HUD Admission and Occupancy Comments Closed Sept. 28

HUD is seeking public comments on the information public housing agencies maintain and disclose through their admission and continued-occupancy policies.

The Department published a 30-day Paperwork Reduction Act notice in the Federal Register on August 28, 2026. Comments were due September 28.

The notice concerns an existing information collection titled “Public Housing Reform; Change in Admission and Occupancy Requirements.”

It does not establish a new admission rule, change current eligibility requirements or immediately impose a new reporting obligation. HUD is requesting approval from the Office of Management and Budget to continue and revise its collection of information from public housing agencies.

The revision reflects the current number of active PHAs and reporting requirements connected to the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act and the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act.

PHAs Must Maintain Written Admission and Occupancy Policies

Public housing agencies must maintain written policies governing admission and continued occupancy.

Those policies address subjects including:

- Applicant eligibility;

- Local admission preferences;

- Tenant selection;

- Rent determination;

- Continued occupancy;

- Community-service requirements;

- Self-sufficiency requirements; and

- Other conditions affecting participation in public housing.

PHAs must make the policies available upon request to HUD and members of the public.

The records may also be requested by tenants, applicants, legal-aid organizations and other interested parties, either informally or through the Freedom of Information Act.

HUD is asking OMB to renew the information collection that allows the Department to account for the work PHAs perform to maintain, update and provide those records.

The Notice Includes HOTMA Over-Income Requirements

HUD’s information collection also incorporates admission and occupancy requirements created by Section 103 of the Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 2016.

HOTMA established requirements for families whose incomes rise above the limits for continued public-housing assistance.

For this purpose, an over-income family is generally a household whose annual income equals or exceeds 120 percent of the applicable area median income for two consecutive years.

PHAs were required to update their written policies to address the treatment of over-income families.

The law also established annual reporting involving:

- The number of over-income families residing in public housing; and

- The number of families on public-housing waiting lists.

The August notice does not create those HOTMA requirements. It includes them in the information collection HUD is asking OMB to approve.

Number of Active PHAs Falls to 2,667

HUD revised its calculations to reflect a decline in the number of active public housing agencies.

The previous information collection was based on 2,774 active PHAs. HUD now reports 2,667.

That represents a decrease of 107 agencies.

HUD said the total changes over time because of factors including PHA mergers and the termination of public-housing programs through the Rental Assistance Demonstration.

The lower number affects HUD’s calculation of how many agencies respond to the information collection and the total administrative burden associated with those responses.

It does not mean that 107 housing authorities closed during a single year. The notice compares the current calculation with the number used in the previously approved collection.

HUD Wants Feedback on Four Questions

HUD is requesting comments on four parts of the proposed information collection.

First, the Department wants to know whether the collection is necessary for HUD to perform its responsibilities and whether the information has practical value.

Second, HUD is requesting feedback on the accuracy of its estimate of the administrative burden placed on responding agencies.

Third, the Department wants recommendations for improving the quality, usefulness and clarity of the information collected.

Fourth, HUD is asking how it can reduce the burden on PHAs, including through automated systems and other forms of information technology.

Comments should address the information collection and its administrative impact. This is not a general request for comments on every aspect of public-housing eligibility or HOTMA implementation.

This Is a Paperwork Notice, Not a New Final Rule

The distinction between an information-collection notice and a regulatory change is important.

HUD is proceeding under the Paperwork Reduction Act, which requires federal agencies to obtain OMB approval before collecting certain information from the public.

The notice allows interested parties to comment on the need for the collection, the estimated burden and potential improvements.

It does not amend the Code of Federal Regulations. It does not establish a new income threshold, change local preferences or rewrite a PHA’s admission and continued-occupancy policy.

Existing statutory and regulatory requirements remain in effect.

A separate 60-day comment notice for the same collection was published on February 18, 2026. The August 28 publication represents the subsequent 30-day review stage.

What PHAs Should Review

PHAs should confirm that their admission and continued-occupancy policies are current, complete and available when requested.

Agencies should also verify that their policies properly address over-income families and any reporting responsibilities that apply under HOTMA.

Public availability is part of the requirement. A policy that exists internally but cannot be produced when requested may create compliance and transparency problems.

PHAs should review how they:

- Store the current approved version of each policy;

- Document board approval and revision dates;

- Respond to requests from residents and applicants;

- Process formal records requests;

- Track over-income families;

- Maintain waiting-list information; and

- Complete required annual reporting.

Agencies that believe HUD has underestimated the time or expense associated with these responsibilities could submit comments describing the work involved.

Useful comments should include concrete information, such as staff hours, system costs, recurring reporting tasks and the effects of duplicated or manual processes.

How to Submit Comments

Comments were due September 28, 2026.

The notice directs interested parties to submit written comments and recommendations through Reginfo.gov.

Users can locate the collection by selecting “Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments” and searching for the title “Public Housing Reform; Change in Admission and Occupancy Requirements.”

The Federal Register page also identifies the related Regulations.gov record as HUD-2006-0262-0016.

Comments become part of the public administrative record. Organizations should review submissions carefully and avoid including confidential personal or tenant information.

The Bottom Line

HUD is seeking comments on its continuing collection of information concerning public-housing admission and occupancy policies.

The collection covers the written policies PHAs must maintain and make available, along with HOTMA-related requirements involving over-income families and public-housing waiting lists.

HUD updated its calculations because the number of active PHAs has declined from 2,774 to 2,667.

The notice does not change public-housing eligibility or create a new admission rule. It is a Paperwork Reduction Act review focused on whether the information is necessary, whether HUD has calculated the administrative burden accurately and whether the collection can be improved.

PHAs and other interested parties had until September 28, 2026, to submit comments.