Declaration of policy and public housing agency organization
Declaration of policy
It is the policy of the United States—
to promote the general welfare of the Nation by employing the funds and credit of the Nation, as provided in this chapter—
to assist States and political subdivisions of States to remedy the unsafe housing conditions and the acute shortage of decent and safe dwellings for low-income families;
to assist States and political subdivisions of States to address the shortage of housing affordable to low-income families; and
consistent with the objectives of this subchapter, to vest in public housing agencies that perform well, the maximum amount of responsibility and flexibility in program administration, with appropriate accountability to public housing residents, localities, and the general public;
that the Federal Government cannot through its direct action alone provide for the housing of every American citizen, or even a majority of its citizens, but it is the responsibility of the Government to promote and protect the independent and collective actions of private citizens to develop housing and strengthen their own neighborhoods;
that the Federal Government should act where there is a serious need that private citizens or groups cannot or are not addressing responsibly; and
that our Nation should promote the goal of providing decent and affordable housing for all citizens through the efforts and encouragement of Federal, State, and local governments, and by the independent and collective actions of private citizens, organizations, and the private sector.
Public housing agency organization
Required membership
Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), the membership of the board of directors or similar governing body of each public housing agency shall contain not less than 1 member—
who is directly assisted by the public housing agency; and
who may, if provided for in the public housing agency plan, be elected by the residents directly assisted by the public housing agency.
Exception
Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any public housing agency—
that is located in a State that requires the members of the board of directors or similar governing body of a public housing agency to be salaried and to serve on a full-time basis; or
with less than 300 public housing units, if—
the agency has provided reasonable notice to the resident advisory board of the opportunity of not less than 1 resident described in paragraph (1) to serve on the board of directors or similar governing body of the public housing agency pursuant to such paragraph; and
within a reasonable time after receipt by the resident advisory board established by the agency pursuant to section 1437c–1(e) of this title of notice under clause (i), the public housing agency has not been notified of the intention of any resident to participate on the board of directors.
Exception for certain jurisdictions
Exception
Advisory board requirement
Covered agency or entity
For purposes of this paragraph, the term “covered agency” means a public housing agency or such other entity that administers Federal housing assistance for—
1
any of the States of Alaska, Iowa, and Mississippi.
Nondiscrimination
Source
(Sept. 1, 1937, ch. 896, title I, § 2, as added Pub. L. 93–383, title II, § 201(a),Notes
Editorial Notes
Prior Provisions
Amendments
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date of 1998 Amendment
In General.—
The amendments under this title [see Tables for classification] are made on the date of the enactment of this Act [
as otherwise specifically provided in this title; or
as otherwise specifically provided in any amendment made by this title.
The Secretary may, by notice, implement any provision of this title or any amendment made by this title before such date, except to the extent that such provision or amendment specifically provides otherwise.
Savings Provision.—
Notwithstanding any amendment under this title that is made (in accordance with subsection (a)) on the date of the enactment of this Act [
Technical Recommendations.—
Not later than 9 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [
List of Obsolete Documents.—
Not later than
Protection of Certain Regulations.—
No provision of this title may be construed to repeal the regulations of the Secretary regarding tenant participation and tenant opportunities in public housing (24 C.F.R. 964).
Effective Date.—
This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [
Effective Date of 1981 Amendment
Effective Date
Short Title of 2016 Amendment
Short Title of 2008 Amendment
Short Title of 2003 Amendment
Short Title of 2002 Amendment
Short Title of 1998 Amendment
Short Title of 1988 Amendment
Short Title
Applicability of 1996 Amendments; Indian Housing
Applicability of 1990 Amendments; Indian Housing
In general.—
In accordance with section 201(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ([former] 42 U.S.C. 1437aa(b)(2)), the provisions of sections 572, 573, and 574 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act [Pub. L. 101–625, amending this section and sections 1437a, 1437b to 1437d, 1437f, 1437g, 1437i, 1437j, 1437l, 1437n, 1437p, 1437r, 1437s, and 1437aa to 1437dd of this title, repealing section 1437o of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 1437a of this title] shall apply to public housing developed or operated pursuant to a contract between the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and an Indian Housing Authority.
Effective date.—
Paragraph (1) shall take effect as if such provision were enacted upon the date of the enactment of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act [
Applicability of 1989 Amendments; Indian Housing
Reports on Number and Cost of Federally Assisted Units
Funding of Certain Public Housing
Congressional Statement of Findings and Purposes
Findings.—
Congress finds that—
there exists throughout the Nation a need for decent, safe, and affordable housing;
the inventory of public housing units owned, assisted, or operated by public housing agencies, an asset in which the Federal Government has invested over $90,000,000,000, has traditionally provided rental housing that is affordable to low-income persons;
despite serving this critical function, the public housing system is plagued by a series of problems, including the concentration of very poor people in very poor neighborhoods and disincentives for economic self-sufficiency;
the Federal method of overseeing every aspect of public housing by detailed and complex statutes and regulations has aggravated the problem and has placed excessive administrative burdens on public housing agencies; and
the interests of low-income persons, and the public interest, will best be served by a reformed public housing program that—
consolidates many public housing programs into programs for the operation and capital needs of public housing;
streamlines program requirements;
vests in public housing agencies that perform well the maximum feasible authority, discretion, and control with appropriate accountability to public housing residents, localities, and the general public; and
rewards employment and economic self-sufficiency of public housing residents.
