In a memorandum to all Public Housing Authorities (HAs) dated May 12, 2026, HUD announced that it is “winding down” the Restore-Rebuild initiative. The memo from Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing Benjamin Hobbs and acting Federal Housing Commissioner Joseph Gormley was distributed to HAs via email on May 15, 2026. The key points of the memo, effective immediately, are:
- No new requests for a Notice of Anticipated RAD Rents (NARR) will be accepted.
- Already submitted NARR requests that are pending HUD action will continue to be processed.
- Agencies that have already received a NARR have 90 days from the memorandum date to demonstrate one of the following:
- Received HUD approval for a mixed-finance development or public housing acquisition;
- Submitted a substantially complete mixed-finance development or public housing acquisition proposal to HUD for the proposed project; or,
- Can document from a state allocating agency that an application for Low-Income Housing Tax Credits for the proposed project has been submitted and is under review or has been approved.
This action by HUD follows the administration’s FY 27 budget request proposal to reset the Faircloth limits based on the current inventory, and its goal of “reducing the existing public housing footprint.”
PHADA is disappointed with this action by HUD, as the severe shortage of affordable housing argues for increasing the number of available units. Restore-Rebuild was one of the few avenues available to do so. Furthermore, projects that have received a NARR may not be able to meet the requirements regarding submission of a LIHTC application, depending upon when the NARR was received and the specifics of each state’s LIHTC application and award cycle. PHADA will urge HUD to extend the 90-day timeframe for projects that have received a NARR and include LIHTC financing in their proposed project.
PHADA does not expect Congress to adopt the proposed reset of Faircloth limits, but will keep members informed of any potential Congressional action on this item. Additional information based on planned conversations with partners, members, other stakeholders, and HUD will be provided in future PHADA communications.