HUD Section 811 Project Rental Assistance FY 2026 - Historical Reference
Closed FY 2026 HUD cooperative-agreement opportunity for state housing agencies to expand project-based rental assistance and supportive housing access for extremely low-income persons with disabilities
HUD Section 811 Project Rental Assistance FY 2026 - Historical Reference
This page is a historical reference, not an open application. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) published the FY 2026 Project Rental Assistance Program of Section 811 Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities notice, identified as HSG-2600-DC-0053. Applications were due by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 13, 2026, and the notice states that late applications were not eligible for HUD funding.
HUD’s funding page lists a separate Section 811 repost as forecasted, but it does not give that future notice a deadline. Do not treat this page’s closed date as a new or open application window. Check HUD and Grants.gov for a replacement notice before preparing a new submission.
What the FY 2026 opportunity funded
The FY 2026 notice offered project-based rental operating assistance through the Section 811 Project Rental Assistance (PRA) program. The goal was to help states increase access to affordable, integrated multifamily housing for extremely low-income persons with disabilities and to connect that housing with appropriate supportive services. The award was designed around a state-level system: a state housing agency coordinates with health and human services and Medicaid partners, selects or supports eligible properties, and administers rental assistance contracts either directly or through qualified parties.
This is different from a tenant voucher and different from a general housing grant. Section 811 PRA assistance is attached to designated units and administered through the state and property systems. HUD’s current notice says the funds may be used for rental assistance under Rental Assistance Contracts. They may not be used for a Section 811 capital advance, construction or development of units, or Section 8 project-based or tenant-based vouchers. A state applying for this notice therefore needed a plan for operating assistance and property participation, not simply a proposal to build a new project with the award.
The notice made approximately $158 million available and estimated 16 awards. The maximum award amount was $9,875,000. The listing identified the funding instrument as a cooperative agreement and did not require cost sharing or matching. These are program-level figures for the closed federal competition. They are not a promise of a particular rent subsidy, payment, or cash benefit for an individual household.
Who could apply
The applicant was not an individual seeking an apartment. The eligible applicant category was state government, with the notice describing qualifying state or local housing agencies that currently allocate Low-Income Housing Tax Credits under Section 42, allocate and oversee HOME Investment Partnerships assistance, or administer a similar federal or state housing program. The applicant also needed an inter-agency partnership agreement with both of the following:
- The state agency responsible for health and human services programs.
- The state agency responsible for administering or supervising the state Medicaid plan.
Only one applicant from each state could receive funding. If multiple housing agencies from the same state applied, the state health and human services or Medicaid agency had to determine which applicant would partner for the submission. If that health and human services or Medicaid agency appeared in multiple applications, the notice said none of those applications would be considered.
The notice expressly excluded individuals, for-profit entities, and nonprofit entities as applicants. That point matters because Section 811 is often described in public-facing housing language as a program for people with disabilities. In the FY 2026 competition, people with disabilities were the intended residents of assisted units, not the direct applicants to Grants.gov. A nonprofit service provider could participate in a state’s operating model or partnership if the state’s plan allowed it, but it could not submit as the eligible applicant under this notice.
Who the assisted units were meant to serve
The resident eligibility rules were separate from the grantee eligibility rules. Section 811 PRA funds could support units set aside for extremely low-income households when at least one household member had a long-term disability and was between 18 and 61 years old at admission. The person with a disability also needed to be eligible for community-based long-term care services and supports under the state Medicaid plan, including a qualifying waiver or option, or under another federal or state targeted program that the state certified as comparable.
The notice allowed an applicant to identify a more specific target population. Examples included people who were institutionalized, at serious risk of institutionalization, homeless, or at risk of homelessness. A state could therefore design its referral and service system around documented local need, but it still had to meet the notice’s core population and income requirements.
The program’s purpose was community-based housing with access to supportive services. The rental assistance was not health insurance, emergency shelter, a medical benefit, or a guaranteed service package. The state and its partners had to explain how residents would be referred, selected, housed, and connected to services. A reader looking for a unit should ask the state housing agency or participating property about its current waitlist, referral rules, disability documentation, income limits, and service options rather than assuming that every Section 811 property uses the same intake process.