Purposes.—
The purpose of this title [see Tables for classification] is to promote homes that are affordable to low-income families in safe and healthy environments, and thereby contribute to the supply of affordable housing, by—
deregulating and decontrolling public housing agencies, thereby enabling them to perform as property and asset managers;
providing for more flexible use of Federal assistance to public housing agencies, allowing the authorities to leverage and combine assistance amounts with amounts obtained from other sources;
facilitating mixed income communities and decreasing concentrations of poverty in public housing;
increasing accountability and rewarding effective management of public housing agencies;
creating incentives and economic opportunities for residents of dwelling units assisted by public housing agencies to work, become self-sufficient, and transition out of public housing and federally assisted dwelling units;
consolidating the voucher and certificate programs for rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f] into a single market-driven program that will assist in making tenant-based rental assistance under such section more successful at helping low-income families obtain affordable housing and will increase housing choice for low-income families; and
remedying the problems of troubled public housing agencies and replacing or revitalizing severely distressed public housing projects.”
Mental Health Action Plan
develop an action plan and list of recommendations for the improvement of means of providing severe mental illness treatment to families and individuals receiving housing assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.], including public housing residents, residents of multifamily housing assisted with project-based assistance under section 8 of such Act [42 U.S.C. 1437f], and recipients of tenant-based assistance under such section; and
develop and disseminate a list of current practices among public housing agencies and owners of assisted housing that serve to benefit persons in need of mental health care.”
Annual Report
In General.—
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act [
the impact of the amendments made by this Act [Pub. L. 105–276, see Tables for classification] on—
the demographics of public housing residents and families receiving tenant-based assistance under the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.]; and
the economic viability of public housing agencies; and
the effectiveness of the rent policies established by this Act and the amendments made by this Act on the employment status and earned income of public housing residents.
Effective Date.—
This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [
Use of American Products
Purchase of American-Made Equipment and Products.—
It is the sense of the Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment and products purchased with funds made available in this Act [Pub. L. 105–276, see Tables for classification] should be American made.
Notice Requirement.—
In providing financial assistance to, or entering into any contract with, any entity using funds made available in this Act, the head of each Federal agency, to the greatest extent practicable, shall provide to such entity a notice describing the statement made in subsection (a) by the Congress.
Effective Date.—
This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [
GAO Study on Housing Assistance Program Costs
Study.—
The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study that provides an objective and independent accounting and analysis of the full cost to the Federal Government, public housing agencies, State and local governments, and other entities, per assisted household, of the Federal assisted housing programs, taking into account the qualitative differences among Federal assisted housing programs in accordance with applicable standards of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Contents.—
The study under this section shall—
analyze the full cost to the Federal Government, public housing agencies, State and local governments, and other parties, per assisted household, of the Federal assisted housing programs, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and shall conduct the analysis on a nationwide and regional basis and in a manner such that accurate per unit cost comparisons may be made between Federal assisted housing programs, including grants, direct subsidies, tax concessions, Federal mortgage insurance liability, periodic renovation and rehabilitation, and modernization costs, demolition costs, and other ancillary costs such as security; and
measure and evaluate qualitative differences among Federal assisted housing programs in accordance with applicable standards of the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Prohibition of Recommendations.—
In conducting the study under this section and reporting under subsection (e), the Comptroller General may not make any recommendations regarding Federal housing policy.
Federal Assisted Housing Programs.—
For purposes of this section, the term ‘Federal assisted housing programs’ means—
the public housing program under the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.], except that the study under this section shall differentiate between and compare the development and construction of new public housing and the assistance of existing public housing structures;
the certificate program for rental assistance under section 8(b)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f(b)(1)];
the voucher program for rental assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)];
the programs for project-based assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f];
the rental assistance payments program under section 521(a)(2)(A) of the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(2)(A)];
the program for housing for the elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 [12 U.S.C. 1701q];
the program for housing for persons with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act [42 U.S.C. 8013];
the program for financing housing by a loan or mortgage insured under section 221(d)(3) of the National Housing Act [12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(3)] that bears interest at a rate determined under the proviso of section 221(d)(5) of such Act [12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(5)];
the program under section 236 of the National Housing Act [12 U.S.C. 1715z–1];
the program for construction or substantial rehabilitation under section 8(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437f(b)(2)], as in effect before
any other program for housing assistance administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the Secretary of Agriculture, under which occupancy in the housing assisted or housing assistance provided is based on income, as the Comptroller General may determine.
Report.—
Not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of this Act [
Effective Date.—
This section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [