Agency says effort will enhance search results and reduce misinformation
The Federal Housing Administration’s Office of Single Family Housing (OSFH) has officially deactivated and archived nearly 600 outdated Mortgagee Letters (MLs), many of which had remained listed in HUD’s active policy directories despite being expired or superseded.
The move follows a comprehensive review of documents on HUD’s Client Information Policy System (HUDCLIPS), where some MLs, dating as far back as 1978, were still accessible in the active online policy directory. According to FHA, this created confusion for lenders and other users attempting to locate accurate and up-to-date guidance on Single Family Housing policies.
“This streamlining effort will help improve the accuracy of information received from manual and AI-generated web searches about FHA Single Family policy, programs, and technology modernization efforts,” the OSFH said in a news release.
The outdated MLs have now been relocated to HUDCLIPS’ inactive or superseded webpages to ensure that only current and applicable policies are listed under the agency’s active guidance.
The OSFH noted that improvements in artificial intelligence and search capabilities played a role in accelerating this policy cleanup, as AI tools are increasingly used to extract regulatory content from web sources. Ensuring that outdated MLs are not mistakenly indexed as active policy helps reduce errors in interpretation and compliance by both human users and automated systems.
This effort supports the Trump administration’s goal of “increasing government efficiency,” the OSFH claimed.
Earlier this year, HUD postponed implementation of its updated Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards (MHCSS), pushing the effective date from March 17 to September 15.
According to HUD, the delay is intended to “give regulatory relief and additional time for industry stakeholders to make needed modifications to manufactured home floor plans and other design compliance requirements” before those changes take effect.
Read next: MBA pushes HUD to reevaluate environmental rules in housing development
These updates, originally finalized in September 2024 under the Biden administration, include 90 regulatory revisions—ranging from energy-efficient appliance requirements to new roof designs and the introduction of four-unit manufactured homes, aimed at expanding affordable housing options.
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