42 U.S.C. § 13603 — Establishment of criteria for occupancy

Page 8605 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 13603 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘purposes of section’’. (c) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out section 13572(a)(2) of this title— (1) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2007; (2) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; (3) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; (4) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and (5) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. (d) Applicability No technology, or level of emission reduction under subsection (a)(2) shall be treated as ade- quately demonstrated for purpose of Section 1 7411 of this title, achievable for purposes of sec- tion 7479 of this title, or achievable in practice for purposes of section 7501 of this title solely by reason of the use of such technology, or the achievement of such emission reduction, by one or more facilities receiving assistance under sec- tion 13572(a)(2) of this title. (Pub. L. 102–486, title XXXI, § 3104, as added Pub. L. 109–58, title IV, § 421(a), Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 759.) CHAPTER 135—RESIDENCY AND SERVICE REQUIREMENTS IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING SUBCHAPTER I—STANDARDS AND OBLIGATIONS OF RESIDENCY IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING Sec. 13601. Compliance by owners as condition of Federal assistance. 13602. Compliance with criteria for occupancy as re- quirement for tenancy. 13603. Establishment of criteria for occupancy. 13604. Assisted applications. SUBCHAPTER II—AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE PREF- ERENCES FOR ELDERLY RESIDENTS AND UNITS FOR DISABLED RESIDENTS IN CERTAIN SECTION 8 ASSISTED HOUSING 13611. Authority. 13612. Reservation of units for disabled families. 13613. Secondary preferences. 13614. General availability of units. 13615. Preference within groups. 13616. Prohibition of evictions. 13617. Treatment of covered section 8 housing not subject to elderly preference. 13618. Treatment of other federally assisted hous- ing. 13619. ‘‘Covered section 8 housing’’ defined. 13620. Study. SUBCHAPTER III—SERVICE COORDINATORS FOR ELDERLY AND DISABLED RESIDENTS OF FED- ERALLY ASSISTED HOUSING 13631. Requirement to provide service coordinators. 13632. Grants for costs of providing service coordi- nators in certain federally assisted housing. SUBCHAPTER IV—GENERAL PROVISIONS 13641. Definitions. 13642. Applicability. 13643. Regulations. SUBCHAPTER V—SAFETY AND SECURITY IN PUBLIC AND ASSISTED HOUSING 13661. Screening of applicants for federally assisted housing. Sec. 13662. Termination of tenancy and assistance for il- legal drug users and alcohol abusers in fed- erally assisted housing. 13663. Ineligibility of dangerous sex offenders for ad- mission to public housing. 13664. Definitions. SUBCHAPTER I—STANDARDS AND OBLIGA- TIONS OF RESIDENCY IN FEDERALLY AS- SISTED HOUSING § 13601. Compliance by owners as condition of Federal assistance The Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop- ment shall require owners of federally assisted housing (as such term is defined in section 13641(2) of this title), as a condition of receiving housing assistance for such housing, to comply with the procedures and requirements estab- lished under this subchapter. (Pub. L. 102–550, title VI, § 641, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3820.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Chapter applicable upon expiration of 6-month period beginning Oct. 28, 1992, except as otherwise provided, see section 13642 of this title. § 13602. Compliance with criteria for occupancy as requirement for tenancy In selecting tenants for occupancy of units in federally assisted housing, an owner of such housing shall utilize the criteria for occupancy in federally assisted housing established by the Secretary, by regulation, under section 13603 of this title. If an owner determines that an appli- cant for occupancy in the housing does not meet such criteria, the owner may deny such appli- cant occupancy. (Pub. L. 102–550, title VI, § 642, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3821.) § 13603. Establishment of criteria for occupancy (a) Task force (1) Establishment To assist the Secretary in establishing rea- sonable criteria for occupancy in federally as- sisted housing, the Secretary shall establish a task force to review all rules, policy state- ments, handbooks, technical assistance memo- randa, and other relevant documents issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Devel- opment on the standards and obligations gov- erning residency in federally assisted housing and make recommendations to the Secretary for the establishment of such criteria for occu- pancy. (2) Members The Secretary shall appoint members to the task force, which shall include individuals rep- resenting the interests of owners, managers, and tenants of federally assisted housing, pub- lic housing agencies, owner and tenant advo- cacy organizations, persons with disabilities and disabled families, organizations assisting homeless individuals, and social service, men- Page 8606 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 13603 tal health, and other nonprofit servicer pro- viders who serve