42 U.S.C. § 12705 : US Code - Section 12705: State and local housing strategies

Search 42 U.S.C. § 12705 : US Code - Section 12705: State and local housing strategies

(a) In general
The Secretary shall provide assistance directly to a jurisdiction
only if -
(1) the jurisdiction submits to the Secretary a comprehensive
housing affordability strategy (hereafter in this section
referred to as the "housing strategy");
(2) the jurisdiction submits annual updates of the housing
strategy; and
(3) the housing strategy, and any annual update of such
strategy, is approved by the Secretary.
The Secretary shall establish such dates and manner for the
submission and approval of housing strategies under this section
that the Secretary determines will facilitate orderly program
management by jurisdictions and provide for timely investment or
other use of funds made available under subchapter II of this
chapter and other programs requiring submission of a housing
strategy. If the Secretary finds there is good cause, the Secretary
may provide reasonable extensions of any deadlines for submission
of a jurisdiction's housing strategy.
(b) Contents
A housing strategy submitted under this section shall be in a
form that the Secretary determines to be appropriate for the
assistance the jurisdiction may be provided and shall -
(1) describe the jurisdiction's estimated housing needs
projected for the ensuing 5-year period, and the jurisdiction's
need for assistance for very low-income, low-income, and moderate-
income families, specifying such needs for different types of
tenure and for different categories of residents, such as very
low-income, low-income, and moderate-income families, the
elderly, persons with disabilities, single persons, large
families, residents of nonmetropolitan areas, families who are
participating in an organized program to achieve economic
independence and self-sufficiency, persons with acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome, victims of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, and stalking and other categories of
persons residing in or expected to reside in the jurisdiction
that the Secretary determines to be appropriate;
(2) describe the nature and extent of homelessness, including
rural homelessness, within the jurisdiction, providing an
estimate of the special needs of various categories of persons
who are homeless or threatened with homelessness, including
tabular representation of such information, and a description of
the jurisdiction's strategy for (A) helping low-income families
avoid becoming homeless; (B) addressing the emergency shelter and
transitional housing needs of homeless persons (including a brief
inventory of facilities and services that meet such needs within
that jurisdiction); and (C) helping homeless persons make the
transition to permanent housing and independent living;
(3) describe the significant characteristics of the
jurisdiction's housing market, indicating how those
characteristics will influence the use of funds made available
for rental assistance, production of new units, rehabilitation of
old units, or acquisition of existing units;
(4) explain whether the cost of housing or the incentives to
develop, maintain, or improve affordable housing in the
jurisdiction are affected by public policies, particularly by
policies of the jurisdiction, including tax policies affecting
land and other property, land use controls, zoning ordinances,
building codes, fees and charges, growth limits, and policies
that affect the return on residential investment, and describe
the jurisdiction's strategy to remove or ameliorate negative
effects, if any, of such policies, except that, if a State
requires a unit of general local government to submit a
regulatory barrier assessment that is substantially equivalent to
the information required under this paragraph, as determined by
the Secretary, the unit of general local government may submit
its assessment submitted to the State to the Secretary and shall
be considered to have complied with this paragraph;
(5) explain the institutional structure, including private
industry, nonprofit organizations, and public institutions,
through which the jurisdiction will carry out its housing
strategy, assessing the strengths and gaps in that delivery
system and describing what the jurisdiction will do to overcome
those gaps;
(6) indicate resources from private and non-Federal public
sources that are reasonably expected to be made available to
carry out the purposes of this Act, explaining how funds made
available will leverage those additional resources and
identifying, where the jurisdiction deems it appropriate,
publicly owned land or property located within the jurisdiction
that may be utilized to carry out the purposes of this Act;
(7) set forth the jurisdiction's plan for investment or other
use of housing funds made available under subchapter II of this
chapter, the United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et
seq.], the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and the
McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act [42 U.S.C. 11301 et seq.],
during the ensuing year or such longer period as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate, indicating the general priorities
for allocating investment geographically within the jurisdiction
and among different activities and housing needs;
(8) describe how the jurisdiction's plan will address the
housing needs identified pursuant to subparagraphs (!1) (1) and
(2), describe the reasons for allocation priorities, and identify
any obstacles to addressing underserved needs;
(9) describe the means of cooperation and coordination among
the State and any units of general local government in the
development, submission, and implementation of their housing
strategies;
(10) in the case of a unit of local government, describe the
number of public housing units in the jurisdiction, the physical
condition of such units, the restoration and revitalization needs
of public housing projects within the jurisdiction, the public
housing agency's strategy for improving the management and
operation of such public housing, and the public housing agency's
strategy for improving the living environment of low- and very-
low-income families residing in public housing;
(11) describe the manner in which the plan of the jurisdiction
will help address the needs of public housing;
(12) in the case of a State, describe the strategy to
coordinate the Low-Income Tax Credit with development of housing,
including public housing, that is affordable to very low-income
and low-income families;
(13) describe the jurisdiction's activities to encourage public
housing residents to become more involved in management and
participate in homeownership;
(14) describe the standards and procedures according to which
the jurisdiction will monitor activities authorized under this
Act and ensure long-term compliance with the provisions of this
Act;
(15) include a certification that the jurisdiction will
affirmatively further fair housing;
(16) include a certification that the jurisdiction has in
effect and is following a residential antidisplacement and
relocation assistance plan that, in any case of any such
displacement in connection with any activity assisted with
amounts provided under subchapter II of this chapter, requires
the same actions and provides the same rights as required and
provided under a residential antidisplacement and relocation
assistance plan under section 104(d) of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1974 [42 U.S.C. 5304(d)] in the event of
displacement in connection with a development project assisted
under section 106 or 119 of such Act [42 U.S.C. 5306, 5318];
(17) estimate the number of housing units within the
jurisdiction that are occupied by low-income families or very low-
income families and that contain lead-based paint hazards, as
defined in section 4851b of this title, outline the actions
proposed or being taken to evaluate and reduce lead-based paint
hazards, and describe how lead-based paint hazard reduction will
be integrated into housing policies and programs;
(18) include the number of families to whom the jurisdiction
will provide affordable housing as defined in section 12745 of
this title using funds made available;
(19) for any housing strategy submitted for fiscal year 1994 or
any fiscal year thereafter and taking into consideration factors
over which the jurisdiction has control, describe the
jurisdiction's goals, programs, and policies for reducing the
number of households with incomes below the poverty line (as
defined by the Office of Management and Budget and revised
annually), and, in consultation with other appropriate public and
private agencies, state how the jurisdiction's goals, programs,
and policies for producing and preserving affordable housing set
forth in the housing strategy will be coordinated with other
programs and services for which the jurisdiction is responsible
and the extent to which they will reduce (or assist in reducing)
the number of households with incomes below the poverty line; and
(20) describe the jurisdictions activities to enhance
coordination between public and assisted housing providers and
private and governmental health, mental health, and service
agencies.
