HUD Proposes a FFRMS Rollback. What’s At Stake?

Written By John Doyle

On July 10, 2026, HUD published a proposed rule that would effectively roll back the most consequential floodplain management regulation it has issued in decades.

The rule would undo most of the April 2024 final rule that implemented the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard (FFRMS) across HUD programs.

A Quick History: How We Got Here.

FFRMS Regulatory Timeline Federal Flood Risk Management Standard · 2015–2026 Democrat Republican Interim / Waiver 2015 The Obama FFRMS Order. Executive Order 13690, issued in January 2015, established the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard and directed federal agencies to use an expanded, “climate- informed” definition of the floodplain rather than the traditional 1% annual chance (100-year) floodplain boundary drawn on FEMA flood maps. For HUD, this meant the agency was required to consider flood risk that goes beyond what FEMA’s National Flood Insurance Program maps currently show. 2017 Rescinded by Trump. EO 13807 revoked EO 13690 in August 2017, putting the FFRMS framework on hold. 2021 Reinstated by Biden. EO 14030 brought back EO 13690 in May 2021, setting HUD back on the path toward implementing FFRMS. Apr 2024 The Final Rule. After years of rulemaking, HUD published its FFRMS final rule. It required a multi-tiered hierarchy of approaches for defining the regulatory floodplain, imposed new minimum elevation standards, and substantially revised HUD’s environmental review regulations. Jan 2025 Rescinded Again. On his first day back in office, President Trump signed EO 14148, revoking EO 14030 and the executive authority underpinning the 2024 FFRMS rule. 2025–2026 Emergency Waivers. While HUD worked on formal rulemaking, it issued a one-year waiver of the 2024 rule’s two-foot elevation requirement for single-family housing under FHA, then extended that waiver another year in February 2026. The proposed rule would codify those waiver determinations permanently. Jul 10, 2026 NEW Today’s Proposed Rule. HUD now proposes to formally rescind most of the 2024 rule and restore its pre-2024 floodplain regulations. Comment deadline: September 8, 2026 · 91 FR 42685

What Was So Confusing About the 2024 FFRMS Rule?

Practitioners raised serious concerns during the 2024 rulemaking comment period, and the complaints were well-founded.

All Chapter 15 Section 8 Renewals with Capital Repairs, including non-FHA were required to comply with the new FFRMS as of January 1, 2025.

At a minimum, this meant stepping through a new and half-baked process to determine the FFRMS floodplain:

  • Use the HUD approved CISA maps (not available and would NOT be available by January 1, 2025).

  • Use the 500-year floodplain where it is mapped on FEMA FIRMs (not available for majority of US, and requires careful review of FIRM and Flood Insurance Study to distinguish between where 500-year floodplain is not present versus not mapped)

  • Use Freeboard Value Approach (FVA), which relies on either Base Flood Elevations (BFE) plus two feet OR where BFEs are unavailable, using USGS topo maps to estimate BFEs

For existing HUD-assisted multifamily properties, the consequences were even more acute.

As HUD itself now acknowledges, the majority of properties in its portfolio that sit in the FFRMS floodplain are garden-style developments that are physically difficult or impossible to elevate.

In other words, a majority of the HUD portfolio would be impossible to finance for rehab or preservation.

What the Proposed Rule Would Do

Revert to the 1% Annual Chance Floodplain Standard

The most significant change: HUD would return to using the standard 1% annual chance (100-year) floodplain as defined by FEMA for purposes of the 8-step decision-making process under 24 CFR Part 55. The CISA approach — and the entire FFRMS floodplain hierarchy — would be eliminated.

Scrap the Elevated Elevation Requirements for Single-Family Housing

The 2024 rule required the lowest floor of new one-to-four-unit FHA-insured and public housing construction to be built two feet above base flood elevation. This proposed rule would eliminate that requirement, returning to the longstanding standard of building at or above the BFE (consistent with NFIP requirements). The codification of HUD's 2025–2026 waivers reflects this intent.

Preserve Some Improvements from the 2024 Rule

Not everything from 2024 gets cut. HUD proposes to retain several provisions it considers genuinely useful:

  • Floodway flexibilities (§ 55.1(c)): Expanded flexibility for HUD assistance in floodways, and a new "alternate processing" pathway (§ 55.29) for existing HUD-assisted properties that cannot be practically relocated.

  • Updated terminology: "1% annual chance floodplain" (instead of "100-year floodplain"), "0.2% annual chance floodplain" (instead of "500-year floodplain"), Coastal A Zone, and impervious surface area definitions are retained for clarity.

  • Categorical exclusion for minor rehab (§ 50.20(a)(2)(i)): The 2024 expansion of the categorical exclusion for minor rehabilitation of 1-to-4-unit properties in floodplains is kept

  • Small-scale infrastructure exception: A streamlined path for streets, curbs, and gutters that avoids the full 8-step process.

  • Online public notice option: Public notices can be posted on government websites as an alternative to local newspaper publication.

  • Decision-making process clarifications: aligning with the original intent of Executive Orders 11988 and 11990.

What This Means for PBRA and Affordable Multifamily Owners

For Section 8 PBRA properties undergoing substantial rehabilitation: The rescission removes the most burdensome elevation and floodplain determination requirements from the environmental review process. If your property sits in the standard FEMA 1% floodplain and you were previously worried about FFRMS expanding that definition to capture your site, that concern is resolved

For HAP renewals and mark-to-market transactions: Environmental review requirements at the deal level are not typically triggered by HAP renewals alone

For LIHTC Year-15 exits and preservation deals with HUD financing: Any deal involving an FHA-insured mortgage will see meaningful compliance simplification.

For garden-style properties in flood zones: The prior rule would have made substantial improvement financing at those properties deeply complicated. This rule restores viability.

What to Watch

This is a proposed rule, not final. The 60-day comment period closes September 8, 2026. Several dynamics are worth tracking:

  • Litigation risk. The 2024 FFRMS rule was supported by environmental and climate advocacy organizations.

  • Retained provisions. While the core FFRMS rollback is straightforward, the retained provisions from 2024 represent meaningful changes from the old regulatory framework. These are not a full reversion to pre-2024 rules.

  • NFIP alignment. The proposed rule's explicit codification of NFIP elevation requirements for non-critical actions is new regulatory text. Practitioners should be aware that the baseline elevation standard (BFE) remains in place.

  • Critical actions. The 0.2% annual chance floodplain standard for critical actions (hospitals, housing for vulnerable populations) remains in place.

Comments are due September 8, 2026. They can be submitted electronically at regulations.gov (reference Docket No. FR-6527-P-01) or by mail to HUD's Regulations Division.





John Doyle
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