A draft federal rule published March 2, 2026, would let local housing agencies and property owners add work mandates and time limits to rental aid programs, risking the loss of assistance for about 3.3 million people, including roughly 1.7 million children.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s proposal would allow public housing agencies and owners of Project-Based Rental Assistance properties to require work-eligible adults to participate in up to 40 hours per week of work activities, and would permit time limits of at least two years for families who are neither elderly nor disabled.
The changes would apply to Housing Choice Vouchers, Project-Based Rental Assistance, and other major federal housing programs that together serve more than 10 million people. Some programs would be exempt, including the HUD-VASH program, the Family Unification Program, and the Foster Youth to Independence Program.
Under the proposal, work-eligible people would be defined as those aged 18 to 61. Housing agencies and property owners would have flexibility to create their own rules, such as how many hours are required and whether requirements apply to individuals or entire households.
“If implemented, such policies are expected to have negative impacts on HUD-assisted households,” wrote Alayna Calabro and Renee Williams of the National Low Income Housing Coalition in their review of the proposal.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated the effects of a two-year cap across public housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, and Project-Based Rental Assistance.
Landlords and housing authorities that adopt these policies could end assistance for households or individual members who don’t meet work rules or who exceed time limits.
HUD projects that about 750 public housing agencies and 3,504 property owners would choose to implement work or time-limit policies.
Comments on the proposed rule must be submitted by May 1, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. The National Low Income Housing Coalition has said it strongly opposes the rule and will help members submit comments.
The proposal arrives as federal rental aid is under strain. More than five million people use Section 8 assistance to afford rent in high-cost areas such as Los Angeles, New York City, and Seattle; in Los Angeles County alone, about 85,000 households get subsidies from these programs.
Even so, only about one in four eligible households currently receive federal rental help because funding is insufficient, a long-standing obstacle for advocates pushing to expand access.
The work and time-limit proposal is one piece of broader shifts in federal housing policy. In July, HUD floated separate changes to eligibility rules. Another proposed rule would bar families with undocumented members from assistance, which could affect around 20,000 households.
HUD Secretary Scott Turner has said the administration views time limits and work mandates as ways to encourage self-sufficiency among able-bodied residents, signaling a change in how HUD frames its role in rental assistance.
Congressional proposals would also change funding for housing aid. A House plan would fund Section 8 at 2025 levels with no increase for rising rents, potentially eliminating vouchers for 400,000 people. A Senate plan would provide more funding but still likely reduce assistance for about 250,000 people. President Trump previously proposed a 43 percent cut to the program.
These competing legislative approaches reflect ongoing disputes over the size and design of federal housing support.
Federal rental programs mainly assist households with children, older adults, people with disabilities, full-time caregivers, and low-wage workers. The aid lets these families pay rent and frees up income for essentials such as food, healthcare, transportation, and school supplies.
Research on similar requirements in other assistance programs shows worrying trends. Claudia Aiken of the New York University Furman Center observed that work rules in food aid, Medicaid, and welfare have sharply reduced participation, often because paperwork and reporting burdens block people who actually meet the requirements.
Housing advocates, including those at the National Housing Law Project, warn the changes could raise eviction and homelessness risks and disproportionately harm people of color. “The administration is gutting the federal housing programs,” said Deborah Thrope of the National Housing Law Project.
Although the HUD-VASH program for veterans would be explicitly exempt from both work requirements and time limits, the proposal creates narrower exemptions for time limits than it does for work mandates.