federally assisted housing. (3) Compensation Members of the task force shall not receive compensation for serving on the task force. (4) Duties The task force shall— (A) review all existing standards, regula- tions, and guidelines governing occupancy and tenant selection policies in federally as- sisted housing; (B) review all existing standards, regula- tions, and guidelines governing lease provi- sions and other rules of occupancy for feder- ally assisted housing; (C) determine whether the standards, regu- lations, and guidelines reviewed under sub- paragraphs (A) and (B) provide sufficient guidance to owners and managers of feder- ally assisted housing to— (i) develop procedures for preselection inquiries sufficient to determine the ca- pacity of applicants to comply with rea- sonable lease terms and conditions of oc- cupancy; (ii) utilize leases that prohibit behavior which endangers the health or safety of other tenants or violates the rights of other tenants to peaceful enjoyment of the premises; (iii) assess the need to provide, and ap- propriate measures for providing, reason- able accommodations required under the Fair Housing Act [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.] and section 794 of title 29 for persons with various types of disabilities; and (iv) comply with civil rights laws and regulations; (D) propose criteria for occupancy in feder- ally assisted housing, standards for the rea- sonable performance and behavior of tenants of federally assisted housing, compliance standards consistent with the reasonable ac- commodation of the requirements of the Fair Housing Act [42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.] and section 794 of title 29, standards for compli- ance with other civil rights laws, and proce- dures for the eviction of tenants not com- plying with such standards consistent with sections 1437d and 1437f of this title; and (E) report to the Congress and the Sec- retary of Housing and Urban Development pursuant to paragraph (7). (5) Procedure In carrying out its duties, the task force shall hold public hearings and receive written comments for a period of not less than 60 days. (6) Support The Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel- opment shall cooperate fully with the task force and shall provide support staff and office space to assist the task force in carrying out its duties. (7) Reports Not later than 3 months after October 28, 1992, the task force shall submit to the Sec- retary and the Congress a preliminary report describing its initial actions. Not later than 6 months after October 28, 1992, the task force shall submit a report to the Secretary and the Congress, which shall include— (A) a description of its findings; and (B) recommendations to revise such stand- ards, regulations, and guidelines to provide accurate and complete guidance to owners and managers of federally assisted housing as determined necessary under paragraph (4). (b) Rulemaking (1) Authority The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish criteria for selection of tenants for occupancy in federally assisted housing and lease provi- sions for such housing. (2) Standards The criteria shall provide sufficient guid- ance to owners and managers of federally as- sisted housing to enable them to (A) select tenants capable of complying with reasonable lease terms, (B) utilize leases prohibiting be- havior which endangers the health or safety of others or violates the right of other tenants to peaceful enjoyment of the premises, (C) com- ply with legal requirements to make reason- able accommodations for persons with disabil- ities, and (D) comply with civil rights laws. The criteria shall be consistent with the re- quirements under subsections (k) and (l) of section 1437d of this title and section 1437f(d)(1) of this title and any similar con- tract and lease requirements for federally as- sisted housing. In establishing the criteria, the Secretary shall take into consideration the report of the task force under subsection (a)(7). (3) Procedure Not later than 90 days after the submission of the final report under subsection (a)(7), the Secretary shall issue a notice of proposed rule- making of the regulations under this sub- section providing for notice and opportunity for public comment regarding the regulations, pursuant to the provisions of section 553 of title 5 (notwithstanding subsections (a)(2), (b)(B), and (d)(3) of such section). The duration of the period for public comment under such section 553 shall not be less than 60 days. The Secretary shall issue final regulations under this subsection not later than the expiration of the 60-day period beginning upon the con- clusion of the comment period, which shall take effect upon issuance. (Pub. L. 102–550, title VI, § 643, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3821.