EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND URBAN-RURAL RECOVERY ACT OF 1983 [Public Law 98-181; 97 Stat. 1191; 12 U.S.C. 1701z-6 note] HOUSING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT SEC. 225. (a) The Congress finds that (1) the Department of Health and Human Services spends in excess of $5,000,000,000 annually for housing in the form of allowances for shelter for public assistance recipients; (2) States administering the Department of Health and Human Services public assistance program often specify shelter allowances that have little relationship to the cost or the quality of the housing in which public assistance recipients live; (3) at least 30 per centum of public assistance recipients live in substandard housing; (4) the older rental buildings in which many public assistance recipients live are in those neighborhoods that need the assistance of the programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for preservation and rehabilitation; and (5) there is the potential for improving housing for many lower income families by coordinating State and local government efforts in order to assure that families receiving public assistance payments from the Department of Health and Human Services are able to live in decent, safe, and sanitary housing. (b) The purpose of this section, therefore, is to provide assistance to units of general local government and their designated agencies in order to develop a program that will (1) encourage the upgrading of housing occupied primarily by lower income families, including families receiving assistance under the aid for families with dependent children program established under title IV of the Social Security Act; and (2) provide for better coordination at the local level of the efforts to assist families receiving public assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services so that these families will be able to occupy affordable housing that is decent, safe, and sanitary and that, if necessary, is rehabilitated with funds provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. (c) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (hereafter referred to in this section as the "Secretary") shall, to the extent approved in appropriation Acts, establish and maintain a demonstration project to carry out the purpose described in subsection (b). (d) In carrying out such project, the Secretary shall make grants to units of general local government, or designated agencies thereof, to carry out administrative plans approved by the Secretary in accordance with subsection (e), and the Secretary may make grants to States to provide technical assistance for the purpose of assisting such units of general local government to develop and carry out such plans. (e)(1) Grants may be made to States and units of general local government and agencies thereof that apply for them in a manner and at a time determined by the Secretary and that, in the case of units of general local government and their agencies, are selected on the basis of an administrative plan described in such application. (2) No such administrative plan shall be selected by the Secretary unless it sets forth a plan for local government activities that are designed to (A) require or encourage owners of rental housing occupied by lower income families to bring such housing into compliance with local housing codes; (B) provide technical assistance, loans, or grants to assist owners described in subparagraph (A) to undertake cost-effective improvements of such housing; (C) work with the State to establish and implement a schedule of local shelter allowances for recipients of assistance under title IV of the Social Security Act based on building quality that will be applicable to buildings involved in this program; and (D) coordinate local housing inspection, housing rehabilitation loan or grant assistance, rental assistance, and social service programs for the purpose of improving the quality and affordability of housing for lower income families. (3) Funds received from any grant made by the Secretary to a unit of general local government shall be made available for use according to the administrative plans and may be used for (A) technical assistance or financial assistance to property owners to upgrade housing projects described in paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection; (B) temporary rental assistance to families who live in buildings assisted under this program and who are eligible for, but are not receiving, assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, except that such families shall not include families receiving assistance under title IV of the Social Security Act, and the amount of such rental assistance may not exceed 20 per centum of each grant received under this section; (C) housing counseling and referral and other housing related services; (D) expenses incurred in administering the program carried out with funds received under this section, except that such expenses may not exceed 10 per centum of the grant received under this section; and (E) other appropriate activities that are consistent with the purposes of this section and that are approved by the Secretary. (f) Any recipient of a grant from the Secretary under this section. shall agree to (1) contribute to the program an amount equal to 15 per centum of the funds received from the Secretary under this section, and the Secretary shall permit the recipient to meet this requirement by the contribution of the value of services carried out specifically in connection with the program assisted under this section; (2) permit the Secretary and the General Accounting Office to audit its books in order to assure that the funds received under this section are used in accordance with the section; and (3) other terms and conditions prescribed by the Secretary for the purpose of carrying out this section in an effective and efficient manner. (g) In making grants available under this section, the Secretary shall select as recipients at least 20 units of general local government (or their designated agencies). The selection of proposals for funding shall be based on criteria that result in a selection of projects that will enable the Secretary to carry out the purpose of this section in an effective and efficient manner and provide a sufficient amount of data necessary to make an evaluation of the demonstration project carried out under this section. (h)(1) Not later than June 1, 1984, the Secretary shall transmit to the Congress an interim report on the implementation of the demonstration