EXCERPT FROM UNITED STATES HOUSING ACT OF 1937-ORIGINAL

VERSION

[Public Law 412, 75th Congress; 50 Stat. 888; 42 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.]

LOW-RENT HOUSING IN PRIVATE ACCOMMODATIONS

SEC. 23.1 (a)(1) For the purpose of providing a supplementary form of low-rent housing which will aid in assuring a decent place to live for every citizen and promote efficiency and economy in the program under this Act by taking full advantage of vacancies or potential vacancies in the private housing market, each public housing agency shall, to the maximum extent consistent with the achievement of the objectives of this Act, provide low-rent housing under this Act in the form of low-rent housing in private accommodations in accordance with this section where such housing in private accommodations can be provided at a cost equal to or less than housing in projects assisted under other provisions of this Act. (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any locality unless the governing body of the locality has by resolution approved the application of such provisions to such locality.

(3) As used in this section, the term "low-rent housing in private accommodations" means dwelling units in a structure leased from a private owner, which provide decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling accommodations and related facilities effectively supplementing the accommodations and facilities in low-rent housing assisted under the other provisions of this Act in a manner calculated to meet the total housing needs of the community in which they are located; and the term "owner" means any person or entity having the legal right to lease or sublease property containing one or more dwelling units as described in this section.

(b) Beginning as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this section, each public housing agency shall conduct a continuing survey and listing of the available dwelling units within the community or communities under its jurisdication which provide decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling accommodations and related facilities and are, or may be made, suitable for use as low-rent housing in private accommodations under this section.

(c) Each public housing agency, by notification to the owners of housing listed under subsection (b), or by publication or advertisement, or otherwise, shall from time to time make known to the public in the community or communities under its jurisdiction the anticipated need for dwelling units in such community or communities to be used as low-rent housing in private accommodations under this section, inviting the owners of such dwelling units to make available for purposes of this section one or more of such units (not exceeding 10 per centum of the units in any single structure except to the extent that the agency, because of the limited number of units in the structure or for any other reasons, determines that such limit should not be applied). The public housing agency shall conduct appropriate inspections of the units offered to

1 For limitation on rent increases for tenants assisted under this section whose assistance is converted to section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, see page 167 of this compilation.

be made available in any residential structure by the owner thereof in reponse to such invitation, and if

(1) it finds that such units are, or may be made, suitable for use as low-rent housing in private accommodations within the meaning of subsection (a)(3), and

(2) the rentals to be charged for such units, as negotiated and agreed to by the agency and the owner of the structure in a manner consistent with subsection (d)(2), are within the financial range of families of low income.

Such agency may approve such units for use as low-rent housing in private accommodations in accordance with (and subject to the applicable limitations contained in) this section. Each public housing agency shall maintain and keep current a list of units approved by it under this subsection, including such information with respect to each such unit as it may consider necessary or appropriate.

(d) to the extent of contracts for annual contributions entered into by the Authority with a public housing agency under section 10(e), such agency may enter into contracts with the owners of structures containing dwelling units approved under subsection (c) for the use of such units in accordance with this section (and no limitation not specifically provided for in this section shall be imposed by regulations of the Authority on the types of categories of structures or dwelling units, qualifying under subsection (a)(3) and approved under subsection (c), which may be so used in any community). Each such contract with an owner shall provide (with respect to any unit) that—

(1) the selection of tenants for such unit shall be the function of the owner, subject to the provisions of the contract between the Authority and the agency;

(2) the rental and other charges to be received by the owner shall be negotiated and agreed to by the agency and the owner, and the rental and other charges to be paid by the tenant shall be determined in accordance with the standards applicable to units in low-rent housing projects assisted under the other provisions of this Act;

(3) the agency shall have the sole right to give notice to vacate, with the owner having the right to make representations to the agency for termination of the tenancy;

(4) maintenance and replacements (including redecoration) shall be in accordance with the standard practice for the building concerned, as established by the owner and agreed to by the agency; and

(5) the agency and the owner shall carry out such other appropriate terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed to by them.

Each contract between a public housing agency and an owner entered into under this subsection shall be for a term of not less than twelve months nor more than one hundred and twenty months and shall be renewable by such agency and owner at the expiration of such term; Provided, that no renewal of such a contract shall result in a total term exceeding two hundred and forty months (or one hundred and eighty months in the case of an existing structure). (e) The annual contribution under this Act for a project of a public housing agency for low-rent housing in private accommoda

tions under this section in lieu of any other guaranteed contribution authorized by section 10 shall not exceed the amount of the fixed annual contribution which would be established under this Act for a newly constructed project by such public housing agency designed to accommodate the comparable number, sizes, and kinds of families. The period over which payments will be made to a public housing agency for a project of low-rent housing in private accommodations under this section, and the aggregate amount of such payments, under a contract for annual contributions, shall be determined on the basis of the number of units in the community or communities under the jurisdiction of such agency which are in use (or can reasonably be expected to be placed in use) as low-rent housing in private accommodations under this section, taking into account the terms of the leases under which such units are (or will be) so used. In addition, contracts for financial assistance entered into by the Authority with a public housing agency pursuant to this section shall provide for reimbursement of reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by such agency in conducting surveys, listings, and inspections described in subsections (b) and (c).

