Title42-Public Health_1437d_pg.3737

Page 3737

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

§ 1437d. Contract provisions and requirements;
loans and annual contributions
(a) Conditions; elevators
The Secretary may include in any contract for
loans, contributions, sale, lease, mortgage, or any
other agreement or instrument made pursuant to
this chapter, such covenants, conditions, or
provisions as he may deem necessary in order to
insure the lower income character of the project
involved, in a manner consistent with the public
housing agency plan. Any such contract shall
require that, except in the case of housing
predominantly for elderly or disabled families,
high-rise elevator projects shall not be provided
for families with children unless the Secretary
makes a determination that there is no practical
alternative.
(b) Limitation on development costs
(1) Each contract for loans (other than preliminary loans) or contributions for the development, acquisition, or operation of public housing
shall provide that the total development cost of
the project on which the computation of any
annual contributions under this chapter may be
based may not exceed the amount determined
under paragraph (2) (for the appropriate structure
type) unless the Secretary provides otherwise, and
in any case may not exceed 110 per centum of
such amount unless the Secretary for good cause
determines otherwise.
(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary
shall determine the total development cost by
multiplying the construction cost guideline for
the project (which shall be determined by
averaging the current construction costs, as
listed by not less than 2 nationally recognized
residential construction cost indices, for publicly
bid construction of a good and sound quality)
by—
(A) in the case of elevator type structures, 1.6;
and
(B) in the case of nonelevator type structures,
1.75.
(3) In calculating the total development cost of a
project under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall
consider only capital assistance provided by the
Secretary to a public housing agency that are 1
authorized for use in connection with the
development of public housing, and shall exclude
all other amounts, including amounts provided
under—
(A) the HOME investment partnerships program
authorized under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act [42 U.S.C. 12721
et seq.]; or
()
the community development block grants
program under title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 [42 U.S.C.
5301 et seq.].
(4) The Secretary may restrict the amount of
capital funds that a public housing agency may use
to pay for housing construction costs. For purposes
of this paragraph, housing construction costs
include the actual hard costs for the construction
of units, builders’ overhead and profit, utilities from
the street, and finish landscaping.
1

So in original. Probably should be ‘‘is”.

§ 1437d

(c) Revision of maximum income limits; certification of compliance with requirements; notification of eligibility; informal hearing;
compliance with procedures for sound management
Every contract for contributions shall provide that—
(1) the Secretary may require the public
housing agency to review and revise its maximum
income limits if the Secretary determines that
changed conditions in the locality make such
revision necessary in achieving the purposes of
this chapter;
(2) the public housing agency shall determine, and so certify to the Secretary, that each
family in the project was admitted in accordance with duly adopted regulations and
approved income limits; and the public housing
agency shall review the incomes of families
living in the project no less frequently than
annually;
(3) the public housing agency shall not deny
admission to the project to any applicant on the
basis that the applicant is or has been a victim
of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking
if the applicant otherwise qualifies for
assistance or admission, and that nothing in
this section shall be construed to supersede any
provision of any Federal, State, or local law that
provides greater protection than this section for
victims of domestic violence, dating violence, or
stalking2
(4) the public housing agency shall promptly
notify (i) any applicant determined to be ineligible for admission to the project of the basis for
such determination and provide the applicant
upon request, within a reasonable time after the
determination is made, with an opportunity for
an informal hearing on such determination, and
(ii) any applicant determined to be eligible for
admission to the project of the approximate date
of occupancy insofar as such date can be
reasonably determined; and
(5) the public housing agency shall comply with
such procedures and requirements as the Secretary
may prescribe to assure that sound management
practices will be followed in the operation of the
project, including requirements pertaining to—
(A)
making dwelling units in public
housing available for occupancy, which shall
provide that the public housing agency may
establish a system for making dwelling units
available that provides preference for such
occupancy to families having certain characteristics; each system of preferences established pursuant to this subparagraph shall be
based upon local housing needs and priorities, as determined by the public housing
agency using generally accepted data
sources, including any information obtained
pursuant to an opportunity for public comment as provided under section 1437c–1(f) of
this title and under the requirements applicable to the comprehensive housing affordability strategy for the relevant jurisdiction;
(B)
the establishment of satisfactory
procedures designed to assure the prompt pay-

2 So

in original. Probably should be followed by a semicolon.

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

ment and collection of rents and the prompt
processing of evictions in the case of nonpayment
of rent;
(C) the establishment of effective tenantmanagement relationships designed to assure that satisfactory standards of tenant
security and project maintenance are formulated and that the public housing agency (together with tenant councils where they exist)
enforces those standards fully and effectively;
(D) the development by local housing authority
managements
of
viable
homeownership
opportunity programs for low-income families
capable of assuming the responsibilities of
homeownership;
(E) for each agency that receives assistance
under this subchapter, the establishment and
maintenance of a system of accounting for
rental collections and costs (including
administrative, utility, maintenance, repair
and other operating costs) for each project or
operating cost center (as determined by the
Secretary), which collections and costs shall be
made available to the general public and
submitted to the appropriate local public
official (as determined by the Secretary);
except that the Secretary may permit agencies
owning or operating less than 500 units to
comply with the requirements of this
subparagraph by accounting on an agencywide basis; and
(F) requiring the public housing agency to
ensure and maintain compliance with subtitle
C of title VI of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1992 [42 U.S.C. 13601 et
seq.] and any regulations issued under such
subtitle.
(d) Exemption from personal and real property
taxes; payments in lieu of taxes; cash contribution or tax remission
Every contract for contributions with respect to
a low-income housing project shall provide that no
contributions by the Secretary shall be made
available for such project unless such project
(exclusive of any portion thereof which is not
assisted by contributions under this chapter) is
exempt from all real and personal property taxes
levied or imposed by the State, city, county, or
other political subdivision; and such contract shall
require the public housing agency to make
payments in lieu of taxes equal to 10 per centum
of the sum of the shelter rents charged in such
project, or such lesser amount as (i) is prescribed
by State law, or (ii) is agreed to by the local
governing body in its agreement for local
cooperation with the public housing agency
required under section 1437c(e)(2) of this title, or
(iii) is due to failure of a local public body or bodies
other than the public housing agency to perform
any obligation under such agreement. If any such
project is not exempt from all real and personal
property taxes levied or imposed by the State, city,
county, or other political subdivision, such
contract shall provide, in lieu of the requirement
for tax exemption and payments in lieu of taxes,
that no contributions by the Secretary shall be
made available for such project unless and until
the State, city, county, or other political
subdivision in

Page 3738

which such project is situated shall contribute, in the
form of cash or tax remission, the amount by which
the taxes paid with respect to the project exceed 10
per centum of the shelter rents charged in such
project.
(e) Repealed. Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 529(2),
Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2569
(f) Housing quality requirements
(1) In general
Each contract for contributions for a public
housing agency shall require that the agency
maintain its public housing in a condition that
complies with standards which meet or exceed
the housing quality standards established
under paragraph (2).
(2) Federal standards
The Secretary shall establish housing quality
standards under this paragraph that ensure that
public housing dwelling units are safe and
habitable. Such standards shall include requirements relating to habitability, including
maintenance, health and sanitation factors,
condition, and construction of dwellings, and
shall, to the greatest extent practicable, be
consistent with the standards established under
section 1437f(o)(8)(B)(i) of this title. The Secretary
may determine whether the laws, regulations,
standards, or codes of any State or local
jurisdiction meet or exceed these standards, for
purposes of this subsection.
(3) Annual inspections
Each public housing agency that owns or operates public housing shall make an annual inspection of each public housing project to determine whether units in the project are maintained in accordance with the requirements
under paragraph (1). The agency shall retain the
results of such inspections and, upon the
request of the Secretary, the Inspector General
for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, or any auditor conducting an
audit under section 1437c(h) of this title, shall
make such results available.
(g) Substantial default; conveyance of title and
delivery of possession; reconveyance and redelivery; payments for outstanding obligations
Every contract for contributions (including
contracts which amend or supersede contracts
previously made) may provide that—
(1) upon the occurrence of a substantial default in respect to the covenants or conditions
to which the public housing agency is subject
(as such substantial default shall be defined in
such contract), the public housing agency shall
be obligated at the option of the Secretary either
to convey title in any case where, in the
determination
of
the
Secretary
(which
determination shall be final and conclusive),
such conveyance of title is necessary to achieve
the purposes of this chapter, or to deliver to the
Secretary possession of the project, as then
constituted, to which such contract relates; and
(2) the Secretary shall be obligated to recon-vey
or redeliver possession of the project as constituted
at the time of reconveyance or re-

Page 3739

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

delivery, to such public housing agency or to its
successor (if such public housing agency or a
successor exists) upon such terms as shall be
prescribed in such contract, and as soon as
practicable (i) after the Secretary is satisfied
that all defaults with respect to the project have
been cured, and that the project will, in order to
fulfill the purposes of this chapter, thereafter be
operated in accordance with the terms of such
contract; or (ii) after the termination of the
obligation to make annual contributions
available unless there are any obligations or
covenants of the public housing agency to the
Secretary which are then in default. Any prior
conveyances and reconvey-ances or deliveries
and redeliveries of possession shall not exhaust
the right to require a conveyance or delivery of
possession of the project to the Secretary
pursuant to subparagraph (1) upon the
subsequent occurrence of a substantial default.
Whenever such a contract for annual contributions includes provisions which the Secretary in
such contract determines are in accordance with
this subsection, and the portion of the annual
contribution payable for debt service requirements pursuant to such contract has been
pledged by the public housing agency as security
for the payment of the principal and interest on
any of its obligations, the Secretary (notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter)
shall continue to make such annual contributions available for the project so long as any of
such obligations remain outstanding, and may
covenant in such contract that in any event such
annual contributions shall in each year be at
least equal to an amount which, together with
such income or other funds as are actually
available from the project for the purpose at the
time such annual contribution is made, will suffice for the payment of all installments, falling
due within the next succeeding twelve months, of
principal and interest on the obligations for
which the annual contributions provided for in
the contract shall have been pledged as security.
In no case shall such annual contributions be in
excess of the maximum sum specified in the contract involved, nor for longer than the remainder
of the maximum period fixed by the contract.
(h)
New construction contracts
On or after October 1, 1983, the Secretary may
enter into a contract involving new construction
only if the public housing agency demonstrates
to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the cost
of new construction in the neighborhood where
the public housing agency determines the
housing is needed is less than the cost of
acquisition or acquisition and rehabilitation in
such neighborhood, including any reserve fund
under subsection (i) of this section, would be.
(i) Reserve fund; major repairs
The Secretary may, upon application by a public
housing agency in connection with the acquisition
of housing for use as public housing, establish
and set aside a reserve fund in an amount not to
exceed 30 per centum of the acquisition cost
which shall be available for use for major repairs
to such housing.

§ 1437d

( ) Performance indicators for public housing
agencies
(1) The Secretary shall develop and publish in the
Federal Register indicators to assess the
management performance of public housing
agencies and resident management corporations.
The indicators shall be established by rule under
section 553 of title 5. Such indicators shall enable
the Secretary to evaluate the performance of public
housing agencies and resident management
corporations in all major areas of management
operations. The Secretary shall, in particular, use
the following indicators for public housing
agencies, to the extent practicable:
(A) The number and percentage of vacancies
within an agency’s inventory, including the progress
that an agency has made within the previous 3
years to reduce such vacancies.
(B) The amount and percentage of funds provided to the public housing agency from the
Capital Fund under section 1437g(d) of this title
which remain unobligated by the public housing
agency after 3 years.
(C) The percentage of rents uncollected.
(D) The utility consumption (with appropriate
adjustments to reflect different regions and unit
sizes).
(E) The average period of time that an agency
requires to repair and turn-around vacant units.
(F) The proportion of maintenance work orders outstanding, including any progress that
an agency has made during the preceding 3
years to reduce the period of time required to
complete maintenance work orders.
(G) The percentage of units that an agency fails
to inspect to ascertain maintenance or
modernization needs within such period of time
as the Secretary deems appropriate (with
appropriate adjustments, if any, for large and
small agencies).
(H) The extent to which the public housing
agency—
(i) coordinates, promotes, or provides effective
programs and activities to promote the economic
self-sufficiency of public housing residents; and
(ii) provides public housing residents with
opportunities for involvement in the administration of the public housing.
(I) 3 The extent to which the public housing
agency—
(i) implements effective screening and eviction
policies and other anticrime strategies; and
(ii) coordinates with local government officials and residents in the project and implementation of such strategies.
(J) The extent to which the public housing agency
is providing acceptable basic housing conditions.
(K) Any other factors as the Secretary deems
appropriate which shall not exceed the seven
factors in the statute, plus an additional five.
(I) 4 The Secretary shall:
(1) administer the system of evaluatin g
public housing agencies flexibly to ensure
3 Another
4 Another

subpar. (I) is set out after subpar. (K).
subpar. (I) is set out before subpar. (J).

