The National Housing Law Project (NHLP) has sent a letter to congressional leadership signed by more than 200 national, state, and local organizations urging Congress to protect tenants from unfair, unexpected, and avoidable evictions at any time. In various states, landlords can evict tenants in the private market with little, if any, notice. Federal law requires a 30-day notice for those tenants living in housing under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Agriculture (USDA), other federal housing programs, as well as other federally-backed housing. By giving tenants 30 days to fix issues with their tenancy before their landlord can file an eviction, the law helps both tenants and landlords avoid undergoing an expensive eviction process. NHLP and the George Washington University Health Justice Policy and Advocacy Clinic will soon meet with congressional leaders to discuss protecting the 30-day notice requirement and prevent a reversal of this critical protection.
The letter comes after lawmakers backed by real estate industry corporations reintroduced bicameral legislation that would repeal 30-day notice and put seniors, families with children, people of color, people with disabilities, and veterans at immediate risk of displacement or even homelessness. If passed, the bill would roll back existing protections that tenants, landlords, and courts rely upon, and shrink the notice period for an eviction across the country from 30 days to as little as five days or less in federal housing programs and federally-backed properties.
Read the National Housing Law Project’s letter and statement in response to the 30-day notice repeal bill. Find here a research brief with data showing how 30-day notice protects tenants and stabilizes communities.