The Secretary may provide for the submission of abbreviated housing
strategies by jurisdictions that are not otherwise expected to be
participating jurisdictions under subchapter II of this chapter.
Such an abbreviated housing strategy shall be appropriate to the
types and amounts of assistance the jurisdiction is to receive as
determined by the Secretary.
(c) Approval
(1) In general
The Secretary shall review the housing strategy upon receipt.
Not later than 60 days after receipt by the Secretary, the
housing strategy shall be approved unless the Secretary
determines before that date that (A) the housing strategy is
inconsistent with the purposes of this Act, or (B) the
information described in subsection (b) of this section has not
been provided in a substantially complete manner. For the purpose
of the preceding sentence, the adoption or continuation of a
public policy identified pursuant to subsection (b)(4) of this
section shall not be a basis for the Secretary's disapproval of a
housing strategy. During the 18-month period following November
28, 1990, the Secretary may extend the review period to not
longer than 90 days.
(2) Actions in case of disapproval
If the Secretary disapproves the housing strategy, the
Secretary shall immediately notify the jurisdiction of such
disapproval. Not later than 15 days after the Secretary's
disapproval, the Secretary shall inform the jurisdiction in
writing of (A) the reasons for disapproval, and (B) actions that
the jurisdiction could take to meet the criteria for approval. If
the Secretary fails to inform the jurisdiction of the reasons for
disapproval within such 15-day period, the housing strategy shall
be deemed to have been approved.
(3) Amendments and resubmission
The Secretary shall, for a period of not less than 45 days
following the date of first disapproval, permit amendments to, or
the resubmission of, any housing strategy that is disapproved.
The Secretary shall approve or disapprove a housing strategy not
less than 30 days after receipt of such amendments or
resubmission.
(d) Coordination of State and local housing strategies
The Secretary may establish such requirements as the Secretary
deems appropriate to encourage coordination between and among the
housing strategies of a State and any participating jurisdictions
within the State, except that a unit of general local government
shall not be required to have elements of its housing strategy
approved by the State.
(e) Consultation with social service agencies
(1) In general
When preparing a housing strategy for submission under this
section, a jurisdiction shall make reasonable efforts to confer
with appropriate social service agencies regarding the housing
needs of children, elderly persons, persons with disabilities,
homeless persons, and other persons served by such agencies.
(2) Lead-based paint hazards
When preparing that portion of a housing strategy required by
subsection (b)(16) of this section, a jurisdiction shall consult
with State or local health and child welfare agencies and examine
existing data related to lead-based paint hazards and poisonings,
including health department data on the addresses of housing
units in which children have been identified as lead poisoned.
(f) Barrier removal
Not later than 4 months after completion of the final report of
the Secretary's Advisory Commission on Regulatory Barriers to
Affordable Housing, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a
written report outlining the Secretary's recommendations for
legislative and administrative actions to facilitate the removal or
modification of excessive, duplicative, or unnecessary regulations
or other requirements of Federal, State, or local governments that
(1) inflate the costs of or otherwise inhibit the construction,
rehabilitation, or management of housing, particularly housing that
otherwise could be affordable to low-income and moderate-income
families, or (2) contribute to economic or racial discrimination.
(g) Treatment of troubled public housing agencies
(1) Effect of troubled status on CHAS
The comprehensive housing affordability strategy (or any
consolidated plan incorporating such strategy) for the State or
unit of general local government in which any troubled public
housing agency is located shall not be considered to comply with
the requirements under this section unless such plan includes a
description of the manner in which the State or unit will provide
financial or other assistance to such troubled agency in
improving its operations to remove such designation.
(2) Definition
For purposes of this subsection, the term "troubled public
housing agency" means a public housing agency that, upon the
effective date of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act
of 1998, is designated under section 6(j)(2) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437d(j)(2)] as a troubled public
housing agency.