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

that such agencies are not penalized as result of
circumstances beyond their control;
(2) reflect in the weights assigned to the
various indicators the differences in the difficulty
of managing individual projects that result from
their physical condition and their neighborhood
environment; and
(3) determine a public housing agency’s
status as “troubled with respect to the program
under section 1437l 5 of this title” based upon
factors solely related to its ability to carry out
that program.
(2)(A)(i) The Secretary shall, under the rulemaking procedures under section 553 of title 5,
establish procedures for designating troubled
public housing agencies, which procedures shall
include identification of serious and substantial
failure to perform as measured by the performance
indicators specified under paragraph (1) and such
other factors as the Secretary may deem to be
appropriate. Such procedures shall provide that an
agency that fails on a widespread basis to provide
acceptable basic housing conditions for its
residents shall be designated as a troubled public
housing agency. The Secretary may use a simplified
set of indicators for public housing agencies with
less than 250 public housing units. The Secretary
shall also designate, by rule under section 553 of
title 5, agencies that are troubled with respect to
the program for assistance from the Capital Fund
under section 1437g(d) of this title.
(ii) The Secretary may also, in consultation with
national
organizations
representing
public
housing agencies and public officials (as the Secretary determines appropriate), identify and
commend public housing agencies that meet the
performance standards established under paragraph (1) in an exemplary manner.
(iii) The Secretary shall establish procedures for
public housing agencies to appeal designation as
a troubled agency (including designation as a
troubled agency for purposes of the program for
assistance from the Capital Fund under section
1437g(d) of this title), to petition for removal of
such designation, and to appeal any refusal to
remove such designation.
(B)(i) Upon designating a public housing agency
with more than 250 units as troubled pursuant to
subparagraph (A) and determining that an
assessment under this subparagraph will not
duplicate any comparable and recent review, the
Secretary shall provide for an on-site, independent assessment of the management of the agency.
(ii) To the extent the Secretary deems appropriate
(taking into account an agency’s performance
under the indicators specified under paragraph
(1)), the assessment team shall also consider
issues relating to the agency’s resident population
and physical inventory, including the extent to
which (I) the agency’s comprehensive plan
prepared pursuant to section 1437l 5 of this title
adequately and appropriately addresses the
rehabilitation needs of the agency’s inventory, (II)
residents of the agency are involved in and
informed of significant management decisions,
and (III) any projects in the agency’s in5

See References in Text note below.

Page 3740

ventory are severely distressed and eligible for
assistance pursuant to section 1437v of this title.
(iii) An independent assessment under this
subparagraph shall be carried out by a team of
knowledgeable individuals selected by the Secretary (referred to in this section as the “assessment team”) with expertise in public housing and
real estate management. In conducting an
assessment, the assessment team shall consult
with the residents and with public and private
entities in the jurisdiction in which the public
housing is located. The assessment team shall
provide to the Secretary and the public housing
agency a written report, which shall contain, at a
minimum, recommendations for such management improvements as are necessary to eliminate
or substantially remedy existing deficiencies.
(C) The Secretary shall seek to enter into an
agreement with each troubled public housing agency,
after reviewing the report submitted pursuant to
subparagraph (B) (if applicable) and consulting with
the agency’s assessment team. Such agreement shall
set forth—
(i) targets for improving performance as
measured by the performance indicators specified under paragraph (1) and other requirements within a specified period of time;
(ii) strategies for meeting such targets, including a description of the technical assistance
that the Secretary will make available to the agency;
and
(iii) incentives or sanctions for effective implementation of such strategies, which may
include any constraints on the use of funds
that the Secretary determines are appropriate.
To the extent the Secretary deems appropriate
(taking into account an agency’s performance
under the indicators specified under paragraph
(1)), such agreement shall also set forth a plan for
enhancing resident involvement in the management of the public housing agency. The Secretary and the public housing agency shall, to the
maximum extent practicable, seek the assistance
of local public and private entities in carrying out
the agreement.
(D) The Secretary shall apply the provisions of
this paragraph to resident management corporations as well as public housing agencies.
(3)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law or of any contract for contributions, upon the
occurrence of events or conditions that constitute
a substantial default by a public housing agency
with respect to the covenants or conditions to
which the public housing agency is subject or an
agreement entered into under paragraph (2), the
Secretary may—
(i) solicit competitive proposals from other
public housing agencies and private housing
management agents which (I) in the discretion
of the Secretary, may be selected by existing
public housing residents through administrative procedures established by the Secretary,
and (II) if appropriate, shall provide for such
agents to manage all, or part, of the housing
administered by the public housing agency or
all or part of the other programs of the agency;
(ii) petition for the appointment of a receiver (which may be another public housing

Page 3741

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

agency or a private management corporation) of
the public housing agency to any district court
of the United States or to any court of the State
in which the real property of the public housing
agency is situated, that is authorized to appoint
a receiver for the purposes and having the
powers prescribed in this subsection;
(iii) solicit competitive proposals from other
public housing agencies and private entities with
experience in construction management in the
eventuality that such agencies or firms may be
needed to oversee implementation of assistance
made available from the Capital Fund under
section 1437g(d) of this title for the housing; and6
(iv) take possession of all or part of the public
housing agency, including all or part of any project
or program of the agency, including any project or
program under any other provision of this
subchapter; and
(v) require the agency to make other arrangements acceptable to the Secretary and in
the best interests of the public housing residents
and families assisted under section 1437f of this
title for managing all, or part, of the public
housing administered by the agency or of the
programs of the agency.
Residents of a public housing agency designated
as troubled pursuant to paragraph (2)(A) may petition the Secretary in writing to take 1 or more of
the actions referred to in this subparagraph. The
Secretary shall respond to such petitions in a
timely manner with a written description of the
actions, if any, the Secretary plans to take and,
where applicable, the reasons why such actions
differ from the course proposed by the residents.
(B)(i) If a public housing agency is identified as
troubled under this subsection, the Secretary shall
notify the agency of the troubled status of the agency.
(ii)(I) Upon the expiration of the 1-year period
beginning on the later of the date on which the
agency receives initial notice from the Secretary of
the troubled status of the agency under clause (i)
and October 21, 1998, the agency shall improve its
performance, as measured by the performance
indicators established pursuant to paragraph (1),
by at least 50 percent of the difference between the
most recent performance measurement and the
measurement necessary to remove that agency’s
designation as troubled.
(II) Upon the expiration of the 2-year period
beginning on the later of the date on which the
agency receives initial notice from the Secretary of
the troubled status of the agency under clause (i)
and October 21, 1998, the agency shall improve
its performance, as measured by the performance
indicators established pursuant to paragraph (1),
such that the agency is no longer designated as
troubled.
(III) In the event that a public housing agency
designated as troubled under this subsection
fails to comply with the requirements set forth
in subclause (I) or (II), the Secretary shall— (aa)
in the case of a troubled public housing agency
with 1,250 or more units, petition for
6

So in original. The word “and” probably should not appear.

§ 1437d

the appointment of a receiver pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii); or
(bb) in the case of a troubled public housing
agency with fewer than 1,250 units, either petition for the appointment of a receiver pursuant
to subparagraph (A)(ii), or take possession of the
public housing agency (including all or part of
any project or program of the agency) pursuant
to subparagraph (A)(iv) and appoint, on a
competitive or
noncompetitive basis, an
individual or entity as an administrative receiver
to assume the responsibilities of the Secretary
for the administration of all or part of the public
housing agency (including all or part of any
project or program of the agency).
This subparagraph shall not be construed to limit the
courses of action available to the Secretary under
subparagraph (A).
()
During the period between the date on
which a petition is filed under subclause (III)(aa)
and the date on which a receiver assumes responsibility for the management of the public
housing agency under such subclause, the Secretary may take possession of the public housing
agency (including all or part of any project or
program of the agency) pursuant to subparagraph
(A)(iv) and may appoint, on a competitive or
noncompetitive basis, an individual or entity as an
administrative receiver to assume the responsibilities of the Secretary for the administration of all or part of the public housing agency
(including all or part of any project or program of
the agency).
(C) If a receiver is appointed pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii), in addition to the powers accorded by the court appointing the receiver, the
receiver—
(i) may abrogate any contract to which the
United States or an agency of the United States
is not a party that, in the receiver’s written
determination (which shall include the basis
for such determination), substantially impedes
correction of the substantial default, but only
after the receiver determines that reasonable
efforts to renegotiate such contract have failed;
(ii) may demolish and dispose of all or part of
the assets of the public housing agency (including all or part of any project of the agency)
in accordance with section 1437p of this title,
including disposition by transfer of properties to
resident-supported nonprofit entities;
(iii) if determined to be appropriate by the
Secretary, may seek the establishment, as
permitted by applicable State and local law, of 1 or
more new public housing agencies;
(iv) if determined to be appropriate by the
Secretary, may seek consolidation of all or part
of the agency (including all or part of any
project or program of the agency), as permitted
by applicable State and local laws, into other
well-managed public housing agencies with the
consent of such well-managed agencies; and
(v) shall not be required to comply with any
State or local law relating to civil service requirements, employee rights (except civil rights),
procurement, or financial or administrative controls
that, in the receiver’s written determination (which
shall include the basis for such determination),
substantially impedes correction of the substantial
default.

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

(D)(i) If, pursuant to subparagraph (A)(iv), the
Secretary takes possession of all or part of the
public housing agency, including all or part of
any project or program of the agency, the Secretary—
(I) may abrogate any contract to which the
United States or an agency of the United States
is not a party that, in the written determination of the Secretary (which shall include the basis for such determination), substantially impedes correction of the substantial default, but only after the Secretary determines that reasonable efforts to renegotiate
such contract have failed;
(II) may demolish and dispose of all or part of
the assets of the public housing agency (including all or part of any project of the agency)
in accordance with section 1437p of this title,
including disposition by transfer of properties to
resident-supported nonprofit entities;
(I)
may seek the establishment, as permitted by applicable State and local law, of 1 or
more new public housing agencies;
(III) may seek consolidation of all or part of
the agency (including all or part of any project
or program of the agency), as permitted by
applicable State and local laws, into other
well-managed public housing agencies with
the consent of such well-managed agencies;
(IV) shall not be required to comply with any
State or local law relating to civil service requirements, employee rights (except civil
rights), procurement, or financial or administrative controls that, in the Secretary’s written
determination (which shall include the basis
for such determination), substantially impedes
correction of the substantial default; and
(II) shall, without any action by a district
court of the United States, have such additional
authority as a district court of the United States
would have the authority to confer upon a
receiver to achieve the purposes of the
receivership.
(ii)
If,
pursuant
to
subparagraph
(B)(ii)(III)(bb), the Secretary appoints an administrative receiver to assume the responsibilities of the
Secretary for the administration of all or part of the
public housing agency (including all or part of any
project or program of the agency), the Secretary may
delegate to the administrative receiver any or all of the
powers given the Secretary by this subparagraph, as
the Secretary determines to be appropriate and
subject to clause (iii).
( )
An administrative receiver may not take
an action described in subclause (III) or (IV) of
clause (i) unless the Secretary first approves an
application by the administrative receiver to
authorize such action.
(E) The Secretary may make available to receivers and other entities selected or appointed
pursuant to this paragraph such assistance as the
Secretary determines in the discretion of the
Secretary is necessary and available to remedy the
substantial deterioration of living conditions in
individual public housing projects or other related
emergencies that endanger the health, safety, and
welfare of public housing residents or families
assisted under section 1437f

Page 3742

of this title. A decision made by the Secretary
under this paragraph shall not be subject to review in any court of the United States, or in any
court of any State, territory, or possession of the
United States.
(F) In any proceeding under subparagraph
(A)(ii), upon a determination that a substantial
default has occurred and without regard to the
availability of alternative remedies, the court shall
appoint a receiver to conduct the affairs of all or
part of the public housing agency in a manner
consistent with this chapter and in accordance
with such further terms and conditions as the
court may provide. The receiver appointed may be
another public housing agency, a private
management corporation, or any other person or
appropriate entity. The court shall have power to
grant appropriate temporary or preliminary relief
pending final disposition of the petition by the
Secretary.
(G) The appointment of a receiver pursuant to
this paragraph may be terminated, upon the petition of any party, when the court determines that
all defaults have been cured or the public housing
agency is capable again of discharging its duties.
(H) If the Secretary (or an administrative receiver appointed by the Secretary) takes possession of a public housing agency (including all or
part of any project or program of the agency), or if
a receiver is appointed by a court, the Secretary
or receiver shall be deemed to be acting not in the
official capacity of that person or entity, but
rather in the capacity of the public housing
agency, and any liability incurred, regardless of
whether the incident giving rise to that liability
occurred while the Secretary or receiver was in
possession of all or part of the public housing
agency (including all or part of any project or
program of the agency), shall be the liability of the
public housing agency.
(4) SANCTIONS FOR IMPROPER USE OF AMOUNTS.—
(A) I N GENERAL .—In addition to any other
actions authorized under this chapter, if the
Secretary finds that a public housing agency
receiving assistance amounts under section
1437g of this title for public housing has failed
to comply substantially with any provision of this
chapter relating to the public housing program,
the Secretary may—
(i) terminate assistance payments under
this7 section 1437g of this title to the agency;
(ii) withhold from the agency amounts from
the total allocations for the agency pursuant to
section 1437g of this title;
(i)
reduce the amount of future assistance
payments under section 1437g of this title to
the agency by an amount equal to the amount
of such payments that were not expended in
accordance with this chapter;
(ii) limit the availability of assistance
amounts provided to the agency under section 1437g of this title to programs, projects,
or activities not affected by such failure to
comply;
(iii) withhold from the agency amounts allocated for the agency under section 1437f of this
title; or
7 So

in original. The word “this” probably should not appear.

