The BIA and builder can assist the tribal housing authority with scheduling participant's mutual-help labor; however, the housing authority alone is responsible for making certain that all individual participant's efforts are substantially equal.

3. Turnkey III Homeownership Program

Developed in 1968 and later made applicable to Indian areas, the Turnkey III Homeownership Program is designed to help lowincome Indian families become home owners by entering into and fulfilling their obligations under a home-buyer's ownership opportunity agreement with a tribal housing authority. The participant must agree to do the necessary routine maintenance on the unit himself. For this contribution, he receives credit from the housing authority in an earned home payments account which, when sufficient to cover the remaining debt on the unit, will enable him to assume title and become a home owner, or may be used as a downpayment for a mortgage if his income increases to the point where he is able to obtain a mortgage.

Financial feasibility of a proposed Turnkey III project is based on a demonstration that the selected home-buyer families will be in a position to make payments which will produce an average monthly payment at least 10 percent in excess of an established "break-even amount." The "break-even amount" is the sum of (1) monthly operating expense, including provisions for operating reserve, (2) monthly payments to a homebuyer's ownership reserve, and (3) the monthly amount to be essentially credited to the nonroutine maintenance reserve. As a general rule, Turnkey III units necessitate higher monthly payments on the part of the participant than units constructed under the mutual-help or rental programs.

The table below summarizes the HUD Indian housing effort during fiscal years 1962-74.11

INDIAN HOUSING UNITS PROVIDED THROUGH ALL PUBLIC HOUSING PROGRAMS (FISCAL YEARS 1962-74)

Source: Publicly Financed Housing Division, Housing Production and Mortgage Credit, Department of Housing and Urban Development.

As evidenced in the table above, between fiscal year 1962-74, only 17,457 units of public housing (including Low-Rent, Mutual-Help, and Turnkey III) were completed for occupancy by Indian families. 12

11 See Appendix XII, pp. 485-574, for additional HUD data.

12 It should be noted that the category "Completed for Occupancy" may not include those units that are completed and occupied but not designated as such because they have not been assigned a Date of Full Availability (DoFA) as established and reported to the HUD Central Office by the Regional and Area Offices.

While information is not readily available in a form that permits a detailed breakout by specific HUD public housing programs, at the close of 1972, the Mutual-Help Homeownership program accounted for some 6,100 completed units while the Low-Rent program and Turnkey III together produced a comparable amount for a total of 12,094 units. Thus, at least between 1962-72, the Mutual-Help program accounted for about 50 percent of the HUD Indian housing units.13

Although the HUD Indian effort increased considerably between 1962-71, the last 3 or 4 years have witnessed a decline with regard to executing ACC's and construction starts. At the same time, the number of units completed for occupancy has continued a relatively steady (albeit limited) increase since 1962. Significantly, these figures do not consider the most recent HUD commitment to authorize 12,558 units in light of the 1974 Housing and Community Development Act.14

BIA HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM

In 1965, the BIA, in an effort to respond to the housing needs of those Indian families with exceptionally low incomes or no income at all, developed and implemented its own Housing Improvement Program (HIP) which provides grants for repairs, major rehabilitation, down payments, and some new housing construction. The HIP is designed to provide these various forms of assistance to Indian people who are unable to obtain it from any other source. Project grant funds may be deposited into individual accounts to enable Indian people to do their own purchasing and/or contracting. The BIA can also do the work themselves or they can contract with the tribe to have the work done. Where grants are made to individuals, the BIA may provide assistance in obtaining reasonable prices, determining the adequacy of contract specifications, and making inspections to be reasonably certain that good value is obtained for the grant funds.

Under the new home purchase or construction provisions of the HIP, total home construction is funded for use by families and elderly persons who are at the time of their selection receiving or are eligible for welfare assistance. Generally, priorities for the selection of families are established by the tribes or tribal housing entities on the basis of need and funds available. Annual HIP appropriations are distributed among all twelve BIA area offices according to tribal needs and relative priorities for housing repair services to Indian homes located within their jurisdiction.

This program attempts to combine the elements of individual choice, simplicity, and self-help. An effort is made to keep the program adaptable in order to reach the person for whom it is intended with a minimum of administration and a maximum of impact. The most obvious deficiency with the HIP is that it is extremely underfunded, and can make only a limited contribution in meeting total Indian housing needs.

13 "Indian Programs", Development Program Directory, Department of Housing and Urban Development, December 31, 1972. 14 For further discussion of this authorization see Appendix XII, p. 506.

According to BIA data, the HIP has assisted in the repair of approximately 23,800 units and built 3,500 additional units during fiscal year 1968-74.15 The following table depicts the amount of money spent, the number of units repaired and the number of units constructed during fiscal year 1968-75 under the HIP.

Source: Division of Housing Assistance, Bureau of Indian Affairs.

With regard to the figures above, it should be noted that the HIP provides for the repair of units either to make them "standard" 16 or to make them more livable until the families can obtain standard housing through other means. Thus, some of the repair projects listed above may not have served to make the dwelling "standard." In these cases, repairs were made to units in an attempt to make them more sanitary and more comfortable places to reside until those families have the opportunity to obtain "standard" housing."

Regardless of the advantages of HIP, it is clear that a program which provides for only about 500 new units per year will not be sufficient to meet the bulk of Indian housing needs. While there is certainly a need for a meaningful home repair program, there is even a more pressing need for new units in Indian areas.

