Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY:
This notice informs the public that the Office of General Counsel (OGC) has withdrawn the guidance documents identified below.
DATES:
The withdrawal of the guidance was effective September 25, 2025.
( printed page 44868)
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
David Woll, General Counsel, Office of General Counsel, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314. Telephone number (202) 708-2244 (this is not a toll-free number). Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as individuals with speech or communication disabilities, may make an accessible telephone call. Please visit
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/telecommunications-relay-service-trs
for more information.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Consistent with ongoing regulatory reform efforts and in accordance with Executive Order 14192 (“
Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation”
) [1]
and Executive Order 14219 (“
Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President's `Department of Government Efficiency' Deregulatory Initiative”
),[2]
HUD is undertaking a comprehensive review of its sub-regulatory guidance to reduce unnecessary compliance burdens, enhance the effectiveness of guidance documents, and promote principles underlying the rule of law. Past guidance, policies, and interpretive rules inconsistent with such principles are subject to review, revision, and/or rescission.
Agencies often issue statements that, unlike rules promulgated pursuant to legislation, do not carry the force and effect of law. These statements include interpretive rules, which advise the public of an agency's interpretation of the statutes and regulations it administers as well as general statements of policy, which advise the public about an agency's intended use of its discretionary authority. These non-binding guidance documents are a common tool for agencies to advise the public but can sometimes be used to attempt to bind the regulated public without adequate accountability.
It is HUD's current policy to evaluate non-binding policy guidance that may be inconsistent with the statutory text or impose compliance burdens outside of the notice-and-comment rulemaking process. Accordingly, OGC has set the following criteria as the basis for withdrawing existing guidance documents:
(1) Guidance is not statutorily prescribed;
(2) Interpretation set forth is inconsistent with relevant statutes or regulations;
OGC is notifying the public that it has withdrawn the guidance documents identified in the table below, effective September 25, 2025, as they meet the criteria above for withdrawal. These documents have been removed from active use and should not be relied upon as authoritative. Any handbooks and internal training materials that reference these guidance documents should be revised accordingly. New internal and external guidance will be issued where necessary and appropriate. All of these guidance documents have been removed from the
HUD.gov
website and should not be relied upon by internal or external parties.
Title
Date issued
Memorandum of Understanding Between DOJ and HUD Concerning Enforcement of the Fair Housing Act
December 7, 1990.
Referrals of Pattern or Practice Fair Housing Cases to the DOJ
December 12, 2011.
OGC Guidance Application of Fair Housing Act Standards to Use of Criminal Records
April 4, 2016.
OGC Guidance FH Act Protections for LEP Persons
September 15, 2016.
Joint Statement, HUD DOJ, State, and Local Land Use Law and Practices and the FH Act
November 10, 2016.
Elements of Proof
August 11, 2014.
Application to the Fair Housing Act of the Supreme Court's Decision in
Bostock
v.
Clayton County
February 9, 2021.
Office of General Counsel Guidance on the Fair Housing Act's Treatment of Certain Special Purpose Credit Programs That are Designed to be Implemented in Compliance with the Equal Credit Opportunity Act and Regulation B
December 6, 2021.
Appraisal Elements of Proof
May 6, 2022.
Limiting PHA and Owner Discretion in Admitting and Evicting Tenants in Federally Assisted Housing
March 27, 2023.
Final Legal Determination for Implementation of the Violence Against Women Act (Asked and Answered)
October 11, 2023.
Whether the Mrs. Murphy Exemption applies to dwellings solely owned by LLCs or other business entities
July 10, 2024.
Application of Fair Housing and Civil Rights Laws to Source of Income Restrictions
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 44867
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Notice of the Withdrawal of OGC Guidance Documents,” thefederalregister.org (July 17, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-14432/notice-of-the-withdrawal-of-ogc-guidance-documents.