In a forthcoming announcement by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the agency will delay the effective date for a recent final rule overhauling the HOME Investment Partnerships Program.

The updates in the January 6 final rule were supported by LeadingAge and were slated to take effect in early February, but have been delayed until April 20 in response to the Trump administration’s current regulatory freeze.

“On January 20, 2025, the President issued a memorandum titled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” to executive departments and agencies…HUD is delaying the effective date of the HOME Final Rule by 90 days from January 20, 2025. With this delay, the effective date for the HOME Final Rule is now April 20, 2025.
This delay will provide HUD time to review the HOME Final Rule for any questions of fact, law, and policy that the HOME Final Rule may raise, as directed by the memorandum. ” HUD said in a preview of its announcement.

The HOME program provides grants to states and localities to support affordable housing initiatives; the funding is used by many LeadingAge members who are developing new housing that is affordable to older adults with low incomes.

The updates finalized by HUD’s January 6 final rule make key changes to enhance tenant protections, update property standards, adjust required periods of affordability, revise roles for Community Housing Development Organizations, implement environmental and safety hazard notification requirements, and more.

LeadingAge will continue to monitor implementation of this critical new rule to improve the HOME program.