Compilation of Basic Laws on Housing and Community Development Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Financial Services

funds, including the licensing, bonding, and insurance needed to operate such enterprises;

(5) resident management activities and resident participation activities; and

(6) other activities designed to improve the economic selfsufficiency of residents.

(1) IN GENERAL.-Except for amounts provided under subsection (d), the Secretary may distribute amounts made available under this section on the basis of a competition or a formula, as appropriate.

(2) FACTORS FOR DISTRIBUTION.-Factors for distribution under paragraph (1) shall include

(A) the demonstrated capacity of the applicant to carry out a program of supportive services or resident empowerment activities;

(B) the ability of the applicant to leverage additional resources for the provision of services; and

(C) the extent to which the grant will result in a high quality program of supportive services or resident empowerment activities.

(d) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.-The Secretary may not make any grant under this section to any applicant unless the applicant supplements amounts made available under this section with funds from sources other than this section in an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of the grant amount. Such supplemental amounts may include

(1) funds from other Federal sources;

(2) funds from any State, local, or tribal government

sources;

(3) funds from private contributions; and

(4) the value of any in-kind services or administrative costs provided to the applicant.

(e) FUNDING FOR RESIDENT ORGANIZATIONS.-To the extent that there are a sufficient number of qualified applications for assistance under this section, not less than 25 percent of any amounts appropriated to carry out this section shall be provided directly to resident councils, resident organizations, and resident management corporations. In any case in which a resident council, resident organization, or resident management corporation lacks adequate expertise, the Secretary may require the council, organization, or corporation to utilize other qualified organizations as contract administrators with respect to financial assistance provided under this section.

SEC. 35. [42 U.S.C. 1437z-7] MIXED FINANCE PUBLIC HOUSING.

(a) AUTHORITY.-A public housing agency may own, operate, assist, or otherwise participate in 1 or more mixed-finance projects in accordance with this section.

(b) ASSISTANCE.

(1) FORMS.-A public housing agency may provide to a mixed-finance project assistance from the Operating Fund under section 9, assistance from the Capital Fund under such section, or both forms of assistance. A public housing agency

may, in accordance with regulations established by the Secretary, provide capital assistance to a mixed-finance project in the form of a grant, loan, guarantee, or other form of investment in the project, which may involve drawdown of funds on a schedule commensurate with construction draws for deposit into an interest-bearing escrow account to serve as collateral or credit enhancement for bonds issued by a public agency, or for other forms of public or private borrowings, for the construction or rehabilitation of the development.

(2) USE.-To the extent deemed appropriate by the Secretary, assistance used in connection with the costs associated with the operation and management of mixed-finance projects may be used for funding of an operating reserve to ensure affordability for low-income and very low-income families in lieu of the availability of operating funds for public housing units in a mixed-finance project.

(c) COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC HOUSING REQUIREMENTS.-The units assisted with capital or operating assistance in a mixed-finance project shall be developed, operated, and maintained in accordance with the requirements of this Act relating to public housing during the period required by under this Act, unless otherwise specified in this section. For purposes of this Act, any reference to public housing owned or operated by a public housing agency shall include dwelling units in a mixed finance project that are assisted by the agency with capital or operating assistance.

(d) MIXED-FINANCE PROJECTS.

(1) IN GENERAL.-For purposes of this section, the term 'mixed-finance project' means a project that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) and is financially assisted by private resources, which may include low-income housing tax credits, in addition to amounts provided under this Act.

(2) TYPES OF PROJECTS.-The term includes a project that is developed

(A) by a public housing agency or by an entity affiliated with a public housing agency;

(B) by a partnership, a limited liability company, or other entity in which the public housing agency (or an entity affiliated with a public housing agency) is a general partner, managing member, or otherwise participates in the activities of that entity;

(C) by any entity that grants to the public housing agency the right of first refusal and first option to purchase, after the close of the compliance period, of the qualified low-income building in which the public housing units exist in accordance with section 42(i)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or

(D) in accordance with such other terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation. (e) STRUCTURE OF PROJECTS.-Each mixed-finance project shall be developed

(1) in a manner that ensures that public housing units are made available in the project, by regulatory and operating agreement, master contract, individual lease, condominium or cooperative agreement, or equity interest;

(2) in a manner that ensures that the number of public housing units bears approximately the same proportion to the total number of units in the mixed-finance project as the value of the total financial commitment provided by the public housing agency bears to the value of the total financial commitment in the project, or shall not be less than the number of units that could have been developed under the conventional public housing program with the assistance, or as may otherwise be approved by the Secretary; and

(3) in accordance with such other requirements as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation.

(f) TAXATION.

(1) IN GENERAL.-A public housing agency may elect to exempt all public housing units in a mixed-finance project

(A) from the provisions of section 6(d), and instead subject such units to local real estate taxes; and

(B) from the finding of need and cooperative agreement provisions under section 5(e)(1)(ii) and 5(e)(2), but only if the development of the units is not inconsistent with the jurisdiction's comprehensive housing affordability strategy.