Page 3743

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

(vi) order other corrective action with respect
to the agency.
(B) T ERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE ACTION .—If
the Secretary takes action under subparagraph
(A) with respect to a public housing agency, the
Secretary shall—
(i) in the case of action under subparagraph (A)(i), resume payments of assistance
amounts under section 1437g of this title to
the agency in the full amount of the total
allocations under section 1437g of this title
for the agency at the time that the Secretary
first determines that the agency will comply
with the provisions of this chapter relating to
the public housing program;
(ii) in the case of action under clause (ii) or
(v) of subparagraph (A), make withheld
amounts available as the Secretary considers
appropriate to ensure that the agency
complies with the provisions of this chapter
relating to such program;
(iii) in the case of action under subparagraph (A)(iv), release such restrictions at the
time that the Secretary first determines that
the agency will comply with the provisions of
this chapter relating to such program; or
(iv) in the case of action under subparagraph (vi), cease such action at the time that
the Secretary first determines that the agency
will comply with the provisions of this chapter
relating to such program.
(5) The Secretary shall submit to the Congress
annually, as a part of the report of the Secretary
under section 3536 of this title, a report that—
(A) identifies the public housing agencies that
have been designated as troubled under paragraph
(2);
(B) describes the grounds on which such public housing agencies were designated as troubled
and continue to be so designated;
(C) describes the agreements that have been
entered into with such agencies under such
paragraph;
(D) describes the status of progress under such
agreements;
(E) describes any action that has been taken in
accordance with paragraph (3), including an
accounting of the authorized funds that have been
expended to support such actions; and
(F) describes the status of any public housing
agency designated as troubled with respect to the
program for assistance from the Capital Fund
under section 1437g(d) of this title and specifies
the amount of assistance the agency received
under such program.
(6)(A) To the extent that the Secretary determines
such action to be necessary in order to ensure the
accuracy of any certification made under this
section,
the
Secretary
shall
require
an
independent auditor to review documentation or
other information maintained by a public housing
agency pursuant to this section to substantiate
each certification submitted by the agency or
corporation relating to the performance of that
agency or corporation.
(B) The Secretary may withhold, from assistance otherwise payable to the agency or corporation under section 1437g of this title,

§ 1437d

amounts sufficient to pay for the reasonable costs
of any review under this paragraph.
(7) The Secretary shall apply the provisions of
this subsection to resident management corporations in the same manner as applied to public
housing agencies.
(k) Administrative grievance procedure regulations: grounds of adverse action, hearing, examination of documents, representation, evidence, decision; judicial hearing; eviction and
termination procedures
The Secretary shall by regulation require each
public housing agency receiving assistance under this
chapter to establish and implement an administrative
grievance procedure under which tenants will—
(1) be advised of the specific grounds of any
proposed adverse public housing agency action;
(2) have an opportunity for a hearing before an
impartial party upon timely request within any
period applicable under subsection (l) of this
section;
(3) have an opportunity to examine any documents or records or regulations related to the
proposed action;
(4) be entitled to be represented by another
person of their choice at any hearing;
(5) be entitled to ask questions of witnesses
and have others make statements on their behalf; and
(6) be entitled to receive a written decision by
the public housing agency on the proposed
action.
For any grievance concerning an eviction or termination of tenancy that involves any activity that
threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful
enjoyment of the premises of other tenants or
employees of the public housing agency or any
violent or drug-related criminal activity on or off
such premises, or any activity resulting in a felony
conviction, the agency may (A) establish an
expedited grievance procedure as the Secretary
shall provide by rule under section 553 of title 5,
or (B) exclude from its grievance procedure any
such grievance, in any jurisdiction which requires
that prior to eviction, a tenant be given a hearing
in court which the Secretary determines provides
the basic elements of due process (which the
Secretary shall establish by rule under section
553 of title 5). Such elements of due process shall
not include a requirement that the tenant be
provided an opportunity to examine relevant
documents within the possession of the public
housing agency. The agency shall provide to the
tenant a reasonable opportunity, prior to hearing
or trial, to examine any relevant documents,
records, or regulations directly related to the
eviction or termination.
(l) Leases; terms and conditions; maintenance;
termination
Each public housing agency shall utilize leases
which—
(1) have a term of 12 months and shall be
automatically renewed for all purposes except
for noncompliance with the requirements under
section 1437j(c) of this title (relating to
community service requirements); except that

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

nothing in this subchapter shall prevent a
resident from seeking timely redress in court for
failure to renew based on such noncompliance;
(2) do not contain unreasonable terms and
conditions;
(3) obligate the public housing agency to maintain
the project in a decent, safe, and sanitary condition;
(4) require the public housing agency to give
adequate written notice of termination of the lease
which shall not be less than—
(A) a reasonable period of time, but not to exceed
30 days—
(i) if the health or safety of other tenants,
public housing agency employees, or persons
residing in the immediate vicinity of the
premises is threatened; or
(ii) in the event of any drug-related or
violent criminal activity or any felony conviction;
(B) 14 days in the case of nonpayment of rent;
and
(C) 30 days in any other case, except that if a
State or local law provides for a shorter period
of time, such shorter period shall apply;
(5) require that the public housing agency may
not terminate the tenancy except for serious or
repeated violation of the terms or conditions of
the lease or for other good cause, and that an
incident or incidents of actual or threatened
domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking
will not be construed as a serious or repeated
violation of the lease by the victim or threatened
victim of that violence and will not be good cause
for terminating the tenancy or occupancy rights
of the victim of such violence;
(6) provide that any criminal activity that
threatens the health, safety, or right to peaceful
enjoyment of the premises by other tenants or
any drug-related criminal activity on or off such
premises, engaged in by a public housing
tenant, any member of the tenant’s household,
or any guest or other person under the tenant’s
control, shall be cause for termination of
tenancy; except that: (A) criminal activity
directly relating to domestic violence, dating
violence, or stalking, engaged in by a member of
a tenant’s household or any guest or other
person under the tenant’s control, shall not be
cause for termination of the tenancy or
occupancy rights, if the tenant or immediate
member of the tenant’s family is a victim of that
domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking;
(B) notwithstanding subparagraph (A) or any
Federal, State, or local law to the contrary, a
public housing agency may bifurcate a lease
under this section, or remove a household
member from a lease under this section, without
regard to whether a household member is a
signatory to a lease, in order to evict, remove,
terminate occupancy rights, or terminate
assistance to any individual who is a tenant or
lawful occupant and who engages in criminal
acts of physical violence against family members
or
others,
without
evicting,
removing,
terminating
assistance
to,
or
otherwise
penalizing the victim of

Page 3744

such violence who is also a tenant or lawful
occupant and such eviction, removal, termination of occupancy rights, or termination of
assistance shall be effected in accordance with
the procedures prescribed by Federal, State, and
local law for the termination of leases or
assistance under the relevant program of HUDassisted housing; (C) nothing in subparagraph
(A) may be construed to limit the authority of a
public housing agency, when notified, to honor
court orders addressing rights of access to or
control of the property, including civil protection
orders issued to protect the victim and issued to
address the distribution or possession of
property among the household members in cases
where a family breaks up;
(D) nothing in subparagraph (A) limits any
otherwise available authority of a public housing agency to evict a tenant for any violation of
a lease not premised on the act or acts of
violence in question against the tenant or a
member of the tenant’s household, provided that
the public housing agency does not subject an
individual who is or has been a victim of
domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking to
a more demanding standard than other tenants
in determining whether to evict or terminate; (E)
nothing in subparagraph (A) may be construed
to limit the authority of a public housing agency
to terminate the tenancy of any tenant if the
public housing agency can demonstrate an
actual and imminent threat to other tenants or
those employed at or providing service to the
property if that tenant’s tenancy is not
terminated; and (F) nothing in this section shall
be construed to supersede any provision of any
Federal, State, or local law that provides greater
protection than this section for victims of
domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking.;
8

(7) specify that with respect to any notice of
eviction or termination, notwithstanding any
State law, a public housing tenant shall be informed of the opportunity, prior to any hearing
or trial, to examine any relevant documents,
records, or regulations directly related to the
eviction or termination;
(7) 9 provide that any occupancy in violation of
section 13661(b) of this title (relating to ineligibility of illegal drug users and alcohol
abusers) or the furnishing of any false or misleading information pursuant to section 13662 of
this title (relating to termination of tenancy and
assistance for illegal drug users and alcohol
abusers) shall be cause for termination of
tenancy; 10
(9) provide that it shall be cause for immediate
termination of the tenancy of a public housing
tenant if such tenant—
(A) is fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement after conviction, under
the laws of the place from which the individual
flees, for a crime, or attempt to commit a
crime, which is a felony under the laws of the
place from which the individual flees, or
which, in the case of the State of New Jersey,
is a high misdemeanor under the laws of such
State; or
So in original. The period probably should not appear.
So in original. Probably should be “(8)”.
10 So in original. Probably should be followed by “and”.
8
9

Page 3745

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

(2) 11 is violating a condition of probation or
parole imposed under Federal or State law.
For purposes of paragraph (5),12 the term “drugrelated criminal activity” means the illegal
manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or possession
with intent to manufacture, sell, distribute, or use,
of a controlled substance (as defined in section 802
of title 21).
(m) Reporting requirements; limitation
The Secretary shall not impose any unnecessarily
duplicative or burdensome reporting requirements
on tenants or public housing agencies assisted
under this chapter.
(n) Notice to post office regarding eviction for
criminal activity
When a public housing agency evicts an individual or family from a dwelling unit for engaging
in criminal activity, including drug-related
criminal activity, the public housing agency shall
notify the local post office serving that dwelling
unit that such individual or family is no longer
residing in the dwelling unit.
(o) Public housing assistance for foster care children
In providing housing in low-income housing
projects, each public housing agency may coordinate
with any local public agencies involved in providing
for the welfare of children to make available dwelling
units to—
(1) families identified by the agencies as having a lack of adequate housing that is a primary factor—
(A) in the imminent placement of a child in
foster care; or
(B) in preventing the discharge of a child from
foster care and reunification with his or her
family; and
(2) youth, upon discharge from foster care, in
cases in which return to the family or extended
family or adoption is not available.
(p) Repealed. Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 519(b),
Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2561
(q) Availability of records
(1) In general
(A) Provision of information
Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
except as provided in subparagraph (C), the
National Crime Information Center, police
departments, and other law enforcement
agencies shall, upon request, provide information to public housing agencies regarding
the criminal conviction records of adult applicants for, or tenants of, covered housing
assistance for purposes of applicant screening, lease enforcement, and eviction.
(B) Requests by owners of project-based section 8 [42 U.S.C. 1437f] housing
A public housing agency may make a request under subparagraph (A) for information regarding applicants for, or tenants of,
housing that is provided project-based as11
12

So in original. Probably should be “(B)”.
See References in Text note below.

