(3) The term "development cost" means cost of construction of housing and of other related facilities, the cost of movables necessary to the basic operation of the project, as determined by the Secretary, and of the land on which it is located, including necessary site improvement, which cost shall be determined without regard to mortgage limits applicable to housing projects subject to mortgages insured under section 231 of the National Housing Act. In the case of housing to meet the needs of handicapped (primarily nonelderly) persons, such term also means the cost of acquiring existing housing and related facilities, the cost of rehabilitation, alteration, conversion, or improvement, including the moderate rehabilitation thereof, and the cost of the land on which the housing and related facilities are located.

(4) The term "elderly or handicapped families" means families which consist of two or more persons and the head of which (or his spouse) is sixty-two years of age or over or is handicapped, and such term also means a single person who is sixty-two years of age or over or is handicapped. A person shall be considered handicapped if such person is determined, pursuant to regulations issued by the Secretary, to have an impairment which (A) is expected to be of long-continued and indefinite duration, (B) substantially impedes his ability to live independently, and (C) is of such a nature that such ability could be improved by more suitable housing conditions. A person shall also be considered handicapped if such person is a developmentally disabled individual as defined in section 102(5) of the Developmental Disabilities Services and Facilities Construction Amendments of 1950.2 The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to prevent abuses in determining, under the definitions contained in this paragraph, the eligibility of families and persons for admission to and occupancy of housing constructed with assistance under this section. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the term “elderly or handicapped families" includes two or more elderly or handicapped persons living together, one or more such persons living with another person who is determined (under regulations prescribed by the Secretary) to be essential to their care or wellbeing, and the surviving member or members of any family described in the first sentence of this paragraph who were living, in a unit assisted under this section, with the deceased member of the family at the time of his or her death.

(5) The term "State" includes the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the possessions of the United States.

(6) The term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

(7) The term "construction" means erection of new structures or rehabilitation, alteration, conversion, or improvement of existing structures.

(8) The term "related facilities" means (A) new structures suitable for use by elderly or handicapped families residing in the project or in the area as cafeterias or dining halls, community

1 So in original. Probably should be "102(a)5)".

2 So in original. Probably should be "1970"

rooms or buildings, workshops, adult day health facilities, or other outpatient health facilities, or other essential service facilities, and (B) structures suitable for the above uses provided by rehabilitation, alteration, conversion, or improvement of existing structures which are otherwise inadequate for such uses.

(e) Nothing in this section or in regulations promulgated under this section shall prevent a corporation or consumer cooperative from obtaining a loan under this section for the provision of housing and related facilities for elderly or handicapped families, notwithstanding the fact that such corporation or cooperative has theretofore obtained a commitment from the Federal Housing Administration for mortgage insurance under section 231 of the National Housing Act with respect to the housing involved, if (1) such corporation or cooperative is otherwise eligible for such loan under this section, (2) such commitment was obtained prior to the date of enactment of the Housing Act of 1961 and (3) the Secretary determines that the financing of such housing through a loan under this section rather than through mortgage insurance under such section 231 is necessary or desirable in order to avoid hardship for the elderly or handicapped families who are the prospective tenants of such housing.

(f) In carrying out the provisions of this section, the Secretary shall seek to assure, pursuant to applicable regulations, that housing and related facilities assisted under this section will be in appropriate support of, and supported by, applicable State and local plans which respond to Federal program requirements by providing an assured range of necessary services for individuals occupying such housing (which services may include, among others, health (including adult day health services), continuing education, welfare informational, recreational, homemaker, counseling, and referral services, transportation where necessary to facilitate access to social services, and services designed to encourage and assist recipients to use the services and facilities available to them), including plans approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to section 134 of the Mental Retardation Facilities and Community Mental Health Center Construction Act of 1963 or pursuant to title III of the Older Americans Act of 1965.

(g) In carrying out the provisions of this section and section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, the Secretary shall issue and implement regulations, as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of Housing and Community Development Act of 1977, which shall provide that the processing of any application for a loan for a project under this section and the processing of any application for assistance under such section 8 with respect to housing units in the same such project shall be coordinated in an economical and efficient manner. At the time of settlement on permanent financing with respect to a project under this section, the Secretary shall make an appropriate adjustment in the amount of any assistance to be provided under a contract for annual contributions pursuant to section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 in order to reflect fully any difference between the interest rate which will actually be charged in connection with such permanent financing and the interest rate which was in effect at the time of the reservation of assistance in connection with the project.

(h) of the amounts made available in appropriation Acts for loans pursuant to subsection (a)(4)(C) for the fiscal year commencing on October 1, 1983, not less than $50,000,000 shall be available for loans for the development of rental housing and related facilities specifically disigned to meet the needs of handicapped (primarily nonelderly) persons, and persons described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subsection (d)(4) who have been released from residential health treatment facilities. The Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary to assure that—

(1) funds made available pursuant to this subsection will be used to support innovative methods of meeting the needs of persons described in the first sentence of this subsection by providing a variety of housing options, ranging from small group homes to independent living complexes; and

(2) housing and related facilities assisted under this subsection will provide persons described in the first sentence of this subsection who are occupying units within such housing with an assured range of services specified under subsection (f) and the opportunity for optimal independent living and participation in normal daily activities, and will facilitate access by such persons to the community at large and to suitable employment opportunities within such community.

