What Florida Housing Providers Need to Know About HUD’s New Citizenship Verification Proposal

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has published a proposed rule aimed at strengthening and standardizing how citizenship and eligible immigration status are verified for all residents of federally assisted housing programs.

Under current regulations, individuals in HUD-funded housing can self-declare their citizenship status without providing documentation. The new proposal would require documentary verification of U.S. citizenship or an eligible immigration status for every household member, regardless of age, before assistance can be approved or continued. This change would align HUD’s rules with the statutory language of Section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 and the Trump Administration’s Executive Order 14218, which directs agencies to ensure that taxpayer-funded benefits are not received by ineligible individuals.

If finalized as proposed, the rule would limit the long-standing use of prorated assistance for “mixed-status” households, where some members are eligible for assistance and others are not, by making prorated aid a temporary measure pending full status verification rather than an indefinite option.

Housing providers would use the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system to check eligibility, and applicants or tenants would become responsible for submitting evidence such as citizenship documentation or immigration status records. Failure to verify eligible status would lead to denial or termination of HUD rental assistance once the final rule takes effect.

The proposed rule has significant implications for compliance responsibilities among Public Housing Authorities (PHAs), multifamily owners, and property managers in subsidized housing.

It could change how eligibility is documented and tracked, require updates to tenant files and intake processes, and increase administrative work to meet federal verification standards. While proponents argue it ensures assistance goes only to legally eligible residents, critics raise concerns about potential disruptions for households with mixed immigration status and the impacts on housing stability.

Comments on the proposal are open during the federal rulemaking process before any final regulation is adopted.

Florida CARH will continue monitoring this proposed rule and its potential impact on affordable housing providers across the state. Members are encouraged to review the proposal and stay engaged as the federal comment period unfolds.

Sources:
National Apartment Association, Feb. 20, 2026, Link
HUD, Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, Link