§ 1437d

sistance under section 1437f of this title only
if the housing is located within the jurisdiction
of the agency and the owner of such housing
has requested that the agency obtain such
information on behalf of the owner. Upon such
a request by the owner, the agency shall make
a request under subparagraph (A) for the
information. The agency may not make such
information available to the owner but shall
perform
determinations
for
the
owner
regarding screening, lease enforcement, and
eviction based on criteria supplied by the
owner.
(C) Exception
A law enforcement agency described in
subparagraph (A) shall provide information
under this paragraph relating to any criminal conviction of a juvenile only to the extent
that the release of such information is
authorized under the law of the applicable
State, tribe, or locality.
(2) Opportunity to dispute
Before an adverse action is taken with regard
to assistance under this subchapter on the basis
of a criminal record, the public housing agency
shall provide the tenant or applicant with a copy
of the criminal record and an opportunity to
dispute the accuracy and relevance of that
record.
(3) Fees
A public housing agency may be charged a
reasonable fee for information provided under
paragraph (1). In the case of a public housing
agency obtaining information pursuant to
paragraph (1)(B) for another owner of housing,
the agency may pass such fee on to the owner
initiating the request and may charge additional
reasonable fees for making the request on behalf
of the owner and taking other actions for owners
under this subsection.
(4) Records management
Each public housing agency shall establish
and implement a system of records management
that ensures that any criminal record received
by the public housing agency is—
(A) maintained confidentially;
(B) not misused or improperly disseminated;
and
(C) destroyed, once the purpose for which
the record was requested has been accomplished.
(5) Confidentiality
A public housing agency receiving information
under this subsection may use such information
only for the purposes provided in this subsection
and such information may not be disclosed to
any person who is not an officer, employee, or
authorized representative of the agency and who
has a job-related need to have access to the
information in connection with admission of
applicants, eviction of tenants, or termination of
assistance. For judicial eviction proceedings,
disclosures may be made to the extent
necessary. The Secretary shall, by regulation,
establish procedures necessary to ensure that
information provided under this subsection to a
public
housing
agency
is
used,
and
confidentiality of such information is

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

maintained, as required under this subsection. The
Secretary
shall
establish
standards
for
confidentiality of information obtained under this
subsection by public housing agencies on behalf of
owners.
(6) Penalty
Any person who knowingly and willfully requests or obtains any information concerning an
applicant for, or tenant of, covered housing
assistance pursuant to the authority under this
subsection under false pretenses, or any person
who knowingly and willfully discloses any such
information in any manner to any individual not
entitled under any law to receive it, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor and fined not more than
$5,000. The term “person” as used in this
paragraph include 13 an officer, employee, or
authorized representative of any public housing
agency.
(7) Civil action
Any applicant for, or tenant of, covered housing
assistance affected by (A) a negligent or knowing
disclosure of information referred to in this
subsection about such person by an officer,
employee, or authorized representative of any
public housing agency, which disclosure is not
authorized by this subsection, or (B) any other
negligent or knowing action that is inconsistent
with this subsection, may bring a civil action for
damages and such other relief as may be
appropriate against any public housing agency
responsible for such unauthorized action. The
district court of the United States in the district
in which the affected applicant or tenant resides,
in which such unauthorized action occurred, or
in which the officer, employee, or representative
alleged to be responsible for any such
unauthorized
action
resides,
shall
have
jurisdiction in such matters. Appropriate relief
that may be ordered by such district courts shall
include reasonable attorney’s fees and other
litigation costs.
(8) Definitions
For purposes of this subsection, the following
definitions shall apply:
(A) Adult
The term “adult” means a person who is 18
years of age or older, or who has been convicted of a crime as an adult under any Federal, State, or tribal law.
(B) Covered housing assistance
The term “covered housing assistance” means—
(i) a dwelling unit in public housing;
(iii) a dwelling unit in housing that is
provided project-based assistance under section
1437f of this title, including new construction
and substantial rehabilitation projects; and
(iii) tenant-based assistance under section
1437f of this title.
(C) Owner
The term “owner” means, with respect to
covered housing assistance described in subparagraph (B)(ii), the entity or private per13

So in original. Probably should be ‘‘includes”.

Page 3746

son (including a cooperative or public housing
agency) that has the legal right to lease or
sublease dwelling units in the housing assisted.
(r) Site-based waiting lists
(1) Authority
A public housing agency may establish procedures for maintaining waiting lists for admissions to public housing projects of the
agency, which may include (notwithstanding
any other law, regulation, handbook, or notice
to the contrary) a system of site-based waiting
lists under which applicants may apply directly
at or otherwise designate the project or projects
in which they seek to reside. All such
procedures shall comply with all provisions of
title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [42 U.S.C.
2000d et seq.], the Fair Housing Act [42 U.S.C.
3601 et seq.], and other applicable civil rights
laws.
(2) Notice
Any system described in paragraph (1) shall
provide for the full disclosure by the public housing
agency to each applicant of any option available to
the applicant in the selection of the project in which
to reside.
(s) Authority to require access to criminal
records
A public housing agency may require, as a
condition of providing admission to the public
housing program or assisted housing program
under the jurisdiction of the public housing
agency, that each adult member of the household
provide a signed, written authorization for the
public housing agency to obtain records described
in subsection (q)(1) of this section regarding such
member of the household from the National Crime
Information Center, police departments, and
other law enforcement agencies.
(t) Obtaining information from drug abuse treatment facilities
(1) Authority
Notwithstanding any other provision of law
other than the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 201 et seq.), a public housing agency may
require each person who applies for admission
to public housing to sign one or more forms of
written consent authorizing the agency to
receive information from a drug abuse treatment
facility that is solely related to whether the
applicant is currently engaging in the illegal use
of a controlled substance.
(2) Confidentiality of applicant’s records
(A) Limitation on information requested
In a form of written consent, a public
housing agency may request only whether the
drug abuse treatment facility has reasonable
cause to believe that the applicant is currently
engaging in the illegal use of a controlled
substance.
(B) Records management
Each public housing agency that receives
information under this subsection from a
drug abuse treatment facility shall establish
and implement a system of records management that ensures that any information re-

Page 3747

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

ceived by the public housing agency under this
subsection—
(i) is maintained confidentially in accordance with section 543 of the Public Health
Service Act [42 U.S.C. 290dd–2];
(ii) is not misused or improperly disseminated; and
(iv) is destroyed, as applicable—
(I) not later than 5 business days after the
date on which the public housing agency
gives final approval for an application for
admission; or
(II) if the public housing agency denies
the application for admission, in a timely
manner after the date on which the statute
of limitations for the commencement of a
civil action from the applicant based upon
that denial of admission has expired.
(C) Expiration of written consent
In addition to the requirements of subparagraph (B), an applicant’s signed written
consent shall expire automatically after the
public housing agency has made a final decision to either approve or deny the appli-cant’s
application for admittance to public housing.
(3) Prohibition of discriminatory treatment of
applicants
(A) Forms signed
A public housing agency may only require
an applicant for admission to public housing
to sign one or more forms of written consent
under this subsection if the public housing
agency requires all such applicants to sign the
same form or forms of written consent.
(B) Circumstances of inquiry
A public housing agency may only make an
inquiry to a drug abuse treatment facility
under this subsection if—
(i) the public housing agency makes the
same inquiry with respect to all applicants;
or
(v) the public housing agency only
makes the same inquiry with respect to
each and every applicant with respect to
whom—
(I) the public housing agency receives
information from the criminal record of
the applicant that indicates evidence of a
prior arrest or conviction; or
(II) the public housing agency receives
information from the records of prior
tenancy of the applicant that demonstrates that the applicant—
(aa) engaged in the destruction of
property;
(bb) engaged in violent activity
against another person; or
(cc) interfered with the right of
peaceful enjoyment of the premises of
another tenant.
(4) Fee permitted
A drug abuse treatment facility may charge a
public housing agency a reasonable fee for
information provided under this subsection.
(5) Disclosure permitted by treatment facilities
A drug abuse treatment facility shall not be
liable for damages based on any information

§ 1437d

required to be disclosed pursuant to this subsection
if such disclosure is consistent with section 543 of
the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd–2).
(6) Option to not request information
A public housing agency shall not be liable
for damages based on its decision not to require each person who applies for admission to
public housing to sign one or more forms of
written consent authorizing the public housing
agency to receive information from a drug
abuse treatment facility under this subsection.
(7) Definitions
For purposes of this subsection, the following
definitions shall apply:
(A) Drug abuse treatment facility
The term “drug abuse treatment facility” means
an entity that—
(i) is—
(I) an identified unit within a general
medical care facility; or
(III) an entity other than a general
medical care facility; and
(ii) holds itself out as providing, and provides,
diagnosis, treatment, or referral for treatment
with respect to the illegal use of a controlled
substance.
(B) Controlled substance
The term “controlled substance” has the
meaning given the term in section 802 of title
21.
(C) Currently engaging in the illegal use of a
controlled substance
The term “currently engaging in the illegal use
of a controlled substance” means the illegal use
of a controlled substance that occurred recently
enough to justify a reasonable belief that an
applicant’s illegal use of a controlled substance
is current or that continuing illegal use of a
controlled substance by the applicant is a real
and ongoing problem.
(8) Effective date
This subsection shall take effect on October
21, 1998, and without the necessity of guidance
from, or any regulation issued by, the Secretary.
(u) Certification and confidentiality
(1) Certification
(A) In general
A public housing agency responding to
subsection (l)(5) and (6) of this section may
request that an individual certify via a HUD
approved certification form that the individual
is a victim of domestic violence, dating
violence, or stalking, and that the incident or
incidents in question are bona fide incidents of
such actual or threatened abuse and meet the
requirements set forth in the aforementioned
paragraphs. Such certification shall include
the name of the perpetrator. The individual
shall provide such certification within 14
business days after the individual receives a
request for such certification from the public
housing agency.

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

(B) Failure to provide certification
If the individual does not provide the certification within 14 business days after the
individual has received a request in writing for
such certification from the public housing
agency, nothing in this subsection, or in
paragraph (5) or (6) of subsection (l) of this
section, may be construed to limit the authority of the public housing agency to evict
any tenant or lawful occupant that commits
violations of a lease. The public housing
agency may extend the 14-day deadline at its
discretion.
(C) Contents
An individual may satisfy the certification
requirement of subparagraph (A) by—
(i) providing the requesting public housing agency with documentation signed by an
employee, agent, or volunteer of a victim
service provider, an attorney, or a medical
professional, from whom the victim has
sought assistance in addressing domestic
violence, dating violence, or stalking, or the
effects of the abuse, in which the professional
attests under penalty of perjury (28 U.S.C.
1746) to the pro-fessional’s belief that the
incident or incidents in question are bona
fide incidents of abuse, and the victim of
domestic violence, dating violence, or
stalking has signed or attested to the
documentation; or
(ii) producing a Federal, State, tribal,
territorial, or local police or court record.
(D) Limitation
Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require any public housing agency
to demand that an individual produce official
documentation or physical proof of the
individual’s status as a victim of domestic
violence, dating violence, or stalking in order
to receive any of the benefits provided in this
section. At the public housing agen-cy’s
discretion, a public housing agency may
provide benefits to an individual based solely
on the individual’s statement or other
corroborating evidence.
(E) Preemption
Nothing in this section shall be construed to
supersede any provision of any Federal, State,
or local law that provides greater protection
than this section for victims of domestic
violence, dating violence, or stalking.
(F) Compliance not sufficient to constitute
evidence of unreasonable act
Compliance with this statute by a public
housing agency, or assisted housing provider
based on the certification specified in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this subsection 14 or
based solely on the victim’s statement or other
corroborating evidence, as permitted by
subparagraph (D) of this subsection,14 shall not
alone be sufficient to constitute evidence of an
unreasonable act or omission by a public
housing agency or employee thereof. Nothing in
this subparagraph shall be construed to limit
liability for failure to
14

So in original. Probably should be ‘‘of this paragraph”.

Page 3748

comply with the requirements of subsection (l)(5)
and (6) of this section.
(2) Confidentiality
(A) In general
All information provided to any public
housing agency pursuant to paragraph (1),
including the fact that an individual is a victim
of domestic violence, dating violence, or
stalking, shall be retained in confidence by
such public housing agency, and shall neither
be entered into any shared database nor
provided to any related entity, except to the
extent that disclosure is—
(i) requested or consented to by the individual in writing;
(ii) required for use in an eviction proceeding
under subsection (l)(5) or (6) of this section; or
(vi)
otherwise required by applicable law.
(B) Notification
Public housing agencies must provide notice
to tenants assisted under this section of their
rights under this subsection and subsection
(l)(5) and (6) of this section, including their
right to confidentiality and the limits thereof.
(3) Definitions
For purposes of this subsection, subsection (c)(3)
of this section, and subsection (l)(5) and (6) of this
section—
(A) the term “domestic violence” has the same
meaning given the term in section 13925 of this
title;
(B) the term “dating violence” has the same
meaning given the term in section 13925 of
this title;
(C) the term “stalking” means—
(i)(I) to follow, pursue, or repeatedly
commit acts with the intent to kill, injure,
harass, or intimidate; or
(II) to place under surveillance with the intent
to kill, injure, harass, or intimidate another
person; and
(ii) in the course of, or as a result of, such
following, pursuit, surveillance, or repeatedly
committed acts, to place a person in reasonable
fear of the death of, or serious bodily injury to,
or to cause substantial emotional harm to—
(I) that person;
(II) a member of the immediate family of
that person; or
(III)
the spouse or intimate partner of
that person; and
(D) the term “immediate family member” means,
with respect to a person—
(i) a spouse, parent, brother or sister, or
child of that person, or an individual to
whom that person stands in loco parentis;
or
(ii) any other person living in the household
of that person and related to that person by
blood or marriage.
(Sept. 1, 1937, ch. 896, title I, § 6, as added Pub. L.
93–383, title II, § 201(a), Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 659;
amended Pub. L. 96–153, title II, § 206(a), Dec. 21,
1979, 93 Stat. 1108; Pub. L. 96–399, title II,

