WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announces that it will extend the public comment date for its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would remove criminal conviction restrictions for fair housing testers by 9 days, to January 11, 2024. To do this, HUD has submitted a notice to the Federal Register, which can be found here.

HUD published its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register on October 31, 2023, and provided for a 60-day public comment period. The proposed rule aims to eliminate the agency’s restrictions on the use of fair housing testers with prior felony convictions or certain other convictions by Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) grantees and Fair Housing Assistance Program (FHAP) agencies. Fair housing testers provide invaluable support to HUD and HUD’s fair housing partners by taking part in housing transactions to screen for discrimination. The original announcement of the proposed rule can be found here.

HUD has received feedback from multiple interested persons requesting additional time to review the rule and provide comments. In response to these requests, HUD has extended the public comment period for 9 days, to January 11, 2024. HUD continues to invite all interested parties and members of the public to submit their views, comments, and recommendations for improvement in HUD’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

Comments may be submitted electronically through https://www.regulations.gov/document/HUD-2023-0091-0001 or through the methods described in the proposed rule.