Urban redevelopment provisions of the Housing Act of 1949, as amended prior to amendment by the Housing Act of 1954 Excerpts from the Housing Act of 1954 Demonstration grants Urban planning grants Report to President and Congress Reduction of vulnerability to enemy attack Specifications required Excerpts from the National Housing Act, as amended (special urban renewal mortgage insurance programs administered by the Federal Housing Administration) Excerpts from the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (assistance to urban renewal by the low-rent public housing program administered by the Public Housing Administration) INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT The Laws Authorizing Federal Assistance Title I of the Housing Act of 1949, as amended, Public Law 171, 81st Congress, approved July 15, 1949, is the principal Federal law authorizing Federal assistance to slum clearance and urban renewal. As originally enacted, Title I authorized Federal aid to the clearance and redevelopment of slums. The Housing Act of 1954, Public Law 560, 83d Congress, approved August 2, 1954, broadened the provisions of Title I to authorize Federal assistance to the prevention of the spread of slums and urban blight through the rehabilitation and conservation of blighted and deteriorating areas, in addition to the clearance and redevelopment of slums. The Housing Act of 1954 also provided (section 312) that communities carrying out slum clearance and urban redevelopment projects prior to enactment of the 1954 Act would be permitted to complete such projects under the provisions of Title I of the Housing Act of 1949 as in effect prior to the enactment of the 1954 Act. The provisions of Title I as in effect just prior to amendment by the Housing Act of 1954 are therefore separately set forth in this compilation, together with the provisions of section 312 of the Housing Act of 1954. The Housing Act of 1956, Public Law 1020, 84th Congress, approved August 7, 1956, again liberalized title I of the Housing Act of 1949 in several respects. These included, among others, the addition of provisions to title I authorizing relocation payments to individuals, families, and business concerns for moving expenses and losses of property resulting from their displacement by an urban renewal project, and the making of Federal advances for the preparation of "General Neighborhood Renewal Plans". The Housing Act of 1957, Public Law 104, 85th Congress, approved July 12, 1957, amended title I to increase the capital grant authorization and to provide a new alternative capital grant formula. Several miscellaneous amendments were also made in title I by the Housing Act of 1957. Title I of the Housing Act of 1949 as amended through July, 1957, is therefore set forth in this compilation in addition to title I as in effect prior to the 1954 Act, and title I in effect prior to the 1956 Act. In Also other provisions of the Housing Act of 1954 which (1) authorize Federal grants to communities to assist in developing, testing, and demonstrating activities for urban renewal, (2) authorize Federal grants to urban plaming, and (3) relate to urban renewal are included, together with such amendments thereto as have subsequently been enacted. addition, excerpts from the National Housing Act, as amended, Public Law 479, 73d Congress, are included, which authorize special Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance programs (sections 220 and 221) to assist in financing the construction and rehabilitation of housing in urban renewal areas and for families displaced by urban renewal activities or other Governmental action. Other provisions of the National Housing Act may provide assistance to urban renewal but are not included in this compilation because they are available for all areas whether part of an urban renewal program or not. These include FHA insurance of (1) loans for the modernization and repair of homes, (2) mortgages for rehabilitation of multi-family housing under the regular rental housing provisions of section 207, (3) mortgages for the purchase of existing housing, and (4) "open end" mortgages whereby property owners may obtain additional funds for modernization or basic improvements and repay them as part of the existing mortgage without the expense of complete refinancing. Excerpts from the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended, Public Law 412, 75th Congress, are also set forth in this compilation. These provisions require preferences in the admission of families to low-rent public housing who have been displaced by urban renewal activities, and the elimination of an equal number of slum dwellings for the number of low-rent public housing units provided with Federal assistance in a community. Administration of Federal Assistance The functions of the Housing and Home Finance Administrator with respect to Federal assistance to slum clearance and urban renewal are administered by the Urban Renewal Commissioner of the Urban Renewal Administration, a constituent unit of the Housing and Home Finance Agency. The mortgage insurance program for urban renewal housing is administered by the Federal Housing Administration and the low-rent public housing program by the Public Housing Administration. These two agencies are also constituent agencies of the Housing and Home Finance Agency. Information about any phase of urban renewal aids and applications for their use in any locality is provided through the six regional offices of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, where the specialized field services of the Urban Renewal Administration are also centered. Information about FHA mortgage insurance or low-rent public housing can also be obtained from the field offices of the Federal Housing Administration or the Public Housing Administration. All initial inquiries and dealings with the Federal Government on urban renewal should be directed to the Regional Administrator, Housing and Home Finance Agency, at the following addresses: To establish a national housing objective and the policy to be followed in the attainment thereof, to provide Federal aid to assist slum-clearance projects and low-rent public housing projects initiated by local agencies, to provide for financial assistance by the Secretary of Agriculture for farm housing, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Housing Act of 1949". DECLARATION OF NATIONAL HOUSING POLICY Sec. 2. The Congress hereby declares that the general welfare and security of the Nation and the health and living standards of its people require housing production and related community development sufficient to remedy the serious housing shortage, the