RURAL HOUSING PROGRAMS OF THE FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION

While the vast majority of Indian housing units have been constructed pursuant to programs under the auspices of HUD or BIA, the Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) also operates a number of rural housing programs which, in recent years, have been made available to Indian participants living on trust land.

Current overall FmHA rural housing activities include four maior loan and grant programs authorized by the Housing Act of 1949, as amended: (1) section 502 low-to-moderate income rural housing loans to individuals (including self-help, emergency, and special loans); (2) section 504 home repair loans to very low income individuals; (3) sections 514 and 516 farm labor housing grants and loans; and (4) section 515 rural rental and cooperative housing loans. In addition, limited technical assistance grants are made annually for self-help housing.

15 See Appendix XII, pp. 463-83, for additional BIA information.

16 The criteria for "standard" housing according to the HIP can be found in Appendix XII, pp. 467-68.
17 This same caveat holds true for the figures contained in the BIA Consolidated Area Inventories found
in Appendix XII, pp. 477-83.

Indians living on reservations have only recently been eligible to participate in FmHA rural housing programs. The Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-609) authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to make loans to lessees as well as owners of nonfarm rural property, thus making thousands of Indian people living on reservations eligible for the FmHA single family housing programs. However, it was not until the 1974 Housing and Community Development Act was enacted (P.L. 93-383) that FmHA rural rental programs were made applicable to leasehold lands. With changes such as these, and given the interest credit and rent supplement programs FmHA has available, low income rural Indians could benefit significantly from FmHA rural housing programs. Unfortunately, performance to date has been very limited and future prospects are unclear.18

Although approximately 55 percent of all Indian households are found in rural areas, the number of rural housing loans made to Indian families through the FmHA has been relatively modest over the years. For example, in South Dakota, where Indians comprise nearly six percent of the State's total rural population, only 1.7 percent of the FmHA loans made there in fiscal years 1972 and 1973 were to Indian borrowers. 19

The table below summarizes the number, dollar amount, and percentage of the total of rural housing loans made to American Indians during fiscal year 1970-74.20

1 Figures for loan applications received at FmHA rather than loans distributed by FmHA. 2 Not available.

Source: Farmer's Home Administration, Department of Agriculture
Note: Figures include reservation as well as nonreservation Indians.

Despite the relative concentration of Indian people in rural areas, Indian housing needs are not being adequately met by the various FmHA programs. Since FmHA is one of the primary Federal agencies involved with the housing needs of rural people, increased applicability of their programs to rural Indian people may be an important factor in meeting Indian housing needs.

18 For example, FmHA's proposed regulations for Sec. 515 rural rental housing published in the Federal Register, November 7, 1974, omitted provisions for rent supplements. Additionally, testimony given by FmHA officials before the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in November 1974, indicates that FmHA is reluctant to institute this program. On the other hand, the most recent FmHA information available regarding rural housing loans to reservation Indians, indicates some improvement over fiscal year 1973, see Appendix XII, pp. 635-36.

19 See Housing Assistance Council, Inc., background paper, Appendix VII, p. 201. 20 See Appendix XII, pp. 589-636, for additional FmHA information.

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RELATED SERVICES AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION

Until now, this report has primarily focused upon Indian housing need and production. To place the entire Indian housing program in proper perspective, some discussion of the provision of related housing services and the overall administration of the program is necessary. With regard to the prime source of new Indian units—the HUD Mutual-Help and Low Rent Programs-the BIA provides administrative assistance to the tribal housing authority and construction supervision to the Indian participants. The BIA also provides streets and roads in and around HUD and BIA housing projects. Additionally, the Indian Health Service (organized under the Public Health Service Division of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) provides water and sanitary facilities for HUD and BIA units.

1. Road Construction

The BIA, under its Indian Reservation Roads and Bridges Program, provides roads and bridges for Indian people on reservations, performing the function of county or State governments in tax-supported areas. Construction of roads and bridges is intended to promote the development of reservations to the benefit of the Indian people. Tribes participate in the determination of where roads or bridges will be constructed by establishing a list or priority projects for their reservation. The BIA schedules construction of projects according to the priorities set by the tribe. Of course, a limitation of funds may prevent the BIA from constructing all the projects on a tribe's priority list.21

Reservation roads and bridges built with BIA funds are usually constructed using BIA employees and equipment, although Indianowned or tribally-owned construction companies are encouraged to seek subcontracts for construction projects. Tribes may develop a capability, through organizations of their own, for the entire supervision and construction of roads and bridges, under contract to the BIA. Initial assistance in developing organizations with this capability may be received under the BIA's Community Development Program. In considering priorities for construction, the tribe is supposed to specify the priority of street construction for new housing developments so that road and street construction will coincide with construction of housing. Construction of streets which will form part of a housing project being developed under a HUD program should then be coordinated with the HUD area office and the sponsor of the project. In fact, however, both housing construction and road contion involve long lead times, which seriously jeopardize attempts to effectively coordinate agency activities.

2. Water and Sanitation Facilities

The Indian Health Service (IHS) provides water and sanitation facilities for new and renovated housing on reservations under its Sanitation Facilities program. American Indians and Alaska Natives who live on or near a reservation and are recognized as members of a tribe with whom the Federal Government has a special relationship are eligible to apply for projects under a variety of programs.

21 Officials in the BIA's Roads Division estimate that approximately $45 million has been spent between 1963-1974 to provide roads, streets and bridges for related housing projects.