conversion of certain public housing to vouchers

conversion of certain public housing to vouchers Sec. 202. (a) Identification of Units.— Each public housing agency shall identify any public housing developments— (1) that are on the same or contiguous sites; (2) that total more than 300 dwelling units; (3) that have a vacancy rate of at least 10 percent for dwelling units not in funded, on-schedule modernization programs; (4) identified as distressed housing that the public housing agency cannot assure the long-term viability as public housing through reasonable revitalization, density reduction, or achievement of a broader range of household income; and (5) for which the estimated cost of continued operation and modernization of the developments as public housing exceeds the cost of providing tenant-based assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 for all families in occupancy, based on appropriate indicators of cost (such as the percentage of total development cost required for modernization). (b) Implementation and Enforcement.— (1) Standards for implementation.— The Secretary shall establish standards to permit implementation of this section in fiscal year 1996. (2) Consultation.— Each public housing agency shall consult with the applicable public housing tenants and the unit of general local government in identifying any public housing developments under subsection (a). (3) Failure of phas to comply with subsection (a).— Where the Secretary determines that— (A) a public housing agency has failed under subsection (a) to identify public housing developments for removal from the inventory of the agency in a timely manner; (B) a public housing agency has failed to identify one or more public housing developments which the Secretary determines should have been identified under subsection (a); or (C) one or more of the developments identified by the public housing agency pursuant to subsection (a) should not, in the determination of the Secretary, have been identified under that subsection; the Secretary may designate the developments to be removed from the inventory of the public housing agency pursuant to this section. (c) Removal of Units From the Inventories of Public Housing Agencies.— (1) Each public housing agency shall develop and carry out a plan in conjunction with the Secretary for the removal of public housing units identified under subsection (a) or subsection (b)(3), over a period of up to five years, from the inventory of the public housing agency and the annual contributions contract. The plan shall be approved by the relevant local official as not inconsistent with the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy under title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, including a description of any disposition and demolition plan for the public housing units. 110 STAT. 1321–280 (2) The Secretary may extend the deadline in paragraph (1) for up to an additional five years where the Secretary makes a determination that the deadline is impracticable. (3) The Secretary shall take appropriate actions to ensure removal of developments identified under subsection (a) or subsection (b)(3) from the inventory of a public housing agency, if the public housing agency fails to adequately develop a plan under paragraph (1), or fails to adequately implement such plan in accordance with the terms of the plan. (4) To the extent approved in appropriations Acts, the Secretary may establish requirements and provide funding under the Urban Revitalization Demonstration program for demolition and disposition of public housing under this section. (5) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if a development is removed from the inventory of a public housing agency and the annual contributions contract pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary may authorize or direct the transfer of— (A) in the case of an agency receiving assistance under the comprehensive improvement assistance program, any amounts obligated by the Secretary for the modernization of such development pursuant to section 14 of the United States Housing Act of 1937; (B) in the case of an agency receiving public and Indian housing modernization assistance by formula pursuant to section 14 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, any amounts provided to the agency which are attributable pursuant to the formula for allocating such assistance to the development removed from the inventory of that agency; and (C) in the case of an agency receiving assistance for the major reconstruction of obsolete projects, any amounts obligated by the Secretary for the major reconstruction of the development pursuant to section 5 of such Act, to the tenant-based assistance program or appropriate site revitalization of such agency. (6) Cessation of unnecessary spending.— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if, in the determination of the Secretary, a development meets or is likely to meet the criteria set forth in subsection (a), the Secretary may direct the public housing agency to cease additional spending in connection with the development, except to the extent that additional spending is necessary to ensure decent, safe, and sanitary housing until the Secretary determines or approves an appropriate course of action with respect to such development under this section. (d) Conversion to Tenant-Based Assistance.— (1) The Secretary shall make authority available to a public housing agency to provide tenant-based assistance pursuant to section 8 to families residing in any development that is removed from the inventory of the public housing agency and the annual contributions contract pursuant to subsection (b). (2) Each conversion plan under subsection (c) shall— (A) require the agency to notify families residing in the development, consistent with any guidelines issued by the Secretary governing such notifications, that the development shall be removed from the inventory of the public housing agency and the families shall receive tenant-based 110 STAT. 1321–281or project-based assistance, and to provide any necessary counseling for families; and (B) ensure that all tenants affected by a determination under this section that a development shall be removed from the inventory of a public housing agency shall be offered tenant-based or project-based assistance and shall be relocated, as necessary, to other decent, safe, sanitary, and affordable housing which is, to the maximum extent practicable, housing of their choice. (e) In General.— (1) The Secretary may require a public housing agency to provide such information as the Secretary considers necessary for the administration of this section. (2) As used in this section, the term “development” shall refer to a project or projects, or to portions of a project or projects, as appropriate. (3) Section 18 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 shall not apply to the demolition of developments removed from the inventory of the public housing agency under this section.