Attachment A

Attachment A

Justification – Legal and Administrative Authority for Data Collection

OMB No. 1084-0033

“Private Rental Survey”

5 U.S.C. 5911 –

Employees – Pay and Allowances – Quarters

[Full text available at http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/waisgate.cgi?WAISdocID=488321470908+0+0+0&WAISaction=retrieve]

(c) Rental rates for quarters provided for an employee under subsection (b) of this section or occupied on a rental basis by an employee or member of a uniformed service under any other provision of statute, and charges for facilities made available in connection with the occupancy of the quarters, shall be based on the reasonable value of the quarters and facilities to the employee or member concerned, in the circumstances under which the quarters and facilities are provided, occupied, or made available. The amounts of the rates and charges shall be paid by, or deducted from the pay of, the employee or member of a uniformed service, or otherwise charged against him in accordance with law.

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(f) The President may prescribe regulations governing the provision, occupancy, and availability of quarters and facilities, the determination of rates and charges therefore, and other related matters, necessary and appropriate to carry out this section. The head of each agency may prescribe regulations, not inconsistent with the regulations of the President, necessary and appropriate to carry out the functions of the agency head under this section.

OMB Circular A-45 (Revised Oct. 20, 1993) –

Rental and Construction of Government Quarters

[Full text available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/OMB/circulars/a045/a045.html]

4. AUTHORITY. This circular is issued by virtue of the authority vested in the President by 5 U.S.C. section 5911(f), and delegated to the Director of the Office of Management and Budget by section 9 of Executive Order 11609 of July 22, 1971; by 31 U.S.C. section llll; and by section 2(d) of Executive Order 8248 of September 8, 1939, and section 1 of Executive Order 11541 of July 1, 1970.

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7. PROCEDURES FOR DETERMINING RENTS AND OTHER CHARGES.

(7) a. Charges for quarters. The determination of reasonable value of Government rental quarters will be based upon an impartial study of comparable private rental housing. There are two methods that may be employed to determine the base rental rate. The first, an appraisal, involves direct comparison with individual private rental housing units. The second, the regional survey, creates a series of economic models based upon a survey of comparable private rental housing throughout the region. While both measures are accurate, agencies are encouraged to utilize the survey method, whenever possible, due to the costs and administrative burdens associated with conducting individual appraisals. Both methods are subject to the conditions and limitations set forth below.

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(7)(a)(2) Regional surveys. Regional surveys may be used in all locations where Government quarters are located. If the regional survey method is used, the base rental rates will be set by means of a series of economic models that utilize typical rental rates for comparable private rental housing in the established communities nearest to the sites in which the Government quarters are located. (If the nearest established community does not contain sufficient comparables or is unduly affected by severe economic conditions, the survey may utilize comparable rental units from the next closest established community that does have sufficient comparables or does not have a severely deflated or inflated housing market. The actual analysis of rental data for the establishment of base rental rates may be accomplished using appropriate statistical techniques, such as step-wise multiple regression.

To avoid duplication and inconsistent rates, all agencies with quarters in a given location should coordinate their survey plans and conduct a single survey applicable to all. The area selected for survey should be large enough to permit an adequate sampling of comparable rental properties in several established communities and may encompass one or more States. Ideally, the survey would establish the rental rates for a large number of Government quarters and thereby reduce the cost per unit surveyed. The methods of analysis must be capable of recognizing both the physical characteristics and the differences in economic conditions, and reflecting such differences in the base rental rates. Private rental housing samples reflecting extremely high or low rental rates should be excluded from the data base subjected to final analysis. Appropriate adjustments may be made to the base rental rates established for quarters in accordance with the provisions of subsection 7c.

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(7) d. Cyclical and annual adjustments; newly acquired quarters. Charges for rental quarters and related facilities shall be adjusted periodically in accordance with the following:

1. Adjustments based on surveys or appraisal. Base rental rates established for rental quarters shall be affirmed or adjusted by a survey or appraisal of the private rental market, as follows:

(a) At least every fifth year or when the base rental rate for the quarters has been increased by 40 percent through application of the rent series of the U.S. City Average Revised Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, Rent Series, whichever occurs first, or

(b) Any year when changes in the private rental market in the nearby established community indicate a need to adjust base rental rates on the basis of a survey or appraisal of the rental market.

2. Adjustments based on changes in the CPI. Annual adjustments in the base rental rate shall be made by applying the percent change in the CPI Rent Series from the month and year that the last regional survey or reappraisal of the private rental market was conducted. The new rates shall be effective at the beginning of the first pay period that starts on or after March 1 of each year. Though effective in March, the adjustment shall be based on the preceding September CPI data to provide the required lead time.

Attachment A – OMB No. 1084-0033