Public Housing Rent Policies; Guidance Pending Publication of Final Rule on Admissions and Occupancy Requirements

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4434-N-03]

Public Housing Rent Policies; Guidance Pending Publication of

Final Rule on Admissions and Occupancy Requirements

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian

Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Guidance.

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SUMMARY: This document provides guidance on certain admissions and

occupancy requirements for those public housing agencies that must

implement changes in the United States Housing Act of 1937 regarding

rents that are effective October 1, 1999.

DATES: Effective Date: August 6, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Patricia Arnaudo, Senior Program

Manager, Office of Public and Assisted Housing Delivery, Department of

Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh Street, SW., Room 4112,

[[Page 42957]]

Washington, DC, 20410; telephone (202) 708-0744, or the Public and

Indian Housing Resource Center at 1-800-955-2232. (With the exception

of the telephone number for the PIH Resource Center, these are not

toll-free telephone numbers.) Persons with hearing or speech

impairments may access these numbers via TTY by calling the Federal

Information Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

On February 18, 1999 (64 FR 8192), HUD published a Notice of

Initial Guidance on the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of

1998 (Pub.L. 105-276, 112 Stat. 2461, approved October 21, 1998) (the

``Public Housing Reform Act''). The Public Housing Reform Act makes

significant changes to the rents charged for public housing units (see

sections 508 and 523 of the statute). These changes are the subject of

HUD's rulemaking on ``Changes to Admission and Occupancy Requirements

in Pubic Housing and Section 8 Housing Assistance Programs.'' HUD's

proposed rule on this subject was published on April 30, 1999 (64 FR

23460), and the 60-day public comment period on this rule closed on

June 29, 1999. Certain provisions of the Public Housing Reform Act are

effective October 1, 1999, notwithstanding whether HUD has issued rules

for effect on these statutory provisions. The statutory provisions that

become effective October 1, 1999, include the changes to rents charged

for public housing units.

HUD realizes the importance of this April 30, 1999 rule to public

housing agencies (PHAs) in setting and describing their rent policies,

as required by the PHA plans. HUD is making every effort to complete

this rulemaking as quickly as possible, but believes that given the

time to carefully review, consider and address the public comments

received on the April 30, 1999 proposed rule, the earliest publication

date will probably occur near the end of August. HUD recognizes that an

end-of-August publication may not provide sufficient time for PHAs to

obtain the guidance they need to put these rent provisions into effect

for new admissions, re-examinations, and recertifications after October

1, 1999. Therefore, HUD is issuing this guidance now on rent

determinations.

Guidance on Rent Provisions

1. As indicated in HUD's Notice of Initial Guidance, published

February 18, 1999, the new rent provisions are effective for families

as they are admitted, re-examined or recertified, on or after October

1, 1999.

2. In determining annual income and adjusted income (e.g., required

earned income disallowance or the alternative individual savings

account, exclusions versus deductions, permissive deductions) for such

families, Secs. 5.603, 5.611, 5.612 and 5.614(a)(2) and the

corresponding sections of the preamble to the April 30, 1999 proposed

rule serve as guidance for these determinations, with the exception of

earned income of minors. PHAs must take all necessary steps to ensure

that families eligible for new mandatory deductions receive those

deductions.

3. For addressing earned income of minors, the existing regulations

which exclude earned income of minors from the definition of income (24

CFR 5.609(c)(1)) serve as the appropriate guidance.

4. For choice of rents (flat rents, income-based rents), Sec. 5.614

and the corresponding section of the preamble to the April 30, 1999

proposed rule serve as guidance for choice of rent requirements. As

further clarification, the market value of a unit on which flat rents

are based must be a rent which would allow the unit to be successfully

rented if the development were not public housing (neither lower nor

higher). In addition to the documentation required by the April 30,

1999 proposed rule, regarding the calculation and establishment of flat

rents, PHAs should keep records documenting specific offers to families

of the dollar amounts of tenant rent under each option.

PHAs that follow this guidance will not be penalized for any

changes made by HUD to the proposed rule provisions at the final rule

stage. If changes are made at the final rule stage to these provisions,

the final rule will provide adequate time for PHAs to adjust their

policies.

Dated: August 2, 1999.

Deborah Vincent,

General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.

[FR Doc. 99-20298 Filed 8-5-99; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210-33-P