Basic Laws on Housing and Community Development, Revised Through December 31, 1994 (end of 103d Congress)

powers, functions or duties under this or any other law, consistently with the national housing policy declared by this Act and in such manner as will facilitate sustained progress in attaining the national housing objective hereby established, and in such manner as will encourage and assist (1) the production of housing of sound standards of design, construction, livability, and size for adequate family life; (2) the reduction of the costs of housing without sacrifice of such sound standards; (3) the use of new designs, materials, techniques, and methods in residential construction, the use of standardized dimensions and methods of assembly of homebuilding materials and equipment, and the increase of efficiency in residential construction and maintenance; (4) the development of well-planned, integrated, residential neighborhoods and the development and redevelopment of communities; and (5) the stabilization of the housing industry at a high annual volume of residential construction. [42 U.S.C. 1441]

EXCERPT FROM DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN

DEVELOPMENT ACT

[Public Law 89-174; 79 Stat. 667; 42 U.S.C. 3531]

DECLARATION OF PURPOSE

SEC. 2. The Congress hereby declares that the general welfare and security of the Nation and the health and living standards of our people require, as a matter of national purpose, sound development of the Nation's communities and metropolitan areas in which the vast majority of its people live and work.

To carry out such purpose, and in recognition of the increasing importance of housing and urban development in our national life, the Congress finds that establishment of an executive department is desirable to achieve the best administration of the principal programs of the Federal Government which provide assistance for housing and for the development of the Nation's communities, to assist the President in achieving maximum coordination of the various Federal activities which have a major effect upon urban community, suburban, or metropolitan development; to encourage the solution of problems of housing, urban development, and mass transportation through State, county, town, village, or other local and private action, including promotion of interstate, regional, and metropolitan cooperation; to encourage the maximum contributions that may be made by vigorous private homebuilding and mortgage lending industries to housing, urban development, and the national economy; and to provide for full and appropriate consideration, at the national level, of the needs and interests of the Nation's communities and of the people who live and work in them. [42 U.S.C. 3531]

EXCERPTS FROM HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1968

[Public Law 90-448; 82 Stat. 476, 601; 12 U.S.C. 1701t and 42 U.S.C. 1441a et seq.]

DECLARATION OF POLICY

SEC. 2. The Congress affirms the national goal, as set forth in section 2 of the Housing Act of 1949, of "a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family.".

The Congress finds that this goal has not been fully realized for many of the Nation's lower income families; that this is a matter of grave national concern; and that there exist in the public and private sectors of the economy the resources and capabilities necessary to the full realization of this goal.

The Congress declares that in the administration of those housing programs authorized by this Act which are designed to assist families with incomes so low that they could not otherwise decently house themselves, and of other Government programs designed to assist in the provision of housing for such families, the highest priority and emphasis should be given to meeting the housing needs of those families for which the national goal has not become a reality; and in the carrying out of such programs there should be the fullest practicable utilization of the resources and capabilities of private enterprise and of individual self-help techniques. [12 U.S.C. 1701t]

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TITLE XVI-HOUSING GOALS AND ANNUAL HOUSING

REPORT

REAFFIRMATION OF GOAL

SEC. 1601. (a) The Congress finds that the supply of the Nation's housing is not increasing rapidly enough to meet the national housing goal, established in the Housing Act of 1949, of the "realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family". The Congress reaffirms this national housing goal and determines that it can be substantially achieved within the next decade by the construction or rehabilitation of twenty-six million housing units, six million of these for low and moderate income families.

(b) The Congress further finds that policies designed to contribute to the achievement of the national housing goal have not directed sufficient attention and resources to the preservation of existing housing and neighborhoods, that the deterioration and abandonment of housing for the Nation's lower income families has accelerated over the last decade, and that this acceleration has contributed to neighborhood disintegration and has partially negated the progress toward achieving the national housing goal which has been made primarily through new housing construction.

