§ 7501.104 Prohibited financial interests. ( a ) *General requirement.* This section applies to all HUD employees except special Government employees. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, the employee, or the employee's spouse or minor child, shall not directly or indirectly receive, acquire, or own: ( 1 ) Federal Housing Administration (FHA) debentures or certificates of claim;
( 2 ) A financial interest in a project, including any single family dwelling or unit, which is subsidized by the Department, except to the extent such subsidy represents assistance on the employee's principal residence. The definition of “financial interest” is found at 5 CFR 2635.403(c);
( 3 ) ( i ) Any Department subsidy provided pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1437f), to or on behalf of a tenant of property owned by the employee or the employee's spouse or minor child. However, such subsidy is permitted when: ( A ) The employee, or the employee's spouse or minor child acquires, without specific intent as through inheritance, a property in which a tenant receiving such a subsidy already resides;
( B ) The tenant receiving such a subsidy lived in the rental property before the employee worked for the Department;
( C ) The tenant receiving such a subsidy is a parent, child, grandchild, or sibling of the employee;
( D ) The employee's, or the employee's spouse or minor child's, rental property has an incumbent tenant who has not previously received such a subsidy and becomes the beneficiary thereof; or
( E ) The location of the rental property is in a Presidentially declared emergency or natural disaster area and the employee receives prior written approval from an agency designee.
( ii ) The exception provided by paragraph (a)(3)(i) of this section continues only as long as: ( A ) The tenant continues to reside in the property; and
( B ) There is no increase in that tenant's rent upon the commencement of subsidy payments other than normal annual adjustments under the Section 8 program.
( b ) *Exception to prohibition for certain interests.* Nothing in this section prohibits the employee, or the employee's spouse or minor child from directly or indirectly receiving, acquiring, or owning: ( 1 ) A financial interest in a publicly available or publicly traded investment fund that includes financial interests prohibited by paragraph (a)(2) of this section, so long as the employee neither exercises control nor has the ability to exercise control over the fund or the financial interests held in the fund;
( 2 ) Mortgage insurance provided pursuant to section 203 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1709) on the employee's principal residence and any one other single family residence. Employees must adhere to the procedures established by the Assistant Secretary for Housing—FHA Commissioner in order to obtain FHA insurance;
( 3 ) Department-owned single family property. Employees must adhere to the procedures established by the Assistant Secretary for Housing—FHA Commissioner in order to purchase a HUD-held property;
( 4 ) Employment compensation and benefit packages provided by the employer of an employee's spouse that include financial interests prohibited by paragraph (a)(2) of this section; or
( 5 ) Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) securities.
( c ) *Reporting and divestiture.* An employee must report, in writing, to the appropriate agency ethics official, any interest prohibited under paragraph (a) of this section acquired prior to the commencement of employment with the Department or without specific intent, as through gift, inheritance, or marriage, within 30 days from the date of the start of employment or acquisition of such interest. Such interest must be divested within 90 days from the date reported unless waived by the Designated Agency Ethics Official in accordance with § 7501.103.
[77 FR 46604, Aug. 6, 2012, as amended at 78 FR 56128, Sept. 12, 2013]