Quiero saber acerca de...

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 8 / Wednesday, January 13, 2021 / Proposed Rules 902.21 Physical condition standards for public housing.

Public housing must be maintained in a manner that meets the physical condition standards set forth in part 5, subpart G of this title.
35. Revise 902.22 to read as follows:
902.22

Inspection of PHA projects.

The PHAs score for the physical condition indicator is based on an independent inspection of a PHAs projects provided by HUD and using the requirements and timelines laid out in part 5, subpart G of this title, to ensure projects meet acceptable basic housing conditions. Mixed-finance projects will be subject to the physical condition inspections.
902.24, 902.26, and 902.68
AND RESERVED

REMOVED

36. Remove and reserve 902.24, 902.26, and 902.68.
37. Add subpart H to read as follows:

Subpart HAssessment of small rural Public Housing Agencies Sec.
902.101 Definitions of small rural PHAs.
902.103 Public Housing assessment of small rural PHAs.
902.105 Troubled Small rural PHAs.
902.107 Withholding, denying, and rescinding troubled designation.
902.109 Right to petition and appeal troubled designation.
902.111 Sanctions for troubled small rural PHAs.
902.113 Incentives for small rural PHAs high-performers.
Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1437dj, 42 U.S.C.
3535d, 1437z10.
902.101

Definition of small rural PHAs.

a Definition. A PHA is a small rural PHA if it administers 550 or fewer combined public housing units and vouchers under section 8o, and either:
1 Has a primary administrative building as determined with a physical address in a rural area as described in 12 CFR 1026.35b2ivA; or 2 More than 50 percent of its combined public housing units and voucher units under section 8o are in rural areas as described in 12 CFR
1026.35b2ivA.
b Determination. 1 HUD will make the initial determination of PHAs that qualify as small rural as defined in 902.101 of this title no later than insert 120 days after the effective date of the final rule.
2 HUD will determine if a PHA
qualifies as a small rural PHA under paragraph a every 3 years.
c Appeals. A PHA may challenge HUDs determination concerning whether the PHA qualifies as small rural
VerDate Sep<11>2014

17:44 Jan 12, 2021

Jkt 253001

PHA by presenting an objectively verifiable material error which resulted in the incorrect determination, or by presenting information showing that the status of the PHA has changed to justify a redetermination.
902.103 Public housing assessment of small rural PHAs.

a Small rural Public Housing Assessment. The public housing program of small rural PHAs as defined in 902.101 shall be assessed and scored based only on the physical condition of their public housing properties in accordance with part 5, subpart G of this title. Such agencies shall not be subject to PHAS except as noted below.
b Triennial assessment. Public Housing programs operated by small rural Public Housing Authorities will be assessed no more than once every three years, except that a small rural Public Housing Authority shall be subject to annual inspection if it is designated by the Secretary as troubled as defined in 902.105.
c Initial Public Housing assessment.
1 For PHAs subject to small PHA
deregulation, the first assessment and inspections will be determined based on the PHAs next scheduled PHAS
assessment e.g., a higher performing PHA would receive the first inspection 3 years after the most recent PHAS
assessment, a standard or substandard performer would receive the first inspection 2 years after the most recent PHAS assessment, etc..
2 For PHAs not subject to small PHA
deregulation, the first inspection is based on the PHAs overall weighted project PASS score e.g., a PHA with a PASS score of 90 or greater would receive the first inspection three years after most recent PHAS assessment, a PHA with a PASS score of 8089 would receive the first inspection two years after most recent PHAS assessment, etc..
902.105

Troubled small rural PHAs.

a Definition of Troubled Small rural PHA. A small rural PHA will be determined to be troubled under the public housing program if the weighted average score of all property inspections is below 70 percent of the total available points, or if a small rural PHA has a weighted average score of between 70
and 80 percent of the total available points, and has at least one property that receives fewer than 70 percent of the total available points.
b Referral to the Local Field Office.
Upon a PHAs designation as a troubled performer HUD must notify the PHA
and shall refer the troubled performer
PO 00000

Frm 00022

Fmt 4702

Sfmt 4702

2603

PHA to the PHAs field office, or other designated offices at HUD, for remedial action, oversight, and monitoring. The actions to be taken by HUD and the PHA will include statutorily required actions, and such other actions as may be determined appropriate by HUD.
c Corrective Action Agreement CAA. Within 30 days of notification of a PHAs designation as a troubled performer, HUD will initiate activities to negotiate and develop an CAA. A CAA
is required for a troubled performer. The final CAA is a binding contractual agreement between HUD and a PHA.
The scope of the CAA may vary depending upon the extent of the problems present in the PHA. The term of the CAA will not exceed one year, and is subject to renewal at the discretion of HUD if HUD determines that the circumstances requiring the CAA still exist at the expiration of the term of the CAA based on the annual assessment frequency as included in 902.103. It shall include, but not be limited to:
1 Baseline data, which should be data without adjustments or weighting but may be the PHAs score identified as a deficiency;
2 Performance targets for such periods specified by HUD e.g., annual, semiannual, quarterly, monthly, which may be the attainment of a higher score or the description of a goal to be achieved; however, safety, health, and environmental performance targets and deadlines otherwise specified by regulation, including the lead safety regulations at 24 CFR 35, are not superseded by the CAA performance targets;
3 Strategies to be used by the PHA
in achieving the performance targets within the time period of the CAA, including the identification of the party responsible for the completion of each task and for reporting progress;
4 Technical assistance to the PHA
provided or facilitated by HUD;
5 The PHAs commitment to take all actions within its control to achieve the targets;
6 The consequences of failing to meet the targets; and 7 A description of the involvement of local public and private entities, including PHA resident leaders, in carrying out the agreement and rectifying the PHAs problems. A PHA
shall have primary responsibility for obtaining active local public and private entity participation, including the involvement of public housing resident leaders, in assisting PHA improvement efforts. Local public and private entity participation should be premised upon
E:FRFM13JAP1.SGM

13JAP1