(c) The Congress declares that if the national housing goal is to be achieved, a greater effort must be made to encourage the preservation of existing housing and neighborhoods through such measures as housing preservation, moderate rehabilitation, and im

provements in housing management and maintenance, in conjunction with the provision of adequate municipal services. Such an effort should concentrate, to a greater extent than it has in the past, on housing and neighborhoods where deterioration is evident but has not yet become acute. [42 U.S.C. 1441a]

REPORT OUTLINING PLAN

SEC. 1602. Not later than January 15, 1969, the President shall make a report to the Congress setting forth a plan, to be carried out over a period of ten years (June 30, 1968, to June 30, 1978), for the elimination of all substandard housing and the realization of the goal referred to in section 1601. Such plan shall—

(1) indicate the number of new or rehabilitated housing units which it is anticipated, will have to be provided, with or without Government assistance, during each fiscal year of the ten-year period, in order to achieve the objectives of the plan, showing the number of such units which it is anticipated will have to be provided under each of the various Federal programs designed to assist in the provision of housing;

(2) indicate the reduction in the number of occupied substandard housing units which it is anticipated will have to occur during each fiscal year of the ten-year period in order to achieve the objectives of the plan;

(3) provide an estimate of the cost of carrying out the plan for each of the various Federal programs and for each fiscal year during the ten-year period to the extent that such costs. will be reflected in the Federal budget;

(4) make recommendations with respect to the legislative and administrative actions necessary or desirable to achieve the objectives of the plan; and

(5) provide such other pertinent data, estimates, and recommendations as the President deems advisable.

Such report shall, in addition, contain a projection of the residential mortgage market needs and prospects during the coming year, including an estimate of the requirements with respect to the availability, need, and flow of mortgage funds (particularly in declining urban and rural areas) during such year, together with such recommendations as may be deemed appropriate for encouraging the availability of such funds. [42 U.S.C. 1441b]

PERIODIC REPORTS

SEC. 1603. Not later than March 15 of each year beginning with calendar year 1981, the President shall transmit to the Congress a report which

(1) reviews the progress made in achieving housing production objectives during the preceding year, and in the event that proposed objectives are not achieved, identifies the reasons for the failure;

(2) projects the level, composition, and general location of production and rehabilitation activity during the current year and sets general objectives for such activity during the next year, and reassesses the availability of required resources;

(3) specifies Federal programs and policies to be implemented or recommended in order to achieve the objectives;

(4) updates estimates of the housing needs of lower income families, analyzing these needs, insofar as possible, by type of household, housing need, including households with specialized needs, and general location, and in addition, reassesses the capacity of each Federal housing program to serve the needs identified;

(5) reviews the progress made in achieving goals of conserving and upgrading older housing and neighborhoods, expanding homeownership and equal housing opportunities, and assuring reasonable shelter costs;

(6) reports on progress made toward developing new methods for measuring and monitoring progress in achieving these goals; and

(7) identifies legislative and administrative actions which will or should be adopted or implemented during the current year and, as feasible, the next year to support achievement of the goals. [42 U.S.C. 1441c]

EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF

1987

[Public Law 100-242; 101 Stat. 1819; 42 U.S.C. 5301 note]

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) FINDINGS.-The Congress finds that

(1) for the past 50 years, the Federal Government has taken the leading role in enabling the people of the Nation to be the best housed in the world, and recent reductions in Federal assistance have contributed to a deepening housing crisis for low- and moderate-income families;

(2) the efforts of the Federal Government have included a system of specialized lending institutions, favorable tax policies, construction assistance, mortgage insurance, loan guarantees, secondary markets, and interest and rental subsidies, that have enabled people to rent or buy affordable, decent, safe, and sanitary housing; and

(3) the tragedy of homelessness in urban and suburban communities across the Nation, involving a record number of people, dramatically demonstrates the lack of affordable residential shelter, and people living on the economic margins of our society (lower income families, the elderly, the working poor, and the deinstitutionalized) have few available alternatives for shelter.

(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act, therefore, is-

(1) to reaffirm the principle that decent and affordable shelter is a basic necessity, and the general welfare of the Nation and the health and living standards of its people require the addition of new housing units to remedy a serious shortage of housing units for all Americans, particularly for person of low and moderate income;

(2) to make the distribution of direct and indirect housing assistance more equitable by providing Federal assistance for the less affluent people of the Nation;