(i)(1) Unless otherwise requested by the sponsor, a maximum of 25 per centum of the units in a project financed under this section may be efficiency units, subject to a determination by the Secretary that such units are appropriate for the elderly or handicapped population residing in the vicinity of such project or to be served by such project.

(2) The Secretary may require a sponsor of a housing project financed with a loan under this section to deposit an amount not to exceed $10,000 in a special escrow account to assure the commitment and long-term management capabilities of such sponsor.

(3) In establishing per unit cost limitations for purposes of this section, the Secretary shall take into account design features necessary to meet the needs of elderly and handicapped residents, and such limitations shall reflect the cost of providing such features. The Secretary shall adjust the per unit cost limitations in effect on January 1, 1983, not less than once annually to reflect changes in the general level of construction costs.

(j)(1) The Secretary may not approve the prepayment of any loan made under this section, or transfer such loan, unless such prepayment or transfer is made as part of a transaction that will ensure that the project involved will continue to operate until the original maturity date of such loan in a manner that will provide rental housing for the elderly and handicapped on terms at least as advantageous to existing and future tenants as the terms required by the original loan agreement entered into under this section and any other loan agreements entered into under other provisions of law.

(2) The Secretary may not sell any mortgage held by the Secretary as security for a loan made under this section.

(k)(1) In the process of selecting projects for loans under this section, the Secretary shall assure the inclusion of special design fea

tures and congregate space if necessary to meet the special needs of elderly and handicapped residents.

(2) The Secretary shall encourage the provision of small and scattered site group homes and independent living facilities for nonelderly handicapped persons and families.

(1) The basis for selection of a contractor to be employed in the development or construction of a project assisted under this section shall be determined by the project sponsor or borrower if the development cost of the project is less than $2,000,000, if the project rentals will be less than 110 per centum of the fair market rent applicable to projects financed under this section, or if the sponsor of the project is a labor organization. The Secretary shall not impose difference requirements or standards with respect to construction change orders, increases in loan amount to cover change orders, errors in plans and specifications, and use of contingency funds, because of the method of contractor selection used by the sponsor or borrower.

(m) Nothing in this section authorizes the Secretary to prohibit any sponsor from voluntarily providing funds from other sources for amenities and other features of appropriate design and construction suitable for inclusion in such project if the cost of such amenities is (1) not financed with the loan, and (2) not taken into account in determining the amount of Federal subsidy or of the rent contribution of tenants.

Approved September 23, 1959.

SECTION 8 PAYMENTS FOR SECTION 202 PROJECTS

EXCERPT FROM SECTION 210 OF THE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1974

[Public Law 93-383; 88 Stat. 633; 12 U.S.C. 1701 nt]

(g)(1) In determining the feasibility and marketability of a project under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959, the Secretary shall consider the availability of monthly assistance payments pursuant to section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 with respect to such a project.

(2) The Secretary shall insure that with the original approval of a project authorized pursuant to section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959, and thereafter at each annual revision of the assistance contract under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 with respect to such units in such project, the project will serve both low- and moderate-income families in a mix which he determines to be appropriate for the area and for viable operation of the project; except that the Secretary shall not permit maintenance or vacancies to await tenants of one income level where tenants of another income level are available.

Approved August 22, 1974.

EXCERPT FROM HOUSING AND URBAN-RURAL RECOVERY ACT OF 1983

[Public Law 98-181; 97 Stat. 1195; 12 U.S.C. 1701n-1]

PET OWNERSHIP IN ASSISTED RENTAL HOUSING FOR THE ELDERLY OR HANDICAPPED

SEC. 227. (a) No owner or manager of any federally assisted rental housing for the elderly or handicapped may

(1) as a condition of tenancy or otherwise, prohibit or prevent any tenant in such housing from owning common household pets or having common household pets living in the dwelling accommodations of such tenant in such housing; or

(2) restrict or discriminate against any person in connection with admission to, or continued occupancy of, such housing by reason of the ownership of such pets by, or the presence of such pets in the dwelling accommodations of, such person. (b)(1) Not later than the expiration of the twelve-month period following the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each issue such regulations as may be necessary to ensure (A) compliance with the provisions of subsection (a) with respect to any program of assistance referred to in subsection (d) that is administered by such Secretary; and (B) attaining the goal of providing decent, safe, and sanitary housing for the elderly or handicapped. (2) Such regulations shall establish guidelines under which the owner or manager of any federally assisted rental housing for the elderly or handicapped (A) may prescribe reasonable rules for the keeping of pets by tenants in such housing; and (B) shall consult with the tenants of such housing in prescribing such rules. Such rules may consider factors such as density of tenants, pet size, types or pets, potential financial obligations of tenants, and standards of pet care.

(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit any owner or manager of federally assisted rental housing for the elderly or handicapped, or any local housing authority or other appropriate authority of the community where such housing is located, from requiring the removal from any such housing of any pet whose conduct or condition is duly determined to constitute a nuisance or a threat to the health or safety of the other occupants of such housing or of other persons in the community where such housing is located.

(d) For purposes of this section, the term "federally assisted rental housing for the elderly or handicapped" means any rental housing project that

or

(1) is assisted under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959;

(2) is assisted under the United States Housing Act of 1937, the National Housing Act, or title V of the Housing Act of 1949, and is designated for occupancy by elderly or handicapped families, as such term is defined in section 202(d)(4) of the Housing Act of 1959.

Approved November 30, 1983.