Dear Maine CoC Members and 2026 Project Applicants,
I wanted to provide a brief update on the FY2026 Continuum of Care (CoC) NOFO and where things currently stand.
On August 7, 2026, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island vacated the FY2026 CoC NOFO. As a result, HUD has confirmed that the 2026 NOFO and the previous August 26 application deadline are no longer in effect and that HUD is not currently accepting applications under the FY2026 NOFO.
HUD has appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and has requested a stay of the District Court’s ruling. The First Circuit has requested additional materials and clarifications related to HUD’s statutory authority, and we are awaiting further action from the Court.
What this means for Maine right now:
- There is currently no active FY2026 CoC NOFO or federal application deadline.
- No additional action is required from Maine project applicants at this time.
- The Maine CoC will preserve the applications, scoring, ranking work, and other materials already completed through our local process.
- We will evaluate what, if anything, needs to be revised once HUD issues new guidance or a replacement NOFO and/or the courts provide additional direction.
- We will communicate any significant developments as soon as we have reliable information.
We recognize that organizations across Maine have invested considerable time and effort preparing applications and participating in the local competition. We also recognize that the court actions may require changes that impact our prior work on this application. Our goal is to preserve as much of the work as possible while ensuring that Maine is prepared to respond quickly when the federal process becomes clear so that we can secure as much COC funding as possible and provide much needed housing and services to our most vulnerable neighbors.
For now, the Maine CoC’s FY2026 competition remains paused.
We will continue monitoring HUD and the litigation closely and will provide another update when there is a substantive change.
Thank you for your patience and for your continued work serving people experiencing homelessness throughout Maine.
Dean Klein
Executive Director
Maine Continuum of Care