Page 3749

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

§§ 201(c), (e), 202(c), Oct. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1625, 1629;
Pub. L. 97–35, title III, § 322(c), (d), Aug. 13, 1981, 95
Stat. 402; Pub. L. 98–181, title II, §§ 201(c), 203(a), 204,
205, 214(b), Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1177–1179, 1185;
Pub. L. 98–479, title I, § 102(b)(4), (5), title II, § 204(b)(1),
Oct. 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 2221, 2233; Pub. L. 99–160, title
I, § 101, Nov. 25, 1985, 99 Stat. 910; Pub. L. 100–242,
title I, §§ 112(b)(2), 116, 170(d), Feb. 5, 1988, 101 Stat.
1824, 1826, 1867; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 100–358,
§ 5, June 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 681; Pub. L. 100–628, title
X, §§ 1001(b), 1014(a)(1), Nov. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 3263,
3269; Pub. L. 100–690, title V, § 5101, Nov. 18, 1988,
102 Stat. 4300; Pub. L. 101–144, title II, Nov. 9, 1989,
103 Stat. 846; Pub. L. 101–625, title V, §§ 501, 502(a),
(c)(1), 503(a), (b), 504–506, 572, Nov. 28, 1990, 104
Stat. 4180, 4181, 4183–4185, 4236; Pub. L. 102–139,
title II, Oct. 28, 1991, 105 Stat. 756, 757; Pub. L. 102–
550, title I, §§ 112, 113, title VI, §§ 622(b), 625(a)(2),
682(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3689, 3817, 3820,
3830; Pub. L. 103–233, title I, § 101(c)(1), title III, § 303,
Apr. 11, 1994, 108 Stat. 357, 370; Pub. L. 103–327, title
II, Sept. 28, 1994, 108 Stat. 2315; Pub. L. 104–99, title
IV, § 402(d)(1), (6)(A)(i), Jan. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 41, 42;
Pub. L. 104–120, § 9(a)–(c), Mar. 28, 1996, 110 Stat.
836, 837; Pub. L. 104–193, title IX, § 903(a)(1), Aug. 22,
1996, 110 Stat. 2348; Pub. L. 104–330, title V, §
501(b)(3), Oct. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 4042; Pub. L. 105–
276, title V, §§ 511(d), 512(b), 514(a)(1), (2)(A), 519(b),
520(b), 521, 525, 529, 530, 564, 565(a), 575, 576(d)(1),
Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2539, 2543, 2547, 2561, 2563,
2568, 2569, 2627, 2628, 2634, 2640; Pub. L. 109–162,
title VI, § 607, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3048; Pub. L.
109–271, § 5(f), Aug. 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 761.)
R EFERENCES IN T EXT
The Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(A), is Pub. L. 101–625,
Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4079. Title II of the Act, known
as the “HOME Investments Partnership Act”, is classified
principally to subchapter II (§ 12721 et seq.) of chapter
130 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to
the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 12701
of this title and Tables.
The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974,
referred to in subsec. (b)(3)(B), is Pub. L. 93–383, Aug. 22,
1974, 88 Stat. 633. Title I of the Act is classified principally
to chapter 69 (§ 5301 et seq.) of this title. For complete
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note
set out under section 5301 of this title and Tables.
The Housing and Community Development Act of 1992,
referred to in subsec. (c)(5)(F), is Pub. L. 102–550, Oct.
28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3672. Subtitle C of title VI of the Act
is classified generally to subchapter I (§ 13601 et seq.) of
chapter 135 of this title. For complete classification of
this Act to the Code, see Short Title of 1992 Amendment
note set out under section 5301 of this title and Tables.
Section 1437l of this title, referred to in subsec.
(j)(1)(I)(3), (2)(B)(ii), was repealed by Pub. L. 105–276, title
V, § 522(a), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2564.
Paragraph (5), referred to in the concluding provisions of
subsec. (l), was redesignated as par. (6) by Pub. L. 105–276,
title V, § 512(b)(1), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2543.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964, referred to in subsec. (r)(1),
is Pub. L. 88–352, July 2, 1964, 78 Stat. 241. Title VI of
the Act is classified generally to subchapter V (§ 2000d et
seq.) of chapter 21 of this title. For complete classification
of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under
section 2000a of this title and Tables.
The Fair Housing Act, referred to in subsec. (r)(1), is title
VIII of Pub. L. 90–284, Apr. 11, 1968, 82 Stat. 81, which is
classified principally to subchapter I (§ 3601 et

§ 1437d

seq.) of chapter 45 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out
under section 3601 of this title and Tables.
The Public Health Service Act, referred to in subsec.
(t)(1), is act July 1, 1944, ch. 373, 58 Stat. 682, which
is classified generally to chapter 6A (§ 201 et seq.) of this
title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code,
see Short Title note set out under section 201 of this title
and Tables.
PRIOR PROVISIONS
A prior section 6 of act Sept. 1, 1937, ch. 896, 50 Stat. 890,
as amended, enumerated financial provisions applicable to
the Authority and was classified to section 1406 of this title,
prior to the general revision of this chapter by Pub. L. 93–
383.
AMENDMENTS
2006—Subsec. (c)(3) to (5). Pub. L. 109–162, § 607(1), (2),
added par. (3) and redesignated former pars. (3) and (4) as (4)
and (5), respectively.
Subsec. (l)(5). Pub. L. 109–162, § 607(3), inserted “, and
that an incident or incidents of actual or threatened
domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking will not be
construed as a serious or repeated violation of the lease
by the victim or threatened victim of that violence and will
not be good cause for terminating the tenancy or
occupancy rights of the victim of such violence” before
semicolon at end.
Subsec. (l)(6). Pub. L. 109–162, § 607(4), inserted before
semicolon at end “; except that: (A) criminal activity
directly relating to domestic violence, dating violence, or
stalking, engaged in by a member of a tenant’s household
or any guest or other person under the ten-ant’s control,
shall not be cause for termination of the tenancy or
occupancy rights, if the tenant or immediate member of
the tenant’s family is a victim of that domestic violence,
dating violence, or stalking; (B) notwithstanding
subparagraph (A), a public housing agency under this
section may bifurcate a lease under this section, in order
to evict, remove, or terminate assistance to any individual
who is a tenant or lawful occupant and who engages in
criminal acts of physical violence against family members
or others, without evicting, removing, terminating
assistance to, or otherwise penalizing the victim of such
violence who is also a tenant or lawful occupant; (C)
nothing in subparagraph (A) may be construed to limit the
authority of a public housing agency, when notified, to
honor court orders addressing rights of access to or
control of the property, including civil protection orders
issued to protect the victim and issued to address the
distribution or possession of property among the
household members in cases where a family breaks up;
(D) nothing in subparagraph (A) limits any otherwise
available authority of a public housing agency to evict a
tenant for any violation of a lease not premised on the act
or acts of violence in question against the tenant or a
member of the tenant’s household, provided that the
public housing agency does not subject an individual who
is or has been a victim of domestic violence, dating
violence, or stalking to a more demanding standard than
other tenants in determining whether to evict or
terminate; (E) nothing in subparagraph (A) may be
construed to limit the authority of a public housing agency
to terminate the tenancy of any tenant if the public
housing agency can demonstrate an actual and imminent
threat to other tenants or those employed at or providing
service to the property if that tenant’s tenancy is not
terminated; and (F) nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede any provision of any Federal, State,
or local law that provides greater protection than this
section for victims of domestic violence, dating violence,
or stalking.”
Subsec. (l)(6)(B). Pub. L. 109–271, § 5(f)(1), added subpar. (B) and struck out former subpar. (B) which read as
follows: “notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a public
housing agency under this section may bifurcate a lease
under this section, in order to evict, remove, or

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

terminate assistance to any individual who is a tenant or
lawful occupant and who engages in criminal acts of
physical violence against family members or others,
without evicting, removing, terminating assistance to, or
otherwise penalizing the victim of such violence who is
also a tenant or lawful occupant;’’.
Subsec. (u). Pub. L. 109–162, § 607(5), added subsec. (u).
Subsec. (u)(1)(A). Pub. L. 109–271, § 5(f)(2)(A), substituted “the individual receives a request for such certification from the public housing agency’’ for “the public
housing agency requests such certification’’.
Subsec. (u)(1)(B). Pub. L. 109–271, § 5(f)(2)(B), substituted “the individual has received a request in writing
for such certification from the public housing agency’’
for “the public housing agency has requested such
certification in writing’’.
Subsec. (u)(3)(D)(ii). Pub. L. 109–271, § 5(f)(2)(C), substituted “blood or marriage’’ for “blood and marriage’’.
1998—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–276, § 511(d), in first
sentence, inserted “, in a manner consistent with the
public housing agency plan’’ before the period at end and
struck out after first sentence “Any such contract may
contain a condition requiring the maintenance of an open
space or playground in connection with the housing
project involved if deemed necessary by the Secretary for
the safety or health of children.’’
Subsec. (b)(3), (4). Pub. L. 105–276, § 520(b), added pars.
(3) and (4).
Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 105–276, § 514(a)(1), amended
subpar. (A) generally. For former text of subpar. (A), see 1996
Amendment note below.
Subsec. (c)(4)(E). Pub. L. 105–276, § 529(1), substituted
“for each agency that receives assistance under this
subchapter’’ for “except in the case of agencies not receiving operating assistance under section 1437g of this
title’’.
Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 105–276, § 529(2), struck out subsec.
(e) which read as follows: “Every contract for annual
contributions shall provide that whenever in any year the
receipts of a public housing agency in connection with a lowincome housing project exceed its expenditures (including
debt service, operation, maintenance, establishment of
reserves, and other costs and charges), an amount equal to
such excess shall be applied, or set aside for application, to
purposes, which, in the determination of the Secretary, will
effect a reduction in the amount of subsequent annual
contributions.’’
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 105–276, § 530, added subsec. (f).
Subsec. (j)(1)(B). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(1)(A), added subpar. (B) and struck out former subpar. (B) which read as
follows: “The amount and percentage of funds obligated to
the public housing agency under section 1437l of this title
which remain unexpended after 3 years.’’
Subsec. (j)(1)(D). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(1)(B), substituted “utility’’ for “energy’’.
Subsec. (j)(1)(E). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(1)(C), which directed the transfer and insertion of subpar. (E) after subpar.
(D), required no change in text.
Subsec. (j)(1)(H) to (K). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(1)(D), (E),
added subpars. (H), (I), relating to extent to which agency
implements and coordinates strategies, and (J), and
redesignated former subpar. (H) as (K).
Subsec. (j)(2)(A)(i). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(2)(A), inserted
after first sentence “Such procedures shall provide that an
agency that fails on a widespread basis to provide
acceptable basic housing conditions for its residents shall
be designated as a troubled public housing agency. The
Secretary may use a simplified set of indicators for public
housing agencies with less than 250 public housing
units.’’ and, in last sentence, substituted “for assistance
from the Capital Fund under section 1437g(d) of this title’’
for “under section 1437l of this title’’.
Subsec. (j)(2)(A)(iii). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(2)(B), substituted “for assistance from the Capital Fund under
section 1437g(d) of this title’’ for “under section 1437l of
this title’’.
Subsec. (j)(2)(B)(i). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(2)(C), inserted
“with more than 250 units’’ after “public housing agency’’ and
substituted “comparable and recent review’’

