How to Acquire 

Surplus Federal 

Real Property 

for Education 

Purposes
U.S. Department of Education

Betsy DeVos

Secretary of Education

Office of Finance and Operations

Denise Carter

Acting Assistant Secretary

Logistics Services Division

Federal Real Property Branch

John D. Cogdill

Director

April 2020

This brochure is in the public domain. Authorization 

to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While

permission to reprint this publication is not

necessary, the citation should be U.S. Department

of Education, Office of Finance and Operations,

Logistic Services Division, Federal Real Property 

Branch, How to Acquire Surplus Federal Real

Property for Educational Purposes, Washington,

D.C., 2020.

On request, this publication may be made available in 

alternate formats, such as Braille, large print or CD. For 

more information, please contact the Department’s

Alternate Format Center at 202-260-0852 or

202-260-0818.

Notice to Limited English Proficient Persons: If you have 

difficulty understanding English you may request

language assistance services for Department information 

that is available to the public. These language assistance

services are available free of charge. If you need more 

information about interpretation or translation services,

please call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327), 

TTY:1-800-437-0833 or email us at Assistance@ed.gov.

Federal Real Property 

Disposal Program

Agencies and departments of the federal government may find that they own 

property that they no longer require. This may occur because of a change in their 

program requirements, a reduction in their operations or the relocation of 

programs to other sites. These properties are reported to the General Services 

Administration (GSA) as excess. Military installations or portions thereof may 

also be determined excess but are disposed of under the Base Realignment and 

Closure acts (BRAC).

Federal Property Disposal Authority

GSA Disposals

The statutory authority for the disposal of real property is outlined within the 

provisions of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, 

as amended in Public Law 107-217 P.L. 10, enacted Aug. 21, 2002. This law 

established the GSA and directed its administrator to establish an efficient and 

economical system to procure, manage and dispose of government property. This 

law gives the U.S. Secretary of Education the authority to sell surplus federal 

real property to eligible applicants who have demonstrated a need for the 

property at a Public Benefit Allowance discount, which takes into consideration 

benefits that may accrue to the United States as a result of its use for educational 

purposes.

Most real properties acquired and developed by the United States for federal 

activities are covered by the above legislation. Some properties are exempt, such 

as public domain lands, forest reserves, national park properties, Indian lands, 

lands securing federal loans and property owned by the U.S. Postal Service or 

other agencies that, by law, require reimbursement for their use.
BRAC

Disposals

BRAC properties are also made available during disposal 

through the U.S. Department of Education and may be acquired 

for needed educational purposes. The Department also works 

closely with the military services in assisting eligible education 

organizations to acquire real property that is being disposed of 

at military installations designated for closure under BRAC 

regulations. BRAC regulations differ from conventional surplus 

federal real property disposal regulations in several respects. 

Most importantly, BRAC regulations provide Local 

Redevelopment Authorities (LRAs) the authority to develop 

master plans that guide redevelopment efforts. Potentially

interested parties must coordinate their plans with LRAs to 

assure that their proposed programs are consistent with master 

redevelopment plans that have been developed by communities 

for the future of the closed installations.

The Department honors local redevelopment plans but must 

reach its own decisions on the acceptability of applicants and 

requests for BRAC properties in accordance with criteria 

established in Department regulations that govern acquisition 

of real property for educational purposes under Public Benefit 

laws. It is usually advisable for LRAs and education 

organizations interested in acquiring BRAC property to 

maintain close contact and coordinate their respective interests 

with the Department to verify that the proposed redevelopment 

is consistent with the regulations of all governing authorities.
Real Property

Real property may consist of land, land and 

buildings and other improvements, or buildings only, 

with or without related personal property. It may be 

a portion of or all of a surplus government 

installation.

Real property refers to land and to buildings such 

as federal buildings, courthouses, reserve centers, 

hospitals, barracks or any of many other types of 

structures or improvements, which may be 

transferred with land for use in place. Structures 

and improvements may be demolished to provide 

for new construction or other land use.

Related personal property, which is located on and 

is an integral part of the real property or is essential 

to its productive operation, may be conveyed either 

with off-site improvements or with property for onsite use.
Eligibility

Real and related personal property may be 

acquired for educational use by states and 

their political subdivisions and instrumentalities, 

by tax-supported institutions and by nonprofit 

institutions that have been held exempt from 

taxation under Section 501(c) (3) of the 

Internal Revenue Code.

