Weekly Update & Tribal Housing News
NWIHA Tribal Housing Policy Brief October 5 2026
Weekly Update and News
This weekly briefing summarizes consequential federal housing policy and program developments affecting Northwest Tribes and Tribally Designated Housing Entities. It highlights immediate deadlines, implementation changes, and actions NWIHA and its members may wish to consider. Information is current as of October 5, 2026.
Priority Actions
- Radon notices update: HUD postponed the Tribal and TDHE effective date from October 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027.
- Use the Census extension: Comments on the proposed removal of race and ethnicity questions from the decennial census are now due November 2, not October 13.
- Remind homeownership programs that the Section 184 fee increase is now in effect.
- Identify any Northwest TIAC nominee before the November 2 deadline.
HUD Postpones Tribal Radon Requirements
HUD issued Notice CPD-26-013 on September 30, extending the effective date of its radon environmental review policy for Tribes, TDHEs, and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands from October 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027. The policy requires radon to be addressed in contamination analyses under 24 CFR 50.3(i) or 58.5(i).
Northwest significance: Members have three additional months to revise environmental review procedures, consultant scopes, testing protocols, and mitigation plans. The extension does not eliminate the requirement.
Recommended action: Send a correction if NWIHA previously advised that the policy took effect October 1. Encourage members to use the extension for implementation rather than suspending preparation.
Source: HUD Notice CPD-26-013
Census Comment Deadline Extended to November 2
A Federal Register notice published October 5 extends the comment deadline from October 13 to November 2, 2026. The proposal would prohibit race and ethnicity questions on the short-form decennial census and other enumeration questionnaires, while leaving the American Community Survey outside that prohibition.
Why it matters: Eliminating direct racial self-identification could impair granular American Indian and Alaska Native population data and increase reliance on administrative records. That could affect future Tribal planning, population estimates, and the data environment surrounding federal housing allocations, even though the proposal does not immediately amend the IHBG formula.
Recommended action: NWIHA now has sufficient time to submit or join a substantive comment emphasizing:
- Tribal political status and the need to distinguish Tribal citizenship from racial classification.
- Continued direct self-identification of American Indian and Alaska Native people and individual Tribal affiliations.
- Limitations and undercoverage in administrative records.
- Effects on small-area Tribal data, housing-needs analysis, and federal funding.
- Meaningful consultation before any final rule.
Source: Federal Register deadline extension | Original proposed rule
HUD and USDA Agreement May Streamline Jointly Funded Rural Projects
HUD and USDA signed a September 29 memorandum implementing the Streamlining Rural Housing Act. The agencies will evaluate categorical exclusions, establish a lead-agency process for adopting each other’s environmental assessments and environmental impact statements, preserve applicable Part 58 requirements, and study joint physical inspections for projects funded by both departments.
Northwest significance: This could eventually reduce duplicative reviews for Tribal housing and infrastructure projects combining HUD and USDA Rural Development funding. The memorandum is presently a coordination framework, not an immediate change to member compliance obligations.
Recommended action: Ask members to identify current or recent HUD-USDA projects where duplicative environmental reviews or inspections caused delays. Those examples could help NWIHA shape subsequent implementation guidance.
Source: HUD and USDA memorandum announcement
Section 184 Fee Increase Now in Effect
For Firm Commitments issued on or after October 1, the standard Section 184 upfront guarantee fee is 1.50 percent, up from 1.00 percent. The Skilled Workers Demonstration fee is now 1.00 percent, up from zero. Previously guaranteed loans are unaffected, and the annual fee remains zero.
Recommended action: Homeownership staff should update borrower estimates, counseling materials, and project budgets and verify the Firm Commitment date for pending loans. NWIHA may still wish to request a transition period or explanation of why HUD provided only three days’ notice.
Source: Federal Register Section 184 fee notice
Approaching Deadlines and Ongoing Matters
TIAC nominations – November 2: Seven seats are expiring. HUD requires Tribal-government authorization; nominees solely representing a TDHE or regional organization are not eligible unless properly authorized to act for a Tribal government. NWIHA should settle on any Northwest candidate well before the deadline.
Source: HUD TIAC nomination notice
FY 2026 IHBG Competitive and ICDBG Single Purpose: Both opportunities remain officially forecasted, with no confirmed application deadline. Members should continue project-development and readiness work but should not rely on dates appearing on unofficial grant sites.
Sources: IHBG Competitive forecast | ICDBG Single Purpose forecast
NAHASDA modernization: No further public action was identified after the September 23 committee consideration of S. 5354; the committee amendment and report still do not appear in GovInfo’s available bill materials. This is an inference from the records posted as of October 5. NWIHA’s emphasis should remain Senate floor action, House movement, and preservation of Northwest priorities in the amended text.
Sources: S. 5354 bill materials | Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Required Source Check
No new Dear Tribal Leader Letter was posted this week. The newest PIH notice, PIH 2026-25, governs the transition of Emergency Housing Voucher households to tenant protection vouchers administered by public housing agencies. It does not impose a new IHBG or TDHE requirement, though members coordinating homelessness services with public housing agencies may want awareness of the transition.