(f) The provisions of sections 10(h) and 15(7) of this Act, shall not apply to low-rent housing assisted or to be assisted under this section.

(g) To the extent authorized in contracts entered into by the authority with a public housing agency, such agency may purchase any structure containing one or more dwelling units leased to provide low-rent housing in private accommodations under this section for the purpose of reselling the structure to the tenant or tenants of the structure or to a group of such tenants occupying units aggregating in value at least 80 per centum of the structure's total value. Any such resale shall be made subject to such terms and conditions (including provision for deferment of the required downpayment and for elimination of or adjustments in the required interest payments during a temporary period) as may be necessary to enable the tenants involved to make the purchase without undue financial hardship.

Approved September 1, 1937.

EXCERPT FROM THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF

1974

[Public Law 93-383; 88 Stat. 669; 42 U.S.C. 1421b note]

LEASED HOUSING

SEC. 208. Nothing in this title or any other provision of law authorizes the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to apply any policy or procedure established by him with respect to the rights of an owner under a lease entered into under section 23 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, including the right to renewal of such lease to the maximum term permitted by law, if such lease was entered into prior to the effective date of such policy or procedure.

Approved August 22, 1974.

EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974

[Public Law 93-383; 88 Stat. 669; 42 U.S.C. 1421b note]

LOW-INCOME HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY OR HANDICAPPED

SEC. 209. The Secretary shall consult the Secretary of Health and Human Services to insure that special projects for the elderly or the handicapped authorized pursuant to United States Housing Act of 1937 shall meet acceptable standards of design and shall provide quality services and management consistent with the needs of the occupants. Such projects shall be specifically designed and equipped with such "related facilities" (as defined in section 202(d)(8) of the Housing Act of 1959) as may be necessary to accommodate the special environmental needs of the intended occupants and shall be in support of and supported by the applicable State plans for comprehensive services pursuant to section 134 of the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Center Construction Act of 1963 or State and area plans pursuant to title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965.

Approved August 22, 1974.

PUBLIC HOUSING SECURITY

EXCEPT FROM HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

AMENDMENTS OF 1978

[Public Law 95-557; 92 Stat. 2080; 12 U.S.C. 1701Z-6]

SEC. 207. (a) This section may be cited as the "Public Housing Security Demonstration Act of 1978".

(b)(1) The Congress finds that—

(A) low-income and elderly public housing residents of the Nation have suffered substantially from rising crime and violence, and are being threatened as a result of inadequate security arrangements for the prevention of physical violence, theft, burglary, and other crimes;

(B) older persons generally regard the fear of crime as the most serious problem in their lives, to the extent that onefourth of all Americans over 65 voluntarily restrict their mobility because of it;

(C) crime and the fear of crime have led some residents to move from public housing projects;

(D) an integral part of successfully providing decent, safe, and sanitary dwellings for low-income persons is to insure that the housing is secure;

(E) local public housing authorities may have inadequate security arrangements for the prevention of crime and vandalism; and

(F) action is needed to provide for the security of public housing residents and to preserve the Nation's investment in its public housing stock.

(2) It is, therefore, declared to be the policy of the United States to provide for a demonstration and evaluation of effective means of mitigating crime and vandalism in public housing projects, in order to provide a safe living environment for the residents, particularly the elderly residents, of such projects.

(c)(1) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall promptly initiate and carry out during the fiscal year beginning on October 1, 1978, to the extent approved in appropriation Acts, a program for the development, demonstration, and evaluation of improved, innovative community anticrime and security methods, concepts and techniques which will mitigate the level of crime in public housing projects and their surrounding neighborhoods.

(2) In selecting public housing projects to receive assistance under this section, the Secretary shall assure that a broad spectrum of project types, locations and tenant populations are represented and shall consider at least the following: The extent of crime and vandalism currently existing in the project; the extent, nature and quality of community anticrime efforts in the projects and surrounding areas; the extent, nature and quality of police and other protective services available to the projects and their tenants; the demand for public housing units in the locality, the vacancy rate, and extent of abandonment of such units; and the characteristics and needs of the public housing tenants.

(3) In selecting the anticrime and security methods, concepts and techniques to be demonstrated under this section, the Secretary