone loves (now more than ever), but have you ever dreamt on whom your ideal Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner would be? The answer may not be your favorite band or musician, since not everyone’s art is compatible with theatrics and stadium-filling sound (in other words, there are more reasons why Thomas has not picked the Velvet Underground than the deaths of Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison). The PRRAC team chewed on this question and here are our choices:
- Audrey: Miley Cyrus
- Gina: Epic Theatre Ensemble (Gina is a Broncos fan who is still grieving their defeat)
- Sasha: J.Cole & Drake (co-headlining)
- Tessa: T-Pain
- Thomas: Wu-Tang Clan
