Affordable Senior Housing News 2026June12

Kierstin Reed • June 11, 2026

June 5 Update: STILL DELAYED - HUD-Required Immigration Eligibility Reverification in Multifamily Housing.

On May 21, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a new, one-time requirement for certain federally-assisted housing providers to reverify the immigration status of selected tenants within 30 days. Within the next month, based on a new EIV report from HUD, owners participating in HUD’s project-based Section 8 program will need to verify eligibility and if needed, adjust the calculations for prorated rental assistance for mixed-status households. The report is a follow-up from HUD's January directive on immigration status verification of tenants, at which time HUD proceeded with the requirement for Public Housing but told LeadingAge that further instructions were forthcoming for MFH owners. HUD has confirmed to LeadingAge that this new requirement applies only to Project Based Section 8 properties and does not apply to Section 202 or 811 PRACs (owners should disregard this requirement for PRAC properties). If an owner follows HUD instructions but does not see the EIV report for a particular property, that means that the property’s tenants were not flagged for discrepancies and the owner does not need to take action for that property. Discrepancies related to immigration status within the new EIV report do not necessarily mean that a tenant should lose housing assistance, and housing providers are still required to follow all the necessary steps to verify eligibility prior to making eligibility decisions. As of May 29, the HUD Immigration Verification EIV Report was temporarily not operational, and HUD instructed LeadingAge members to await further instructions. HUD will adjust the 30-day verification timeframe to accommodate delays. LeadingAge recommends that owners and agents document any attempts to access the report in the meantime.


Senators Introduce Bill to Allow Work Requirements, Time Limits in HUD-Assisted Housing. 

On June 3, Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Katie Britt (R-AL) introduced a legislative version of recent regulatory efforts to allow work requirements in certain programs run by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Called the Pathways to a Thriving Household (PATH) Act, the bill seeks to codify HUD’s proposed rule, which would give public housing authorities (PHAs) and HUD-assisted Multifamily Housing providers the authority to implement work requirements of up to 40 hours per week for “work-eligible adults.” Similar to HUD’s proposed rule, the legislative stipulates that the work requirements cannot be applied to an individual who is 62 or older; however, the housing provider could implement work requirements on other household members who are younger than 62, and the legislation states that housing providers can terminate assistance for either the household member or the entire household when a household member is out of compliance. The work requirements would also impact members of the aging services workforce, who may have inconsistent hours or schedules. The legislative effort seems to support the widely-held belief that HUD would need statutory authority prior to authorizing work requirements through the regulatory process – and contradict HUD statements about the existing legality of the proposed rulemaking. LeadingAge strongly opposes work requirements in federal rental assistance due to the harm for households and because of the burden on housing providers, who would have to cover the costs of required job training and supportive services without additional budget authority. Read the Senators’ press release here, and read LeadingAge’s comments opposing HUD’s proposed rule on work requirements here.


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By Kierstin Reed July 23, 2026
LeadingAge Webinar on Tenant Compliance Must-Dos for Affordable Senior Housing, August 19, 2-3:15 p.m. ET. Join the LeadingAge housing community for a webinar by compliance expert Jenny DeSilva, who will review unique rules and requirements for HUD-assisted senior housing communities. Participants will receive practical guidance to stay prepared for HUD oversight while supporting older adults as they age in community. Register here . Affordable housing Weekly Recap . Here is your weekly Affordable Housing Weekly Recap
By Kierstin Reed July 23, 2026
Home Health Trend Reports Updated
By Kierstin Reed July 23, 2026
CPR for ALL Direct Care Staff
By Kierstin Reed July 23, 2026
Department of Education Updates List of Professional Degree Programs Due to Court Order On July 10, 2026, the Department of Education provided an update to its List of Professional Degree Programs Due to Court Order. This list was originally issued on June 29, 2026 in response to a court order that preliminarily set aside and stayed certain aspects of the definition of “professional degree” under ED’s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) final rule . For the duration of the court’s preliminary stay, ED is treating an interim list of programs as awarding professional degrees for the purpose of administering statutory loan limits. This interim list of programs includes audiology/audiologist, speech-language pathology/pathologist, physical therapy/therapist, occupational therapy/therapist, physician associate/assistant, and registered nursing/registered nurse. The July 10th update clarifies that that the 6-digit Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) codes for the Registered Nursing/Registered Nurse (MSN) (51.3801) and Nursing Practice (DNP) (51.3818) include any program within the same four-digit CIP code, as assigned by the institution or determined by the Secretary, provided it awards the same credential. ED is also amending the Clinical Psychology program entry (42.2801) to include the Ph.D. designation, which was inadvertently not included in the initial list. LeadingAge opposed the rulemaking that is the basis for this litigation because of the likely negative impact to educational pipelines for several fields that are integral to the aging services sector, including nursing and rehab therapies. In addition to keeping members up to date on this ongoing litigation, we are also assessing several legislative proposals that aim address the implications of the RISE rule’s “professional degree” definition. Senate, House Members Reintroduce the Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Adam Smith (D-WA) introduced the Welcome Back to the Health Care Workforce Act on July 16. This bill would help internationally educated health care professionals overcome common barriers to entering the health care workforce in the United States. It would create a grant program administered by the Health Resources and Services Administration to:  Support communities in developing local- and state-level partnerships between health care organizations, community-based organizations, higher education, and state and local governments to help connect internationally educated health care professionals with the resources they need to enter the health care workforce. Address barriers internationally educated health care professionals trying to enter the health care workforce face by: Assisting with obtaining overseas academic or training records and providing support throughout the U.S. licensing and credentialing process. Developing work-readiness, peer support, mentoring, and culturally competent career counseling opportunities. Establishing opportunities to complete necessary prerequisite courses, continuing education training, and English-language learning. Supporting growth opportunities to address classroom and clinical instructor shortages. Giving priority to partnerships focused on supporting health care workers serving rural communities or filling a workforce shortage within a community. LeadingAge supports this bill. Here is your weekly Workforce Weekly Recap
By Kierstin Reed July 23, 2026
COVID “Up to Date” Definition Will Not Change
By Kierstin Reed July 23, 2026
CPR for ALL Direct Care Staff
By Kierstin Reed July 23, 2026
CMS to Roll Out Risk-Based Survey This September The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released memo QSO-26-14-NH on July 16 announcing that the Risk-Based Survey will be implemented in nursing homes nationwide beginning September 8, 2026. LeadingAge called the announcement “a significant win”, noting that we have long advocated for this survey reform, both in our meetings with CMS and communications with the Department of Health & Human Services. CMS estimates that approximately 12% of nursing homes will be eligible for the Risk-Based Survey based on a combination of factors including Five-Star Quality Rating System ratings and other metrics. CMS additionally intends to identify these high performing nursing homes on Nursing Home Care Compare with a special icon and will identify any surveys completed using the Risk-Based Survey model on the survey results page, the form CMS-2567, and the CMS data catalogue. CMS will begin training surveyors in August and September and training materials, survey resources, and other supporting materials will be publicly available. Learn more here . LeadingAge is pleased with this development and will continue to pursue reforms to improve the nursing home survey and certification process.
By Kierstin Reed July 23, 2026
Would you like to meet with candidates?
By Kierstin Reed July 16, 2026
Stay up to date on the latest affordable senior housing news, policy updates, and resources. Click the link below to view this week's recap. Affordable housing Weekly Recap . Here is your weekly Affordable Housing Weekly Recap
By Kierstin Reed July 16, 2026
FY2027 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule Heads to OMB.
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