Department of Housing and Urban Development September 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule establishes regulations for HUD's Housing Counseling program, as authorized by the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, and for which, for the past several years, notices of funding availability have been issued on an annual basis. This final rule follows publication of a December 23, 2004, proposed rule that adopted and augmented the Housing Counseling program requirements with which grantees and housing counseling agencies are already familiar. This final rule takes into consideration the public comments that were received in response to the proposed rule and makes several changes to the proposed regulatory text at this final rule stage.

HUD's regulations provide for the assessment of the physical condition of HUD-assisted multifamily properties and notification to owners of such assessment. The owners, under certain circumstances, are provided an opportunity to seek a technical review of the physical condition assessment, and HUD may take action in certain cases where the housing is found not to be in compliance with the physical condition standards. Because the current regulations establish different time frames for owners to request a technical review, depending on whether HUD transmits the inspection results via the Internet or by certified mail, HUD published a proposed rule on April 24, 2007, that would improve uniformity in the technical review request process by implementing a standard time frame of 30 calendar days for the submission of a request for a technical review. This final rule takes into consideration the public comment received on the proposed rule and adopts the rule without change.

Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Brownfields Economic Development Initiative (BEDI) program is to enhance the security of a loan guaranteed by HUD under Section 108 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, for the same brownfields economic development project, or to improve the viability of a brownfields economic development project financed with the Section 108-guaranteed loan, in order to stimulate economic development by local governments and private sector parties at brownfields sites and to return those sites to productive, economic use. All BEDI grants must be used in conjunction with a new Section 108-guaranteed loan commitment.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. The Department of Housing and Urban Development conducts this survey in order to determine if the supply of rental housing is keeping pace with current and future needs. Additional information such as asking rent (or price for condominium units) and number of bedrooms is also collected. We also ask the availability of services in ``assisted living'' buildings.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. FHA-approved mortgagees report to HUD the sale of a mortgage between investors, the transfer of the mortgage servicing responsibility, or a change in mortgagors, as appropriate. HUD requires this information to assure accuracy in the fee and premium billing programs under HUD-FHA's automatic data processing system. HUD uses the information to process premium payments and to process claims.

This final rule revises HUD's regulations to reflect the statutorily mandated termination of the HUD Board of Contract Appeals. As required by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 (2006 NDA Act), the contract-related functions of the HUD Board of Contract Appeals have been transferred to the new Civilian Board of Contract Appeals. This final rule also describes the organization, address, and officer qualifications of the new Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and its two divisions, which will carry out the nonprocurement functions performed by the former HUD Board of Contract Appeals. This rule also makes conforming changes to other HUD regulations to reflect this organizational change. Additionally, this rule makes a technical correction to HUD's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations to include reference to Regional Counsel, which was inadvertently omitted from a previously published rule.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. There continues to be great interest in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program at HUD, the Department of Treasury, and from many other sources. Unfortunately, since the program is independently administered by more than 50 different state housing agencies, there would be no centralized sources of data about the units that have been developed with this federal subsidy without this data collection effort.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. In response to Congress and the mandate under the Energy Conservation Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 8251 et seq.) a survey is needed to accurately conduct research and report steps taken to reduce utility expenses through energy conservation measures of public housing. Thereafter, reports will be updated and sent to Congress every 2 years indicating energy strategies for energy reduction goals and how the Department of Housing and Urban Development will monitor the energy usage of public housing agencies.

This document designates ``Difficult Development Areas'' (DDAs) for purposes of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code) (26 U.S.C. 42). The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) makes new DDA designations annually. The designations of ``Qualified Census Tracts'' (QCTs) under Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code published September 28, 2007, remain in effect.

HUD proposes to add a new routine use to all records within its Systems of Records subject to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended. This new routine use will permit the disclosure of records, where records are relevant and reasonably necessary to respond, prevent, minimize, or remedy harm that may result from the breach of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. The addendum to the URLA and related documents are needed to determine the eligibility of the borrower and proposed mortgage transaction for FHA's insurance endorsement. Lenders seeking FHA's insurance prepare these forms.

The proposed information collection requirement described below has been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal. These Standards establish the acceptability of properties for mortgage insurance and will forward the goal of a decent and suitable living environment for every American family. This information is collected from State and local governments to assess the adequacy of their existing housing standards to meet HUD's minimum requirements. These Standards will protect the Department's interest by requiring certain features of design and construction.

This Notice identifies unutilized, underutilized, excess, and surplus Federal property reviewed by HUD for suitability for possible use to assist the homeless.

The proposed information collection requirement described below will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The Department is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

In accordance with section 102 (a)(4)(C) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989, this document notifies the public of funding awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP). The purpose of this document is to announce the names and addresses of the award winners and the amount of the awards which are to be used to enable Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCU) to build, expand, renovate, and equip their own facilities, and expand the role of the TCUs into the community through the provision of needed services such as health programs, job training, and economic development activities.