SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 102(a) of the HUD Reform Act (42 U.S.C. ( printed page 69268) 3545(a)) sets out the requirements for notice to the public regarding assistance available from HUD. Section 102(a)(3) requires publication of selection criteria not less than 30 days before the deadline for applications or requests for assistance. HUD may waive this requirement if “the Secretary determines that the waiver is required for appropriate response to an emergency.” If HUD makes an emergency waiver, then it must publish “the Secretary's reasons for doing so” in the Federal Register within 30 days. HUD does not believe that it must seek an emergency waiver for the FY2026 CoC NOFO, but is doing so out of an abundance of caution for the reasons below.

Due to litigation, the FY2026 CoC NOFO has been published, vacated, and restored over recent months.

On June 1, 2026, HUD published the FY2026 CoC NOFO with an August 26, 2026, application deadline, which gave applicants 87 days to review the NOFO and submit applications. HUD subsequently published a modified NOFO on July 24, 2026, which maintained an August 26, 2026, application deadline and made no substantive changes apart from adding a mechanism for direct-to-HUD funding for areas with no collaborative applicant, as spelled out in Appendix III of the NOFO.

In early July, two groups of plaintiffs sued to challenge the NOFO in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island. On August 7, the district court vacated the FY26 NOFO. ECF 41, State of Washington v. HUD, 1:26-cv-439 (D.R.I.); ECF 34, Nat'l All. To End Homelessness v. HUD, 1:26-cv-436 (D.R.I.). The NOFO was thus rendered null and void less than 20 days before the original deadline. HUD appealed the ruling. During the appeal, HUD maintained a copy of the NOFO on its website [ www.hud.gov/​hud-partners/​coc-program-competition] and sent a listserv message to applicants notifying them of the same.

And on September 16, 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit stayed the lower court's judgment while the Plaintiffs' challenge to the NOFO proceeds. State of Washington v. HUD, __F.4th__, 2026 WL 2730937 (1st Cir. 2026). As a result, the NOFO was automatically restored. See NOFO at 111.

On September 18, 2026, the Department re-opened the FY2026 CoC NOFO (CPD-2600-DC-0025), with a funding application deadline of 8:00 p.m. ET on September 30, 2026, which created an additional 12-day application window to resume the competition that was paused 68 days after publication of the June 1 NOFO. The additional period was less than the 30-day minimum application requirement under section 102(a)(3). But it is part of the larger application period of 80 days, so HUD does not believe that the NOFO requires an emergency waiver under section 102(a)(3). Still, the Secretary has determined that it is nevertheless prudent to issue a waiver.

It was necessary for the Department to establish a short application reopening period for this NOFO to address certain exigent and emergency circumstances. Specifically, HUD is required by Congress to make awards under the NOFO by December 1, 2026. HUD also endeavors to make timely awards to ensure ongoing funding for successful and meritorious projects, and for other projects that the CoCs or Congress may lawfully protect from competition.

HUD established the original August 26 application deadline to build in the necessary amount of time it reasonably expected it would need to review several thousands of applications and make awards. But the District Court ruling, which is now vacated, eliminated part of the approximately 90-day application period HUD originally provided. HUD must now process all applications and make awards within 62 days, which would be the quickest that the program has ever processed applications. It has received close to 8,000 individual project applications, including 3,500 new project applications, and almost 400 CoC applications. Historically, application reviews have required over 90 days to complete, so it cannot afford to lengthen the general application deadline any further.

Applicants have had nearly four months to review the NOFO and prepare applications, so an additional 12-day application period is sufficient time for applicants to finalize and submit their applications while also reserving for HUD time needed to meet the congressionally mandated December 1 deadline. As such, the circumstances demonstrated that an emergency existed that justified the granting of a waiver of the 30-day application period required under section 102(a) of the HUD Reform Act.

91 FR 69267