Institutions that meet the organizational eligibility 

requirements of the law must also demonstrate a 

need for surplus federal real property for an 

eligible education program. To meet this 

requirement, and qualify for a Public Benefit 

Allowance in lieu of full cash payment of the 

purchase price of the property desired, the 

program must clearly establish that it

is fundamentally educational under federal 

regulations. An applicant must demonstrate 

organizational and financial ability to acquire the 

property and carry out the proposed program within 

prescribed time frames. The amount of property 

applied for must be limited to that which is 

necessary to and useful for the applicant’s program 

immediately, and the applicant must use all of the 

requested property. The property applied for must 

be for a purpose that the eligible organization is 

authorized to carry out, and the title must be 

conveyed to the organization that will be delivering 

the proposed program.
Eligibility (continued)

Potentially eligible education programs 

and facilities may include, but are not 

limited to:

 Schools and college campuses;

 Public libraries;

 Vocational training;

 Rehabilitation of mentally or

physically handicapped facilities;

 Alternative schools;

 School administration and

maintenance facilities; and

 Athletic fields.
Establishing Requirements

The Department notifies known or potentially eligible institutions 

of the availability of surplus federal real property and affords 

eligible institutions an opportunity to make application for all or a 

portion of the property. The Department is given 30 days from the 

date of the surplus determination to advise the federal property 

disposal agency of a potential interest in the property for 

educational purposes and 60 days from that same date within 

which to approve applications and request assignment of such 

property for transfer. Information concerning a formal application 

can be obtained by contacting the Federal Real Property Branch 

office, which will supply the proper guidelines and materials, and 

assist with any questions. Applications must establish the 

eligibility of the institution and its program, and must contain all 

required information and assurances requested in the guidelines.

In order to meet the Department’s responsibilities under the 

National Environmental Policy Act, the applicant is also

required to furnish information regarding the reasonable and 

probable impacts of the proposed education program upon 

the environment. The applicant may also have to demonstrate

that it will comply with the provisions of the National Historic

Preservation Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other

federal laws and regulations, as necessary.
Conditions and 

Restrictions

Transfers of federal surplus real property at Public 

Benefit Allowance discount are legally accomplished in 

the form of a sale in return for the contractual 

commitment of the applicant to deliver education 

programs and services upon the property rather than 

pay for acquisition through monetary consideration.

All conveyances are made by deeds, which require that the 

property must be utilized solely and continuously for a period 

of 30 years from the date of the deed for the education 

programs set forth and approved in the application and for 

no other purposes. Other deed conditions also provide that 

titleholders may not sell, lease, mortgage, encumber or 

otherwise dispose of, or grant any rights or interest in that 

property to other parties without the advance written consent 

of the U.S. Department of Education.

The Public Benefit Allowance discount varies from 40 to 100 

percent, depending on the proposed program, but classroom 

facilities usually qualify for a 100-percent discount. Titleholders 

must agree to comply with nondiscrimination acts and must

submit periodic reports on utilization of the acquired property.
Conditions and Restrictions 

(continued)

Property will not be approved for transfer unless it is 

needed at the time of application. The property must be 

placed into use within 12 months after conveyance or 36 

months where major construction or renovation is 

contemplated. If applicable time limits are not met, or the 

property is not utilized at any period of time, the titleholder 

may be required to pay, for each such month of nonuse, 

the percentage of the current value of the property that 

otherwise would have been earned through educational 

use. Payments will cease when the property is used for 

the approved educational purposes. Upon breach of any 

of these conditions, title to the property may revert to the 

United States.

Educational use restrictions on the property may be 

abrogated and released with the consent of the 

Department and the disposal agency upon payment of 

the unearned Public Benefit Allowance discount that was 

granted prospectively at the time of conveyance based 

upon the current fair market value of the property at the 

time of request for release.
Conclusion

In all cases, the titleholder is required to pay all external administrative 

costs incidental to transfer, which may include, but not be limited to, survey, 

appraisal, legal, title search and closing fees.

The Department’s regulations governing the program are found in Title 

34, Code of Federal Regulations, Subtitle A, Part 12.

Interested parties may speak with a federal real property specialist at

202-260-4558 or by email FRPA@ed.gov.

You may also write to our office at the following address:

U.S. Department of Education 

Federal Real Property Branch

Logistics Services Division, OSFLS, OFO

400 Maryland Ave SW, Room 228-26

Washington, DC 20202-4553

To learn more about the U.S. Department of Education’s Federal Real 

Property Assistance Program, please visit us at our website: 

http://www2.ed.gov/programs/fedrealproperty/index.html.

This is a guidance document. Guidance documents represent the 

Department of Education’s current thinking on a topic. They do not 

create or confer any rights for or on any person and do not impose any 

requirements beyond those required under applicable law and 

regulations. Guidance documents lack the force and effect of law, 

except as authorized by law or as incorporated into a contract.