In October 2022, the Public Health Law Center (PHLC), along with a coalition of healthy housing advocates, submitted a petition for rulemaking (the Petition) asking the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to institutionalize regulatory changes in support of safe, climate-resilient public housing. Since we have not yet received a formal response to the Petition, we are now moving forward with the People's Docket, which is meant to gather public comments on critical issues in the electrification of public housing, and will ultimately be presented to HUD along with our renewed request for action on the Petition.
We are requesting comments from the public, including tenants and tenant organizations, housing providers, housing authorities, developers, landlords, trades, housing policy organizations, non-governmental organizations, environmental organizations, health organizations and others. Comments are due January 26, 2026.
Click here to provide a comment on The People’s Docket
Background on the Petition
The Petition formally requests that HUD promulgate new and revised rules to support equitable electrification and to improve residential health in public housing and other HUD-assisted programs. This broad coalition of healthy housing advocates affirmed that housing is a key social determinant of health, and that changes are urgently needed to reduce the health harms caused and exacerbated by housing within the agency’s control. The regulatory changes outlined in the Petition were designed to address significant public health risks and economic burdens associated with indoor air pollution, fossil fuel-fired appliances, and climate change. The proposed changes were also designed to avoid diminishing the nation’s public housing stock and avoid adding to residential energy bills.
Since then, coalition members have gathered as the HUD Working Group to participate in regular meetings and conversations to discuss the Petition and the unsafe conditions faced by residents every day. During the prior federal administration, the Working Group also had meaningful conversations with HUD staff. Now three years since we submitted the petition, the policy changes we promote are growing more imperative by the day. With the health of residents at stake, HUD cannot afford additional delay.
The goals of the Petition:
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improve indoor air quality for under resourced and overburdened communities
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address climate impacts that are disproportionately high in low-income communities b/c pollutant loads are higher in smaller homes;
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acknowledge low-income and communities of color suffer higher cumulative pollutant loads from traffic and industry
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increase climate preparedness & resiliency
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address resilience which refers to the building’s ability to remain operating and comfortable for occupants during utility service disruptions
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stop federal financing of fossil fuels
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reduce energy burden because despite the initial low costs of fossil fuels