under this section. (2) The Secretary shall transmit, not later than October 1, 1985, to both Houses of the Congress a detailed report concerning the findings and conclusions that have been reached by the Secretary as a result of carrying out this section, along with any legislative recommendations that the Secretary determines are necessary. (i) To carry out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $10,000,000 during fiscal year 1984, and not to exceed $15,000,000 during fiscal year 1985, to remain available until expended. Approved November 30, 1983. EXCERPT FROM THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [Public Law 95-557; 92 Stat. 2088; 12 U.S.C. 1701z-11 and 1701z-12] MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION OF HUD-OWNED MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROJECTS SEC. 203. (a) It is the policy of the United States that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (hereinafter referred to as the "Secretary") shall manage and dispose of multifamily housing projects which are owned by the Secretary in a manner consistent with the National Housing Act and this section. The purpose of the property management and disposition program of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall be to manage and dispose of projects in a manner which will protect the financial interests of the Federal Government and be less costly to the Federal Government than other reasonable alternatives by which the Secretary can further the goals of— (1) preserving the housing units so that at least those units which are occupied by low- and moderate-income persons or which are vacant, at the time of acquisition, are available to and affordable by such persons; (2) preserving and revitalizing residential neighborhoods; (3) maintaining the existing housing stock in a decent, safe, and sanitary condition; (4) minimizing the involuntary displacement of tenants; (6) maintaining the project for the purpose of providing rental or cooperative housing. The Secretary, in determining the manner by which a project shall be managed or disposed of, may balance competing goals relating to individual projects in a manner which will further the achievement of the overall purpose of this section. (b) The Secretary is authorized, in carrying out this section (1) to dispose of a multifamily housing project owned by the Secretary on a negotiated, competitive bid, or other basis, on such terms as the Secretary deems appropriate considering the low- and moderate-income character of the project, including the number of units in the project occupied by low- and moderate-income persons, and the requirements of subsection (a) of this section, to a purchaser determined by the Secretary to be capable of (A) satisfying the conditions of the disposition; (B) implementing a sound financial and physical management program; (C) responding to the needs of the tenants and working cooperatively with resident organizations; (D) providing adequate organizational, staff and financial resources to the project; and (E) meeting such other requirements as the Secretary may determine; and (2) to contract for management services for a multifamily housing project, owned by the Secretary, on a negotiated, competitive bid, or other basis at a price determined by the Secretary to be reasonable, with a manager the Secretary has determined is capable of (A) implementing a sound financial and physical management program, (B) responding to the needs of the tenants and working cooperatively with resident organizations, (C) providing adequate organizational, staff, and other resources to implement a management program determined by the Secretary, and (D) meeting such other requirements as the Secretary may determine. (c) Except where the Secretary has determined on a case-by-case basis that it would be clearly inappropriate, given the manner by which an individual project is to be managed or disposed of pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary shall seek to(1) maintain all occupied multifamily housing projects owned by the Secretary in a decent, safe, sanitary condition; (2) to the greatest extent possible, maintain full occupancy in all multifamily housing projects owned by the Secretary; and (3) maintain the project for purposes of providing rental or cooperative housing for the longest feasible period. (d)(1) Whenever tenants will be displaced as a result of the disposition of, or repairs to, a multifamily housing project owned by the Secretary, the Secretary shall identify tenants who will be displaced, and shall notify all such tenants of their pending displacement and of any relocation assistance which may be available. (2) The Secretary shall assure for any such tenant (who continues to meet applicable qualification standards) the right (A) to return, whenever possible, to a repaired unit; (B) except for tenants of above-moderate income, to occupy a unit in another multifamily housing project owned by the Secretary; (C) except for tenants of above-moderate income, to obtain housing assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937; or (D) to receive any other available relocation assistance as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. (e) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, whenever the Secretary is requested to accept assignment of a mortgage insured by the Secretary which covers a multifamily housing project, and the Secretary determines that partial payment would be less costly to the Federal Government than other reasonable alternatives for maintaining the low- and moderate-income character of the project, the Secretary may request the mortgagee in lieu of assignment, to accept partial payment of the claim under the mortgage insurance contract and to recast the mortgage, under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may determine. As a condition to a partial claim payment under this section, the mortgagor shall agree to repay to the Secretary the amount of such payment and such obligation shall be secured by a second mortgage on the property on such terms and conditions as the Secretary may determine. (f) For the purpose of this section, the term "multifamily housing project" means any multifamily rental housing project which is, or prior to acquisition by the Secretary was, assisted or insured under the National Housing Act, or was subject to a loan under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 or section 312 of the Housing Act of 1964, or which is acquired by the Secretary pursuant to any other provision of law. |