(2) LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDIT.-With respect to any unit in a mixed-finance project that is assisted pursuant to the low-income housing tax credit under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the rents charged to the residents may be set at levels not to exceed the amounts allowable under that section, provided that such levels for public housing residents do not exceed the amounts allowable under section 3. (g) USE OF SAVINGS.-Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, to the extent deemed appropriate by the Secretary, to facilitate the establishment of socioeconomically mixed communities, a public housing agency that uses assistance from the Capital Fund for a mixed-finance project, to the extent that income from such a project reduces the amount of assistance used for operating or other costs relating to public housing, may use such resulting savings to rent privately developed dwelling units in the neighborhood of the mixed-finance project. Such units shall be made available for occupancy only by low-income families eligible for residency in public housing.

(h) EFFECT OF CERTAIN CONTRACT TERMS.-If an entity that owns or operates a mixed-finance project, that includes a significant number of units other than public housing units enters into a contract with a public housing agency, the terms of which obligate the entity to operate and maintain a specified number of units in the project as public housing units in accordance with the requirements of this Act for the period required by law, such contractual terms may provide that, if, as a result of a reduction in appropriations under section 9 or any other change in applicable law, the public housing agency is unable to fulfill its contractual obligations with respect to those public housing units, that entity may deviate, under procedures and requirements developed through regulations by the Secretary, from otherwise applicable restrictions under this Act regarding rents, income eligibility, and other areas of public housing management with respect to a portion or all of those public

housing units, to the extent necessary to preserve the viability of those units while maintaining the low-income character of the units to the maximum extent practicable.

[TITLE II-ASSISTED HOUSING FOR INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES]

[NOTE. Title II of the United States Housing Act of 1937 established low-income housing programs for Indians and Alaska Natives. Title II was repealed by section 501(a) of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-330). For provisions regarding termination of assistance under such programs see sections 502, 503, and 507 of such Act, set forth in Part VII of this compilation.]

TITLE III-HOPE FOR PUBLIC HOUSING

HOMEOWNERSHIP

SEC. 301. [42 U.S.C. 1437aaa] PROGRAM AUTHORITY.

(a) IN GENERAL.-The Secretary is authorized to make

(1) planning grants to help applicants to develop homeownership programs in accordance with this title; and

(2) implementation grants to carry out homeownership programs in accordance with this title.

(b) AUTHORITY TO RESERVE HOUSING ASSISTANCE.-In connection with a grant under this title, the Secretary may reserve authority to provide assistance under section 8 of this Act to the extent necessary to provide replacement housing and rental assistance for a nonpurchasing tenant who resides in the project on the date the Secretary approves the application for an implementation grant, for use by the tenant in another project.

SEC. 302. [42 U.S.C. 1437aaa-1] PLANNING GRANTS.

(a) GRANTS.-The Secretary is authorized to make planning grants to applicants for the purpose of developing homeownership programs under this title. The amount of a planning grant under this section may not exceed $200,000, except that the Secretary may for good cause approve a grant in a higher amount.

(b) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.-Planning grants may be used for activities to develop homeownership programs (which may include programs for cooperative ownership), including

(1) development of resident management corporations and resident councils;

(2) training and technical assistance for applicants related to development of a specific homeownership program;

(3) studies of the feasibility of a homeownership program; (4) inspection for lead-based paint hazards, as required by section 302(a) of the Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention Act;

(5) preliminary architectural and engineering work; (6) tenant and homebuyer counseling and training; (7) planning for economic development, job training, and self-sufficiency activities that promote economic self-sufficiency

of homebuyers and homeowners under the homeownership program;

(8) development of security plans; and

(9) preparation of an application for an implementation grant under this title.

(1) FORM AND PROCEDURES.-An application for a planning grant shall be submitted by an applicant in such form and in accordance with such procedures as the Secretary shall establish.

(2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.-The Secretary shall require that an application contain at a minimum—

(A) a request for a planning grant, specifying the activities proposed to be carried out, the schedule for completing the activities, the personnel necessary to complete the activities, and the amount of the grant requested;

(B) a description of the applicant and a statement of its qualifications;

(C) identification and description of the public housing project or projects involved, and a description of the composition of the tenants, including family size and income;

(D) a certification by the public official responsible for submitting the comprehensive housing affordability strategy under section 105 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act that the proposed activities are consistent with the approved housing strategy of the State or unit of general local government within which the project is located (or, during the first 12 months after enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act,1 that the application is consistent with such other existing State or local housing plan or strategy that the Secretary shall determine to be appropriate); and

(E) a certification that the applicant will comply with the requirements of the Fair Housing Act, title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and will affirmatively further fair housing.

(d) SELECTION CRITERIA.-The Secretary shall, by regulation, establish selection criteria for a national competition for assistance under this section, which shall include

(1) the qualifications or potential capabilities of the applicant;

(2) the extent of tenant interest in the development of a homeownership program for the project;

(3) the potential of the applicant for developing a successful and affordable homeownership program and the suitability of the project for homeownership;

(4) national geographic diversity among projects for which applicants are selected to receive assistance; and

(5) such other factors that the Secretary shall require that (in the determination of the Secretary) are appropriate for pur

1 The date of enactment was November 28, 1990.

« Previous Continue »

Books

Compilation of Basic Laws on Housing and Community Development Within the ...