elimination of substandard and other inadequate housing through the clearance of slums and blighted areas, and the realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family, thus contributing to the development and redevelopment of communities and to the advancement of the growth, wealth, and security of the Nation. The Congress further declares that such production is necessary to enable the housing industry to make its full contribution toward an economy of maximm employment, production, and purchasing power. The policy to be followed in attaining the national housing objective hereby established shall be: (1) private enterprise shall be encouraged to serve as large a part of the total need as it can; (2) governmental assistance shall be utilized where feasible to enable private enterprise to serve more of the total need; (3) appropriate local public bodies shall be encouraged and assisted to undertake positive programs of encouraging and assisting the development of well-planned, integrated residential neighborhoods, the development and redevelopment of communities, and the production, at lower costs, of housing of sound standards of design, construction, livability, and size for adequate family life; (4) governmental assistance to eliminate substandard and other inadequate housing through the clearance of slums and blighted areas, to facilitate community development and redevelopment, and to provide adequate housing for urban and rural nonfarm families with incomes so low that they are not being decently housed in new or existing housing shall be extended to those localities which estimate their own needs and demonstrate that these needs are not being met through reliance solely upon private enterprise, and without such aid; and (5) governmental assistance for decent, safe, and sanitary farm dwellings and related facilities shall be extended where the farm owner demonstrates that he lacks sufficient resources to provide such housing on his own account and is unable to secure necessary credit for such housing from other sources on terms and conditions which he could reasonably be expected to fulfill. The Housing and Home Finance Agency and its constituent agencies, and any other departments or agencies of the Federal Government having powers, functions, or duties with respect to housing, shall exercise their powers, functions, and duties under this or any other law, consistently with the national housing policy declared by this Act and in such manner as will facilitate sustained progress in attaining the national housing objective hereby established, and in such manner as will encourage and assist (1) the production of housing of sound standards of design, construction, livability, and size for adequate family life; (2) the reduction of the costs of housing without sacrifice of such sound standards; (3) the use of new designs, 1. The urban renewal provisions of the Housing Act of 1949 have been amended by Public Law 370, 82d Congress, approved June 3, 1952, 66 Stat. 98; Housing Amendments of 1953, Public Law 94, 83d Congress, approved June 30, 1953, 67 Stat. 121; Housing Act of 1954, Public Law 560, 83d Congress, approved August 2, 1954, 68 Stat. 590; Housing Amendments of 1955, Public Law 345, 84th Congress, approved August 11, 1955, 69 Stat. 635; the Housing Act of 1956, Public Law 1020, 84th Congress, approved August 7, 1956, 70 Stat. 1091, and the Housing Act of 1957, Public Law 85-104, 85th Congress, approved July 12, 1957, 71 Stat. 294. through July, 1957 - 3 materials, techniques, and methods in residential construction, the use of standardized dimensions and methods of assembly of home-building materials and equipment, and the increase of efficiency in residential construction and maintenance; (4) the development of wellplanned, integrated, residential neighborhoods and the development and redevelopment of communities; and (5) the stabilization of the housing industry at a high annual volume of residential construction. TITLE I--SLUM CLEARANCE AND URBAN RENEWALL URBAN RENEWAL FUND Sec. 100.2/ The authorizations, funds, and appropriations available pursuant to sections 102 and 103 hereof shall constitute a fund, to be known as the "Urban Renewal Fund", and shall be available for advances, loans, and capital grants to local public agencies for urban renewal projects in accordance with the provisions of this title, and all contracts, obligations, assets, and liabilities existing under or pursuant to said sections prior to the enactment of the Housing Act of 1954 are hereby transferred to said Fund. LOCAL RESPONSIBILITIES Sec. 101. (a)3/ In entering into any contract for advances for surveys, plans, and other preliminary work for projects under this title, the Adminis- (b)3/ In the administration of this title, the Administrator shall encourage the operations of such local public agencies as are established on a State, or regional (within a State), or unified metropolitan basis or Positive Prior to amendment by the Housing Act of 1954, Public Law 560, 83d Congress, approved August 2, 1954, 68 stat. 590, 622, the heading of Title I was "Slum Clearance and Community Development and Redevelopment". 2/ Section 100 was added by the Housing Act of 1954, Public Law 560, 83d Congress, approved August 2, 1954, 68 Stat. 590, 622. 3/ Subsections (a) and (b) amended to read as set forth in the text by sec. 303 of the Housing Act of 1954, Public Law 560, 83d Congress, approved August 2, 1954, 68 Stat. 590, 623. As originally enacted these subsections read as follows: "Sec. 101. In extending financial assistance under this title, the Administrator shall- (a) give consideration to the extent to which appropriate local public bodies have undertaken positive programs (1) for encouraging housing cost reductions through the adoption, improvement, and modernization of building and other local codes and regulations so as to permit the use of appropriate new materials, techniques, and methods in land and residential planning, design, and construction, the increase of efficiency in residential construction, and the elimination of restrictive practices which unnecessarily increase housing costs, and (2) for preventing the spread or recurrence, in such community, of slums and blighted areas through the adoption, improvement, and modernization of local codes and regulations relating to land use and adequate standards of health, sanitation, and safety for dwelling accommodations; and (b) encourage the operations of such local public agencies as are established on a State, or regional (within a State), or unified metropolitan basis or as are established on such other basis as permits such agencies to contribute effectively |