Page 3750

for “review conducted under section 1437l(p) of this
title’’.
Subsec. (j)(2)(C). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(2)(D), inserted
“(if applicable)’’ after “subparagraph (B)’’ in first sentence.
Subsec. (j)(3)(A)(i). Pub. L. 105–276, § 565(a)(1)(A),
added cl. (i) and struck out former cl. (i) which read as
follows: “solicit competitive proposals from other public
housing agencies and private housing management
agents (which may be selected by existing tenants
through administrative procedures established by the
Secretary) in the eventuality that these agents may be
needed for managing all, or part, of the housing administered by a public housing agency;’’.
Subsec. (j)(3)(A)(iii). Pub. L. 105–276, § 565(a)(1)(B),
substituted “from the Capital Fund under section
1437g(d) of this title’’ for “under section 1437l of this
title’’.
Subsec. (j)(3)(A)(iv), (v). Pub. L. 105–276, § 565(a)(1)(C),
added cls. (iv) and (v) and struck out former cl. (iv) which
read as follows: “require the agency to make other
arrangements acceptable to the Secretary and in the best
interests of the public housing residents for managing all,
or part of, such housing.’’
Subsec. (j)(3)(B) to (H). Pub. L. 105–276, § 565(a)(2),
added subpars. (B) to (H) and struck out former subpars. (B) to (D) which read as follows:
“(B) The Secretary may make available to receivers and
other entities selected or appointed pursuant to this
paragraph such assistance as is necessary to remedy the
substantial deterioration of living conditions in
individual public housing developments or other related
emergencies that endanger the health, safety and welfare
of the residents.
“(C) In any proceeding under subparagraph (A)(ii),
upon a determination that a substantial default has occurred, and without regard to the availability of alternative remedies, the court shall appoint a receiver to
conduct the affairs of the public housing agency in a
manner consistent with this chapter and in accordance
with such further terms and conditions as the court may
provide. The court shall have power to grant appropriate
temporary or preliminary relief pending final disposition
of the petition by the Secretary.
“(D) The appointment of a receiver pursuant to this
subsection may be terminated, upon the petition of any
party, when the court determines that all defaults have
been cured and the housing operated by the public
housing agency will thereafter be operated in accordance
with the covenants and conditions to which the public
housing agency is subject.’’
Subsec. (j)(4), (5). Pub. L. 105–276, § 521, added par. (4)
and redesignated former par. (4) as (5).
Subsec. (j)(5)(F). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(3), substituted
“program for assistance from the Capital Fund under
section 1437g(d) of this title and specifies the amount of
assistance the agency received under such program.’’ for
“program under section 1437l of this title and specifies the
amount of assistance the agency received under section
1437l of this title and any credits accumulated by the
agency under section 1437l(k)(5)(D) of this title.’’
Subsec. (j)(6), (7). Pub. L. 105–276, § 564(4), added pars.
(6) and (7).
Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(a), in first sentence of
concluding provisions, inserted “violent or’’ before “drugrelated’’ and “or any activity resulting in a felony conviction,’’
after “on or off such premises,’’.
Subsec. (l)(1) to (3). Pub. L. 105–276, § 512(b)(1), (3), added
par. (1) and redesignated former pars. (1) to (3) as (2) to (4),
respectively.
Subsec. (l)(4). Pub. L. 105–276, § 512(b)(1), redesignated
par. (3) as (4). Former par. (4) redesignated (5).
Subsec. (l)(4)(A). Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(b)(1)(A), added
subpar. (A) and struck out former subpar. (A) which read
as follows: “a reasonable time, but not to exceed 30 days,
when the health or safety of other tenants or public
housing agency employees is threatened;’’.
Subsec. (l)(4)(C). Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(b)(1)(B), inserted ‘‘,
except that if a State or local law provides for a shorter period
of time, such shorter period shall apply’’ before semicolon at
end.

Page 3751

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

Subsec. (l)(5), (6). Pub. L. 105–276, § 512(b)(1), redesignated pars. (4) and (5) as (5) and (6), respectively. Former
par. (6) redesignated (7), relating to specification that
tenant be informed of opportunity to examine documents.
Subsec. (l)(7). Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(b)(4), added par. (7)
relating to termination for illegal drug use and alcohol abuse.
Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(b)(2), struck out “and” at end.
Pub. L. 105–276, § 512(b)(2), which directed the redesignation of par. (7) as (9), was executed by redesignating the
par. (7), relating to termination of tenancy if tenant is
fleeing prosecution or in violation of parole, as (9), to
reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Pub. L. 105–276, § 512(b)(1), redesignated par. (6) as (7),
relating to specification that tenant be informed of opportunity to examine documents.
Subsec. (l)(9). Pub. L. 105–276, § 512(b)(2), which directed the redesignation of par. (7) as (9), was executed
by redesignating the par. (7), relating to termination of
tenancy if tenant is fleeing prosecution or in violation
of parole, as (9), to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Subsec. (o). Pub. L. 105–276, § 514(a)(2)(A), substituted
“In” for “Subject” and all that follows through “, in” in
introductory provisions.
Subsec. (p). Pub. L. 105–276, § 519(b), struck out
subsec. (p) which read as follows: “With respect to
amounts available for obligation on or after October 1,
1991,
the
criteria
established
under
section
1439(d)(5)(B) of this title for any competition for
assistance for new construction, acquisition, or
acquisition and rehabilitation of public housing shall
give preference to applications for housing to be located
in a local market area that has an inadequate supply of
housing available for use by very low-income families.
The Secretary shall establish criteria for determining
that the housing supply of a local market area is
inadequate, which shall require—
“(1)(A) information regarding housing market conditions showing that the supply of rental housing affordable by very low-income families is inadequate,
taking into account vacancy rates in such housing and
other market indicators; and
“(B) evidence that significant numbers of families in
the local market area holding certificates and vouchers
under section 1437f of this title are experiencing
significant difficulty in leasing housing meeting
program and family-size requirements; or
“(2) evidence that the proposed development would
provide increased housing opportunities for minorities or
address special housing needs.”
Subsec. (q)(1)(A). Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(c)(1)(A)(ii),
which directed the substitution of “covered housing assistance” for “public housing”, was executed by making
the substitution in the second place that “public housing”
appeared, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(c)(1)(A)(i), substituted “subparagraph (C)” for “subparagraph (B)”.
Subsec. (q)(1)(B), (C). Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(c)(1)(B),
(C), added subpar. (B) and redesignated former subpar. (B) as
(C).
Subsec. (q)(3). Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(c)(2), substituted
“Fees” for “Fee” in heading and inserted at end “In the case
of a public housing agency obtaining information pursuant
to paragraph (1)(B) for another owner of housing, the
agency may pass such fee on to the owner initiating the
request and may charge additional reasonable fees for
making the request on behalf of the owner and taking other
actions for owners under this subsection.”
Subsec. (q)(5) to (8). Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(c)(3), (4),
added pars. (5) to (8) and struck out heading and text of
former par. (5). Text read as follows: “For purposes of
this subsection, the term ‘adult’ means a person who is
18 years of age or older, or who has been convicted of a
crime as an adult under any Federal, State, or tribal
law.”
Subsec. (r). Pub. L. 105–276, § 576(d)(1), redesignated
subsec. (s) as (r) and struck out heading and text of

§ 1437d

former subsec. (r). Text read as follows: “Any tenant
evicted from housing assisted under this subchapter by
reason of drug-related criminal activity (as that term is
defined in section 1437f(f) of this title) shall not be eligible for housing assistance under this subchapter during the 3-year period beginning on the date of such
eviction, unless the evicted tenant successfully completes a rehabilitation program approved by the public
housing agency (which shall include a waiver of this
subsection if the circumstances leading to eviction no
longer exist).”
Subsec. (s). Pub. L. 105–276, § 576(d)(1)(B), redesignated
subsec. (t) as (s). Former subsec. (s) redesignated (r). Pub.
L. 105–276, § 525, added subsec. (s).
Subsec. (t). Pub. L. 105–276, § 576(d)(1)(B), redesignated
subsec. (u) as (t). Former subsec. (t) redesignated (s). Pub.
L. 105–276, § 575(d), added subsec. (t).
Subsec. (u). Pub. L. 105–276, § 576(d)(1)(B), redesignated
subsec. (u) as (t).
Pub. L. 105–276, § 575(e), added subsec. (u).
1996—Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 104–330 struck out “and
public housing for Indians and Alaska Natives in accordance
with the Indian Housing Act of 1988” after “operation of
public housing”.
Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 104–99, § 402(d)(1), (f), temporarily amended subpar. (A) generally, substituting
“(A) the establishment, after public notice and an opportunity for public comment, of a written system of
preferences for admission to public housing, if any, that
is not inconsistent with the comprehensive housing
affordability strategy under title I of the CranstonGonzalez National Affordable Housing Act;” for
“(A) except for projects or portions of projects designated for occupancy pursuant to section 1437e(a) of
this title with respect to which the Secretary has determined that application of this subparagraph would
result in excessive delays in meeting the housing need
of such families, the establishment of tenant selection
criteria which—
‘‘(i) for not less than 50 percent of the units that are
made available for occupancy in a given fiscal year, give
preference to families that occupy substandard housing
(including families that are homeless or living in a
shelter for homeless families), are paying more than 50
percent of family income for rent, or are involuntarily
displaced
(including
displacement
because
of
disposition of a multifamily housing project under
section 1701z–11 of title 12) at the time they are seeking
assistance under this chapter;
“(ii) for any remaining units to be made available for
occupancy, give preference in accordance with a system
of preferences established by the public housing agency
in writing and after public hearing to respond to local
housing needs and priorities, which may include (I)
assisting very low-income families who either reside in
transitional housing assisted under title IV of the
Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act, or
participate in a program designed to provide public
assistance recipients with greater access to employment
and educational opportunities; (II) assisting families in
accordance with subsection (u)(2); (III) assisting families
identified by local public agencies involved in providing
for the welfare of children as having a lack of adequate
housing that is a primary factor in the imminent
placement of a child in foster care, or in preventing the
discharge of a child from foster care and reunification
with his or her family; (IV) assisting youth, upon
discharge from foster care, in cases in which return to
the family or extended family or adoption is not
available; (V) assisting families that include one or more
adult members who are employed; and (VI) achieving
other objectives of national housing policy as affirmed
by Congress; subclause (V) shall be effective only during
fiscal year 1995;
“(iii) prohibit any individual or family evicted from
housing assisted under the chapter by reason of drugrelated criminal activity from having a preference under
any provision of this subparagraph for 3 years unless
the evicted tenant successfully completes a re-

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

habilitation program approved by the agency, except
that the agency may waive the application of this
clause under standards established by the Secretary
(which shall include waiver for any member of a family
of an individual prohibited from tenancy under this
clause who the agency determines clearly did not
participate in and had no knowledge of such criminal
activity or when circumstances leading to eviction no
longer exist); and
“(iv) are designed to ensure that, to the maximum extent
feasible, the projects of an agency will include families with
a broad range of incomes and will avoid concentrations of
low-income and deprived families with serious social
problems.”
See Effective and Termination Dates of 1996 Amendments
note below.
Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 104–120, § 9(a)(1), in concluding
provisions, substituted “involves any activity” for “involves any criminal activity” and “on or off such premises” for “on or near such premises”.
Subsec. (l)(5). Pub. L. 104–120, § 9(a)(2), substituted “on or
off such premises” for “on or near such premises”. Subsec.
(l)(7). Pub. L. 104–193 added par. (7).
Subsec. (o). Pub. L. 104–99, § 402(d)(6)(A)(i), (f), in introductory provisions, temporarily substituted “written
system of preferences for selection established pursuant to” for “preference rules specified in”. See Effective and Termination Dates of 1996 Amendments note
below.
Subsec. (q). Pub. L. 104–120, § 9(b), added subsec. (q).
Subsec. (r). Pub. L. 104–120, § 9(c), added subsec. (r).
1994—Subsec. (c)(4)(A)(i). Pub. L. 103–233, § 101(c)(1),
inserted “(including displacement because of disposition
of a multifamily housing project under section 1701z–11
of title 12)” after “displaced”.
Subsec. (c)(4)(A)(ii). Pub. L. 103–327 added subcl. (V),
redesignated former subcl. (V) as (VI), and inserted
“subclause (V) shall be effective only during fiscal year 1995;”
after semicolon at end.
Subsec. (c)(4)(E). Pub. L. 103–233, § 303, substituted “500
units” for “250 units”.
1992—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102–550, § 625(a)(2), substituted “elderly or disabled families” for “the elderly” in last
sentence.
Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 102–550, § 622(b), substituted
“designated for occupancy pursuant to section 1437e(a) of
this title” for “specifically designated for elderly families” in
introductory provisions.
Subsec. (c)(4)(A)(i). Pub. L. 102–550, § 112, substituted “50
percent” for “70 percent” after “not less than”.
Subsec. (c)(4)(F). Pub. L. 102–550, § 682(a), added subpar.
(F).
Subsec. (j)(1). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(e)(1)(C), which
directed the substitution of “indicators for public housing agencies, to the extent practicable:” for “indicators.”
in fourth sentence, was executed by making the
substitution for “indicators:” to reflect the probable
intent of Congress.
Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(e)(1)(A), (B), in introductory
provisions, inserted “and resident management corporations” before period in first sentence and after “agencies”
in third sentence.
Subsec. (j)(2)(B). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(a)(2), added subpar. (B). Former subpar. (B) redesignated (C).
Subsec. (j)(2)(C). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(a)(1), (3),
redesignated subpar. (B) as (C), substituted “agency,
after reviewing the report submitted pursuant to
subparagraph (B) and consulting with the agency’s
assessment team. Such agreement shall set forth” for
“agency setting forth” in introductory provisions, and
inserted “To the extent the Secretary deems appropriate
(taking into account an agency’s performance under the
indicators specified under paragraph (1)), such
agreement shall also set forth a plan for enhancing
resident involvement in the management of the public
housing agency.” before “The Secretary and the public” in
concluding provisions.
Subsec. (j)(2)(D). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(e)(2), added subpar. (D).
Subsec. (j)(3)(A). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(b)(5), inserted
concluding provisions.