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Fair Housing Act, referred to in subsec. (a)(4)(C)(iii), (D), is title VIII of Pub. L. 90–284, Apr. 11, 1968, 82 Stat. 81, which is classified principally to sub- chapter I (§ 3601 et seq.) of chapter 45 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 3601 of this title and Tables. Page 8607 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 13614 § 13604. Assisted applications (a) Authority The Secretary shall provide that any indi- vidual or family applying for occupancy in fed- erally assisted housing may include in the appli- cation for the housing the name, address, phone number, and other relevant information of a family member, friend, or social, health, advo- cacy, or other organization, and that the owner shall treat such information as confidential. (b) Maintenance of information The Secretary shall require the owner of any federally assisted housing receiving an applica- tion including such information to maintain such information for any applicants who become tenants of the housing, for the purposes of facili- tating contact by the owner with such person or organization to assist in providing any services or special care for the tenant and assist in re- solving any relevant tenancy issues arising dur- ing the tenancy of such tenant. (c) Limitations An owner of federally assisted housing may not require any individual or family applying for occupancy in the housing to provide the in- formation described in subsection (a). (Pub. L. 102–550, title VI, § 644, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3823.) SUBCHAPTER II—AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE PREFERENCES FOR ELDERLY RESI- DENTS AND UNITS FOR DISABLED RESI- DENTS IN CERTAIN SECTION 8 ASSISTED HOUSING § 13611. Authority Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner of a covered section 8 housing project (as such term is defined in section 13619 of this title) designed primarily for occupancy by elder- ly families may, in selecting tenants for units in the project that become available for occupancy, give preference to elderly families who have ap- plied for occupancy in the housing, subject to the requirements of this subchapter. (Pub. L. 102–550, title VI, § 651, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3823.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This subchapter, referred to in text, was in the origi- nal ‘‘this subtitle’’, meaning subtitle D of title VI of Pub. L. 102–550, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3823, which en- acted this subchapter and amended section 1437f of this title. § 13612. Reservation of units for disabled families (a) Requirement Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for any project for which an owner gives pref- erence in occupancy to elderly families pursuant to section 13611 of this title, such owner shall (subject to sections 13613, 13614, and 13615 of this title) reserve units in the project for occupancy only by disabled families who are not elderly or near-elderly families (and who have applied for occupancy in the housing) in the number deter- mined under subsection (b). (b) Number of units Each owner required to reserve units in a project for occupancy under subsection (a) shall reserve a number of units in the project that is not less than the lesser of— (1) the number of units equivalent to the higher of— (A) the percentage of units in the project that were occupied by such disabled families upon October 28, 1992; or (B) the percentage of units in the project that were occupied by such families upon January 1, 1992; or (2) 10 percent of the number of units in the project. (Pub. L. 102–550, title VI, § 652, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3823.) § 13613. Secondary preferences (a) Insufficient elderly families If an owner of a covered section 8 housing project in which elderly families are given a preference for occupancy pursuant to section 13611 of this title determines (in accordance with regulations established by the Secretary) that there are insufficient numbers of elderly fami- lies who have applied for occupancy in the hous- ing to fill all the units in the project not re- served under section 13612 of this title, the owner may give preference for occupancy of such units to disabled families who are near-el- derly families and have applied for occupancy in the housing. (b) Insufficient non-elderly disabled families If an owner of a covered section 8 housing project in which elderly families are given a preference for occupancy pursuant to section 13611 of this title determines (in accordance with regulations established by the Secretary) that there are insufficient numbers of disabled fami- lies who are not elderly or near-elderly families and have applied for occupancy in the housing to fill all the units in the project reserved under section 13612 of this title, the owner may give preference for occupancy of units so reserved to disabled families who are near-elderly families and have applied for occupancy in the housing. (Pub. L. 102–550, title VI, § 653, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3824.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Covered section 8 housing, referred to in text, is de- fined in section 13619 of this title. § 13614. General availability of units If an owner of a covered section 8 housing project in which disabled families who are near- elderly families are given a preference for occu- pancy pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of sec- tion 13613 of this title determines (in accordance with regulations established by the Secretary) that there are an insufficient number of such families to fill all the units in the project for which the preference is applicable, the owner shall make such units generally available for oc- cupancy by families who have applied, and are