HUD Data Privacy Act of 2026
HB 8814, the HUD Data Privacy Act of 2026, would restrict the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development from authorizing the exchange of information about an individual’s immigration status. The bill requires HUD to adopt a policy limiting the sharing of information collected from people receiving housing assistance to uses necessary to verify benefit eligibility or make benefit determinations.
The measure applies to information gathered in connection with federal housing assistance, including public housing funding under Section 9 of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 and tenant-based or project-based rental assistance under Section 8. It also bars recipient agencies and third-party entities from using the information for any purpose beyond eligibility or benefit determination, while allowing exceptions for deidentified research or statistical use, ongoing criminal investigations, and imminent threats to life. The bill further states that nothing in it should be read to permit sharing for civil immigration enforcement.
If enacted, the bill would narrow how HUD and related entities may share immigration-status information connected to federal housing programs, effectively creating a statutory privacy limitation for housing-assistance records. It would affect HUD, other agencies, and third-party contractors or data recipients that handle housing-assistance information, and it would limit the use of such data for immigration-related purposes while preserving eligibility verification and certain law-enforcement and emergency exceptions.
The bill appears to be framed as a privacy and housing-access measure, with support from a group of Democratic sponsors including members from New York, California, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Michigan. No committee transcript or vote record is available, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate in the provided materials. Based on the text and sponsorship, the overall tone is protective of tenant privacy and cautious about immigration-status data sharing.
The main point of contention is likely the restriction on sharing immigration-status information, especially the explicit prohibition on using the data for civil immigration enforcement. Supporters appear to favor limiting data use to eligibility determinations and protecting housing recipients’ privacy, while potential opponents may argue that the bill could impede immigration enforcement or interagency information sharing. The bill’s exceptions for criminal investigations and imminent threats suggest an effort to balance privacy concerns with public safety and law-enforcement needs.