Page 3752

Subsec. (j)(3)(A)(i). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(b)(1), inserted
“(which may be selected by existing tenants through
administrative procedures established by the Secretary)”
after “management agents”.
Subsec. (j)(3)(A)(iii), (iv). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(b)(2)–
(4), added cl. (iii) and redesignated former cl. (iii) as (iv).
Subsec. (j)(3)(B) to (D). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(c), added
subpar. (B) and redesignated former subpars. (B) and (C) as
(C) and (D), respectively.
Subsec. (j)(4)(E). Pub. L. 102–550, § 113(d), which directed the insertion of “, including an accounting of the
authorized funds that have been expended to support
such actions” before semicolon in par. (5)(E) of subsec.
(j), was executed by making the insertion in par. (4)(E)
to reflect the probable intent of Congress, because
subsec. (j) does not contain a par. (5).
1991—Subsec. (j)(1)(H), (I). Pub. L. 102–139, which directed amendment of “Section 6(j)(1) of the Housing Act of
1937, 42 U.S.C. 1437d(j)(1) section 502(a) of the National
Affordable Housing Act,” by adding “which shall not
exceed the seven factors in the statute, plus an additional
five” at the end of subpar. (H) and by adding subpar. (I),
requiring Secretary to administer evaluation system,
reflect in weights assigned indicators, and determine
status, was executed to subsec. (j)(1) of this section, which
is section 6 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, to
reflect the probable intent of Congress.
Subsec. (p). Pub. L. 102–139 added subsec. (p).
1990—Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 101–625, § 501,
amended subpar. (A) generally. Prior to amendment,
subpar. (A) read as follows: “except for projects or
portions of projects specifically designated for elderly
families with respect to which the Secretary has
determined that application of this clause would result in
excessive delays in meeting the housing needs of such
families, the establishment of tenant selection criteria
which gives preference to families which occupy
substandard housing, are paying more than 50 percent
of family income for rent, or are involuntarily displaced
at the time they are seeking assistance under this
chapter and which is designed to assure that, within a
reasonable period of time, the project will include families
with a broad range of incomes and will avoid concentrations of lower income and deprived families with
serious social problems, but (i) this shall not permit
maintenance of vacancies to await higher income tenants
where lower income tenants are available and shall not
permit public housing agencies to select families for
residence in an order different from the order on the
waiting list for the purpose of selecting relatively higher
income families for residence; and (ii) the public housing
agency may provide for circumstances in which families
who do not qualify for any preference established in this
subparagraph are provided assistance before families
who do qualify for such preference, except that not more
than 10 percent of the families who initially receive
assistance in any 1-year period (or such shorter period
selected by the public housing agency before the
beginning of its first full year subject to this clause) may
be families who do not qualify for such preference;”.
Subsec. (c)(4)(D). Pub. L. 101–625, § 572(1), substituted
“low-income families” for “lower income families”.
Subsec. (c)(4)(E). Pub. L. 101–625, § 502(c)(1), added subpar. (E).
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 101–625, § 572(2), substituted
“low-income housing” for “lower income housing” wherever
appearing.
Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 101–625, § 502(a), amended subsec.
(j) generally. Prior to amendment, subsec. (j) read as
follows: “On or after October 1, 1983, in entering into
commitments for the development of public housing, the
Secretary shall give a priority to projects for the
construction, acquisition, or acquisition and rehabilitation
of housing suitable for occupancy by families requiring
three or more bedrooms.”
Subsec. (k). Pub. L. 101–625, § 503(a), added concluding
provisions and struck out former concluding provisions
which read as follows: “An agency may exclude from

Page 3753

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

its procedure any grievance concerning an eviction or
termination of tenancy in any jurisdiction which requires
that, prior to eviction, a tenant be given a hearing in court
which the Secretary determines provides the basic
elements of due process.”
Subsec. (l)(5). Pub. L. 101–625, § 504, amended par. (5)
generally. Prior to amendment, par. (5) read as follows:
“provide that a public housing tenant, any member of the
tenant’s household, or a guest or other person under the
tenant’s control shall not engage in criminal activity,
including drug-related criminal activity, on or near public
housing premises, while the tenant is a tenant in public
housing, and such criminal activity shall be cause for
termination of tenancy.”
Subsec. (l)(6). Pub. L. 101–625, § 503(b), added par. (6).
Subsecs. (n), (o). Pub. L. 101–625, §§ 505, 506, added subsecs. (n) and (o).
1989—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 101–144 added subsec. (b).
1988—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 100–242, § 170(d)(1), substituted “The Secretary” for “Secretary” at beginning. Pub.
L. 100–242, § 112(b)(2), struck out “annual” before
“contributions”.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 100–242, § 112(b)(2), struck out
“annual” before “contributions” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 100–628, § 1014(a)(1), inserted cl.
(i) designation after “, but” and added cl. (ii) before semicolon
at end.
Pub. L. 100–628, § 1001(b), inserted before semicolon at
end “and shall not permit public housing agencies to
select families for residence in an order different from the
order on the waiting list for the purpose of selecting
relatively higher income families for residence”.
Pub. L. 100–242, § 170(d)(2), inserted “, are paying more
than 50 percent of family income for rent,” after “substandard housing”, and struck out “or are paying more
than 50 per centum of family income for rent” after “under
this chapter”.
Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 100–242, § 112(b)(2), struck out “annual” before “contributions” in four places and before
“shelter” in two places.
Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 100–242, § 112(b)(2), struck out
“annual” before “contributions” in introductory provisions.
Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 100–242, § 116, inserted “in the
neighborhood where the public housing agency determines the housing is needed” after “is” and “in such
neighborhood” after “rehabilitation”.
Subsec. (k)(4), (5). Pub. L. 100–242, § 170(d)(3), substituted
“their” for “his”.
Subsec. (l). Pub. L. 100–690 added par. (5) and concluding
provisions defining term “drug-related criminal activity” for
purposes of par. (5).
1985—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 99–160 struck out subsec. (b)
which related to cost of construction and equipment of a
project, and prototype costs.
1984—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 98–479, § 204(b)(1), substituted
“covenants” for “convenants”.
Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 98–479, § 102(b)(4), inserted ‘‘,
acquisition, or acquisition and rehabilitation” and
substituted “families requiring three or more bedrooms” for “large families”.
Subsec. (m). Pub. L. 98–479, § 102(b)(5), substituted
“housing” for “hearing”.
1983—Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 98–181, § 203(a), inserted
“or are paying more than 50 per centum of family income for
rent”.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 98–181, § 214(b), repealed subsec. (f)
which provided for modification or closeout of housing
project.
Subsecs. (h) to (j). Pub. L. 98–181, § 201(c), added sub-secs.
(h) to (j).
Subsecs. (k), (l). Pub. L. 98–181, § 204, added subsecs. (k)
and (l).
Subsec. (m). Pub. L. 98–181, § 205, added subsec. (m).
1981—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 97–35, § 322(c), substituted
reference to lower income for reference to low-income.
Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 97–35, § 322(c), (d), substituted provision in par. (2) requiring review at least annually for
provision requiring review at least within two year in

§ 1437d

tervals, or shorter where deemed desirable, in par. (4)(A)
“lower income and” for “low-income and”, and in par.
(4)(D) reference to lower income for reference to lowincome.
Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 97–35, § 322(c), substituted references to lower income for references to low-income
wherever appearing.
1980—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–399, § 201(c), inserted
exception relating to availability of prototype costs for
projects to be located on Indian reservations or in Alaskan Native villages, and added cl. (8).
Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 96–399, § 201(e), inserted
exception relating to application of this clause to
projects specifically designated for elderly families.
Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 96–399, § 202(c), inserted “pursuant to
section 1437l of this title” wherever appearing.
1979—Subsec. (c)(4)(A). Pub. L. 96–153 substituted
“tenant selection criteria which gives preference to
families which occupy substandard housing or are involuntarily displaced at the time they are seeking assistance under this chapter and which is designed” for
“tenant selection criteria designed”.
E FFECTIVE DATE OF 1998 A MENDMENT
Amendment by title V of Pub. L. 105–276 effective and
applicable beginning upon Oct. 1, 1999, except as otherwise
provided, with provision that Secretary may implement
amendment before such date, except to extent that such
amendment provides otherwise, and with savings provision,
see section 503 of Pub. L. 105–276, set out as a note under
section 1437 of this title.
Amendment by section 511 of Pub. L. 105–276 effective and
applicable beginning upon Oct. 21, 1998, see section 511(e)
of Pub. L. 105–276, set out as a note under section 1437c–1
of this title.
Amendment by section 514(a)(1), (2)(A) of Pub. L. 105–
276 effective and applicable beginning upon Oct. 21,
1998, see section 514(g) of Pub. L. 105–276, set out as a
note under section 1701s of Title 12, Banks and Banking.
Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 565(b), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat.
2631, provided that: “The provisions of, and duties and
authorities conferred or confirmed by, the amendments
made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply
with respect to any action taken before, on, or after the
effective date of this Act [probably means the general
effective date for title V of Pub. L. 105–276 included in
section 503 of Pub. L. 105–276, set out as an Effective Date
of 1998 Amendment note under section 1437 of this title]
and shall apply to any receiver appointed for a public
housing agency before the date of the enactment of this Act
[Oct. 21, 1998].”
Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 565(e), Oct. 21, 1998, 112
Stat. 2632, provided that: “This section [amending this
section and section 1437f of this title and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section] shall take effect
on, and the amendments made by this section are made
on, and shall apply beginning upon, the date of the
enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998].”
EFFECTIVE AND TERMINATION DATES OF 1996
AMENDMENTS
Amendment by Pub. L. 104–330 effective Oct. 1, 1997,
except as otherwise expressly provided, see section 107 of
Pub. L. 104–330, set out as an Effective Date note under
section 4101 of Title 25, Indians.
Pub. L. 104–120, § 13, Mar. 28, 1996, 110 Stat. 845, provided that:
“(a)
APPLICABILITY.—This Act [enacting section 1490p–2
of this title, amending this section, sections 1437e, 1437n,
1479, 1485, 1490p–2, and 5308 of this title, and sections
1715z–20, 1715z–22, and 1721 of Title 12, Banks and
Banking, and enacting provisions set out as notes under
sections 1437f, 5305, and 12805 of this title and sections
1701 and 4101 of Title 12] and the amendments made by this
Act shall be construed to have become effective on October 1,
1995.
“(b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The amendments made by
sections 9 and 10 [amending this section and sections

§ 1437d

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

1437e and 1437n of this title] shall apply as provided in
subsection (a) of this section, notwithstanding the effective date of any regulations issued by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development to implement such
amendments or any failure by the Secretary to issue any
such regulations.”
Amendment by Pub. L. 104–99 effective Jan. 26, 1996, only
for fiscal years 1996, 1997, and 1998, and to cease to be
effective Oct. 21, 1998, see section 402(f) of Pub. L. 104–99,
as amended, and section 514(f) of Pub. L. 105–276, set out
as notes under section 1437a of this title.
E FFECTIVE D ATE OF 1992 AMENDMENT
Amendment by subtitles B through F of title VI [§§ 621–
685] of Pub. L. 102–550 applicable upon expiration of 6month period beginning Oct. 28, 1992, except as otherwise
provided, see section 13642 of this title.
E FFECTIVE D ATE OF 1981 AMENDMENT
Amendment by Pub. L. 97–35 effective Oct. 1, 1981, see
section 371 of Pub. L. 97–35, set out as an Effective Date note
under section 3701 of Title 12, Banks and Banking.
IMPLEMENTATION
Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 565(d), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat.
2632, provided that: “The Secretary may administer the
amendments made by subsection (a) [amending this
section] as necessary to ensure the efficient and effective
initial implementation of this section [amending this section
and section 1437f of this title and enacting provisions set
out as notes under this section].”
Section 502(c)(2) of Pub. L. 101–625, as amended by Pub.
L. 102–550, title I, § 130, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3712,
provided that: “The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall, under the rulemaking procedures under
section 553 of title 5, United States Code, establish
guidelines and timetables appropriate to implement the
amendment made by paragraph (1)(C) [amending this
section], taking into account the requirements of public
housing agencies of different sizes and characteristics, to
achieve compliance with requirements established by such
amendment not later than January 1, 1993 for public
housing agencies with 500 or more units and not later than
January 1, 1994 for public housing agencies with less than
500 units.”
REGULATIONS
For provisions requiring Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development to issue regulations necessary to implement
amendment to this section by section 101(c) of Pub. L. 103–
233, see section 101(f) of Pub. L. 103–233, set out as a note
under section 1701z–11 of Title 12, Banks and Banking.
Section 104 of Pub. L. 102–550 provided that: “Not later
than the expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 28, 1992], the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue
regulations implementing the amendments made by
sections 501 and 545 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act [Pub. L. 101–625, amending this
section and section 1437f of this title]. The regulations
shall be issued after notice and opportunity for public
comment pursuant to the provisions of section 553 of title
5, United States Code (notwithstanding subsections (a)(2),
(b)(B), and (d)(3) of such section) and shall take effect upon
issuance.”
Section 503(c) of Pub. L. 101–625 provided that: “The
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue,
and publish in the Federal Register for comment, proposed
rules implementing the amendments made by this section
[amending this section] not later than the expiration of the
60-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of
this Act [Nov. 28, 1990] and shall issue final rules
implementing the amendments not later than the
expiration of the 180-day period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this Act.”
STUDY OF ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR EVALUATING
PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES
Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 563, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat.
2624, provided that:

Page 3754

“(a) I N GENERAL .—The Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall provide under subsection (e) for a
study to be conducted to determine the effectiveness of
various
alternative
methods
of
evaluating
the
performance of public housing agencies and other providers of federally assisted housing.
“(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the study under this
section shall be—
“(1) to identify and examine various methods of
evaluating and improving the performance of public
housing agencies in administering public housing and
tenant-based rental assistance programs and of other
providers of federally assisted housing, which are alternatives to oversight by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development; and
“(2) to identify specific monitoring and oversight
activities currently conducted by the Department of
Housing and Urban Development and to evaluate
whether such activities should be eliminated, expanded, modified, or transferred to other entities (including governmental and private entities) to increase accuracy and effectiveness and improve monitoring.
“(c) E VALUATION OF VARIOUS P ERFORMANCE E VALUA TION S YSTEMS.—To carry out the purposes under subsection (b), the study under this section shall identify, and
analyze the advantages and disadvantages of various
methods of regulating and evaluating the performance of
public housing agencies and other providers of federally
assisted housing, including the following methods:
“(1) CURRENT SYSTEM.—The system pursuant to the
United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.],
including the methods and requirements under such
system for reporting, auditing, reviewing, sanctioning, and
monitoring of such agencies and housing providers and the
public housing management assessment program
pursuant to section 6(j) of the United States Housing Act of
1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437d(j)].
“(2) ACCREDITATION MODELS .—Various models that are
based upon accreditation of such agencies and housing
providers, subject to the following requirements:
“(A) The study shall identify and analyze various
models used in other industries and professions for
accreditation and determine the extent of their applicability to the programs for public housing and
federally assisted housing.
“(B) If any accreditation models are determined to
be applicable to the public and federally assisted
housing programs, the study shall identify appropriate goals, objectives, and procedures for an accreditation program for such agencies and housing
providers.
“(C) The study shall evaluate the feasibility and
merit of establishing an independent accreditation
and evaluation entity to assist, supplement, or replace
the role of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development in assessing and monitoring the
performance of such agencies and housing providers.
“(D) The study shall identify the necessary and
appropriate roles and responsibilities of various entities that would be involved in an accreditation
program, including the Department of Housing and
Urban Development, the Inspector General of the
Department, an accreditation entity, independent
auditors and examiners, local entities, and public
housing agencies.
“(E) The study shall estimate the costs involved in
developing and maintaining such an independent
accreditation program.
“(3) P ERFORMANCE BASED MODELS .—Various performance-based models, including systems that establish performance goals or targets, assess the compliance with such goals or targets, and provide for incentives or sanctions based on performance relative to
such goals or targets.
“(4) LOCAL REVIEW AND MONITORING MODELS.—Var-ious
models providing for local, resident, and commu-

Page 3755

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

nity review and monitoring of such agencies and
housing providers, including systems for review and
monitoring by local and State governmental bodies and
agencies.
‘‘(5) PRIVATE MODELS.—Various models using private
contractors for review and monitoring of such agencies
and housing providers.
‘‘(6) OTHER MODELS.—Various models of any other
systems that may be more effective and efficient in
regulating and evaluating such agencies and housing
providers.
‘‘(d) C ONSULTATION .—The entity that, pursuant to
subsection (e), carries out the study under this section
shall, in carrying out the study, consult with individuals
and organizations experienced in managing public
housing, private real estate managers, representatives
from State and local governments, residents of public
housing, families and individuals receiving tenant-based
assistance, the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, the Inspector General of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development, and the Comptroller
General of the United States.
‘‘(e) CONTRACT TO CONDUCT STUDY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall enter into a contract, within 90 days of the
enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998], with a public or
nonprofit private entity to conduct the study under this
section, using amounts made available pursuant to
subsection (g).
‘‘(2) N ATIONAL ACADEMY OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRA TION .—The Secretary shall request the National
Academy of Public Administration to enter into the
contract under paragraph (1) to conduct the study
under this section. If such Academy declines to conduct the study, the Secretary shall carry out such
paragraph through other public or nonprofit private
entities, selected through a competitive process.
‘‘(f) REPORT.—
‘‘(1) I NTERIM REPORT .—The Secretary shall ensure
that, not later than the expiration of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the execution of the
contract under subsection (e)(1), the entity conducting the study under this section submits to the Congress an interim report describing the actions taken
to carry out the study, the actions to be taken to
complete the study, and any findings and recommendations available at the time.
‘‘(2) F INAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall ensure
that—
‘‘(A) not later than the expiration of the 12-month
period beginning on the date of the execution of the
contract under subsection (e)(1), the study required
under this section is completed and a report describing the findings and recommendations as a result
of the study is submitted to the Congress; and
‘‘(B) before submitting the report under this paragraph to the Congress, the report is submitted to the
Secretary, national organizations for public housing
agencies,
and
other
appropriate
national
organizations at such time to provide the Secretary
and such agencies an opportunity to review the report and provide written comments on the report,
which shall be included together with the report
upon submission to the Congress under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect on the
date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 21, 1998].”
REFERENCES IN OTHER LAWS TO PREFERENCES FOR
ASSISTANCE
Section 402(d)(6)(D) of Pub. L. 104–99, which provided
that certain references to preferences for assistance under
sections 1437d(c)(4)(A)(i) and 1437f(d)(1)(A)(i), (o)(3)(B) of
this title, as such sections existed on the day before Jan.
26, 1996, were to be considered to refer to the written
system of preferences for selection established pursuant
to sections 1437d(c)(4)(A) and 1437f(d)(1)(A), (o)(3)(B) of
this title, respectively, as amended by section 402 of Pub.
L. 104–99, was repealed by Pub. L. 105–276, title V, §
514(b)(2)(D), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2548.

§ 1437d

INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN 1992 AMENDMENTS TO
INDIAN PUBLIC HOUSING
Amendment by sections 622(b) and 625(a)(2) of Pub. L.
102–550 not applicable with respect to lower income
housing developed or operated pursuant to contract between Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and
Indian housing authority, see section 626 of Pub. L. 102–
550, set out as a note under section 1437a of this title.
R EPORT ON T RAINING AND C ERTIFICATION STANDARDS
Section 502(b) of Pub. L. 101–625 directed Secretary to
submit to Congress, not later than 12 months after Nov.
28, 1990, a report regarding the feasibility and effectiveness of establishing uniform standards for training and
certification of executive directors and other officers and
members of local, regional, and State public housing
agencies.
APPLICABILITY
Section 503(d) of Pub. L. 101–625 provided that: ‘‘Any
exclusion of grievances by a public housing agency pursuant to a determination or waiver by the Secretary
(under section 6(k) of the United States Housing Act of
1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437d(k)], as such section existed before
the date of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 28, 1990]) that
a jurisdiction requires a hearing in court providing the
basic elements of due process shall be effective after the
date of the enactment of this Act only to the extent that
the exclusion complies with the amendments made by
this section, except that any such waiver provided before
the date of the enactment of this Act shall remain in effect
until the earlier of the effective date of the final rules
implementing the amendments made by this section or
180 days after the date of the enactment.”
R EPORT ON I MPACT OF P UBLIC H OUSING L EASE AND
G RIEVANCE R EGULATION ON A BILITY OF P UBLIC H OUS ING A GENCIES T O T AKE A CTION A GAINST T ENANTS
E NGAGING IN DRUG C RIMES
Section 5103 of Pub. L. 100–690 provided that: ‘‘The
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall
submit to the Congress a report on the impact of the
implementation of the public housing tenancy and administrative grievance procedure regulations issued under
section 6(k) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437d(k)) on the ability of public housing agencies
to evict or take other appropriate action against tenants
engaging in criminal activity, especially with respect to the
manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or possession of
controlled substances (as defined in section 102 of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802)). The report
shall be submitted not later than 12 months after the date
of the enactment of this Act [Nov. 18, 1988].”
INDIAN HOUSING
Section 1014(a)(2) of Pub. L. 100–628 provided that: ‘‘In
accordance with section 201(b)(2) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 [former section 1437aa(b)(2) of this
title], the amendments made by paragraph (1) [amending
this section] shall also apply to public housing developed
or operated pursuant to a contract between the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development and an Indian housing
authority.”
S TUDY OF P A YMENTS IN L IEU OF T AXES ; R EPORT TO
CONGRESS
Pub. L. 95–128, title II, § 201(g), Oct. 12, 1977, 91 Stat.
1129, provided that the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development conduct a study of payment in lieu of taxes
made under subsec. (d) of this section and report to the
Congress on the status and adequacy of such payments not
later than 12 months after Oct. 12, 1977.

§ 1437e

TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE

§ 1437e. Designated housing for elderly and disabled families
(a) Authority to provide designated housing
(1) In general
Subject only to provisions of this section and
notwithstanding any other provision of law, a
public housing agency for which a plan under
subsection (d) of this section is in effect may
provide public housing projects (or portions of
projects) designated for occupancy by (A) only
elderly families, (B) only disabled families, or
(C) elderly and disabled families.
(2) Priority for occupancy
In determining priority for admission to public
housing projects (or portions of projects) that
are designated for occupancy as provided in
paragraph (1), the public housing agency may
make units in such projects (or portions)
available only to the types of families for whom
the project is designated.
(3) Eligibility of near-elderly families
If a public housing agency determines that
there are insufficient numbers of elderly families to fill all the units in a project (or portion of
a project) designated under paragraph (1) for
occupancy by only elderly families, the agency
may provide that near-elderly families may
occupy dwelling units in the project (or portion).
(b) Standards regarding evictions
Except as provided in section 1437n(e)(1)(B) 1 of
this title, any tenant who is lawfully residing in a
dwelling unit in a public housing project may not
be evicted or otherwise required to vacate such
unit because of the designation of the project (or
portion of a project) pursuant to this section or
because of any action taken by the Secretary or
any public housing agency pursuant to this
section.
(c) Relocation assistance
A public housing agency that designates any
existing project or building, or portion thereof, for
occupancy as provided under subsection (a)(1) of
this section shall provide, to each person and
family who agrees to be relocated in connection
with such designation—
(1) notice of the designation and an explanation
of available relocation benefits, as soon as is
practicable for the agency and the person or family;
(2) access to comparable housing (including
appropriate services and design features), which
may include tenant-based rental assistance
under section 1437f of this title, at a rental rate
paid by the tenant that is comparable to that
applicable to the unit from which the person or
family has vacated; and
(3) payment of actual, reasonable moving expenses.
(d) Required plan
A plan under this subsection for designating a
project (or portion of a project) for occupancy
under subsection (a)(1) of this section is a plan,
prepared by the public housing agency for the
project and submitted to the Secretary, that—
1

See References in Text note below.

Page 3756

(1) establishes that the designation of the project
is necessary—
(A) to achieve the housing goals for the jurisdiction under the comprehensive housing
affordability strategy under section 12705 of this
title; and
(B) to meet the housing needs of the lowincome population of the jurisdiction; and
(2) includes a description of—
(A) the project (or portion of a project) to be
designated;
(B) the types of tenants for which the project is
to be designated;
(C) any supportive services to be provided
to tenants of the designated project (or portion);
(D) how the design and related facilities (as
such term is defined in section 1701q(d)(8) 1
of title 12) of the project accommodate the
special environmental needs of the intended
occupants; and
(E) any plans to secure additional resources
or housing assistance to provide assistance to
families that may have been housed if
occupancy in the project were not restricted
pursuant to this section.
For purposes of this subsection, the term “supportive
services” means services designed to meet the special
needs of residents.
(e) Review of plans
(1) Review and notification
The Secretary shall conduct a limited review of
each plan under subsection (d) of this section
that is submitted to the Secretary to ensure that
the plan is complete and complies with the
requirements of subsection (d) of this section.
The Secretary shall notify each public housing
agency submitting a plan whether the plan
complies with such requirements not later than
60 days after receiving the plan. If the Secretary
does not notify the public housing agency, as
required under this paragraph or paragraph (2),
the plan shall be considered, for purposes of this
section, to comply with the requirements under
subsection (d) of this section and the Secretary
shall be considered to have notified the agency of
such compliance upon the expiration of such 60day period.
(2) Notice of reasons for determination of noncompliance
If the Secretary determines that a plan, as
submitted, does not comply with the requirements under subsection (d) of this section, the
Secretary shall specify in the notice under
paragraph (1) the reasons for the noncompliance
and any modifications necessary for the plan to
meet such requirements.
(3) Standards for determination of noncompliance
The Secretary may determine that a plan does
not comply with the requirements under subsection
(d) of this section only if—
(A) the plan is incomplete in significant
matters required under such subsection; or
(B) there is evidence available to the Secretary
that challenges, in a substantial manner, any
information provided in the plan.