What a state application needed to show
The notice required three main application elements: standard federal forms and certifications, a budget, and narratives or other attachments. The required package included the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance and HUD-424B assurances and certifications. Applicants also needed the HUD-2880 Applicant/Recipient Disclosure/Update Report, the required lobbying forms when applicable, and the detailed HUD-92239 budget. HUD-426 was required when an applicant charged indirect costs.
The narrative package had to answer the notice’s rating factors and include an inter-agency partnership agreement. The notice also called for letters of intent under the specified application tab and required them to be on official letterhead and signed by an authorized official. A complete submission needed to identify the housing agency, its health and human services and Medicaid contacts, the amount requested, the requested administrative fee, and the number of units the PRA funds would support.
The FY 2026 review framework totaled 100 points. It considered the applicant and partner agencies’ experience, capacity, and readiness; the need and use of housing as a platform for quality of life; the soundness of the approach and implementation plan; and results, innovation, and evaluation. Applications first had to satisfy threshold requirements. Eligible applications scoring below 75 points were not eligible for selection, and HUD ranked qualifying applications until the available funding was exhausted.
How the closed application process worked
The following steps describe the FY 2026 process for archival purposes. They are not instructions to submit after the deadline.
- Confirm the applicant and partnership. The state housing agency had to verify that it administered LIHTC, HOME, or a comparable housing program and establish the required agreement with the state health and human services and Medicaid agencies. The state also had to resolve which housing agency would apply if more than one was interested.
- Register the organization. The applicant needed an active SAM.gov registration and a valid Unique Entity Identifier. It also needed an active Grants.gov registration, which required Login.gov access. The notice warned that SAM.gov registration could take several weeks.
- Find the package. The applicant searched Grants.gov for opportunity number HSG-2600-DC-0053, downloaded the application package and instructions, and reviewed the full notice before preparing forms or narratives.
- Build the submission. The applicant completed the federal forms, budget, partnership documentation, letters of intent, and rating-factor narratives. The notice capped the combined narrative length at 30 pages and specified formatting requirements, including double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman, letter-sized pages, one-inch margins, no columns, no endnotes or footnotes, page numbers, and tab organization.
- Submit electronically. The applicant submitted through Grants.gov and checked that the package passed the portal’s validation checks. A paper submission required HUD approval of an electronic-submission waiver for good cause; lack of SAM.gov registration was not enough by itself. HUD had to receive the application by the posted deadline. If Grants.gov rejected a timely electronic submission before the deadline, the notice provided a limited 24-hour correction and resubmission period, subject to the stated validation rules.
- Preserve the record. The applicant kept the Grants.gov tracking number, submitted files, partnership approvals, and confirmation records. If HUD issued a notice about a correctable technical error, the applicant had to respond within the period HUD specified. A correction did not cure a missed deadline or a failed threshold requirement.
What individuals should do instead
Someone seeking housing should not create a Grants.gov account and try to apply under this closed NOFO. That would not make the person an eligible Section 811 applicant. The practical route begins with the state housing agency, a participating affordable-housing property, or a state referral and long-term-services system that administers Section 811 PRA units after an award.
When a future state program or property list is announced, ask for the current written requirements. Useful questions include:
- Is the property or unit currently supported by Section 811 PRA?
- Is the waitlist open, and does the property accept direct applications or referrals only?
- What income limit, household composition, age, disability, and long-term-services rules apply?
- Which documents establish eligibility, and how often must income or disability information be renewed?
- Which supportive services are available, and which are voluntary?
- Are utilities, tenant rent, accessibility features, and reasonable accommodations handled under separate rules?
Keep copies of identification, income and benefit records, household information, disability or functional-support documentation, and any referral paperwork that the local administrator requests. Do not send personal medical records to a federal grants portal for this program. Ask the local housing administrator how to submit sensitive information securely.
Why this page remains useful
The closed FY 2026 notice is still useful to state agencies planning a future Section 811 PRA application because it shows the scale, partnership model, resident population, forms, review structure, and submission process HUD used in that cycle. It is also useful to advocates and prospective residents because it clarifies who controls the application pathway. The federal competition funds a state system; it does not operate as a single nationwide tenant application.
The historical label is intentional. HUD’s current funding page does not provide a new due date for the forecasted repost, so this page does not invent one. Before relying on any figure or requirement, open the latest HUD notice and its Grants.gov application package. A future notice may change the funding amount, target population, forms, scoring, property rules, or deadline.