24374 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 25, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

24 CFR Part 882

[Docket No. FR–4472–F–02]

RIN 2577–AB98

Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation

Program; Executing or Terminating

Leases on Moderate Rehabilitation

Units When the Remaining Term of the

Housing Assistance Payments (HAP)

Contract Is for Less Than One Year

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant

Secretary for Public and Indian

Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Final rule.

SUMMARY: This final rule adopts an

interim rule published on October 4,

1999, that implemented in the Section

8 Moderate Rehabilitation Program

statutory language that requires that any

initial lease term between an owner and

a family not extend beyond the term of

the HAP contract. Before issuance of the

October 4, 1999 interim rule, the

program regulations for the Section 8

Moderate Rehabilitation Program

provided that the initial lease term

between an owner and a family must be

for at least one year. The regulations

were silent on the requisite lease term

when the Housing Assistance Payments

(HAP) contract term expires in less than

one year.

This October 4, 1999 interim rule also

revised the program regulation to allow

an owner and a public housing agency

(PHA) to mutually agree to terminate a

unit from the HAP contract if a unit

becomes vacant and the term of the HAP

contract is for less than one year.

The October 1999 interim rule

provided a 60-day public comment

period. No public comments were

received and therefore the interim rule

is adopted without change.

DATES: Effective Date: May 25, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Gerald J. Benoit, Director, Real Estate

and Housing Performance Division,

Office of Public and Assisted Housing

Delivery, Room 4210, U.S. Department

of Housing and Urban Development,

451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington,

DC 20410–5000; telephone: (202) 708–

0477 (this is not a toll-free number).

Persons with hearing or speech

impairments may access this number

via TTY by calling the toll-free Federal

Information Relay Service at (800) 877–

8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

Section 8(d)(1)(B)(i) of the United

States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.

1437f) (1937 Act) requires that the

initial lease between the tenant and the

owner in the Section 8 Moderate

Rehabilitation Program be for a period

of at least one year or the term of the

HAP contract, whichever is shorter. In

most cases, Section 8 Moderate

Rehabilitation dwelling leases will

terminate concurrently with Housing

Assistance Payments (HAP) contract

expirations. In some cases, however, a

dwelling lease ended prior to the

expiration of the Moderate

Rehabilitation HAP contract. A lease

may end prior to the expiration of the

Moderate Rehabilitation HAP contract

as a result of: (1) An action by an owner

to terminate tenancy in accordance with

the lease addendum and program

regulations; (2) a tenant’s action to

terminate the lease agreement; or (3) an

action by a housing authority to

terminate the family from the program

for failure to comply with the family’s

obligations under the Statement of

Family Responsibility and the owner

chooses to terminate the lease with the

family.

On October 4, 1999 (64 FR 53868),

HUD issued an interim rule that

implemented section 8(d)(1)(B)(i) of the

1937 Act. October 4, 1999 interim rule

required that any initial lease term

between an owner and a family not

extend beyond the term of the HAP

contract. Before issuance of the October

4, 1999 interim rule, the program

regulations in 24 CFR 882.403(d)

provided, in pertinent part, that the

initial lease between the family and

owner must be for at least one year.

Under these previous regulations, if a

lease agreement ended with less than

twelve months remaining on the HAP

contract, § 882.403(d) effectively

prohibited an owner from reoccupying

the unit with a new family. The result

was that some Section 8 Moderate

Rehabilitation owners lost rental income

on units because the remaining term of

the HAP contract is for less than twelve

months and § 882.512(a) prohibited an

owner from occupying a unit under a

HAP contract with an ineligible family

(i.e., a family other than one

participating in the Section 8 Moderate

Rehabilitation program).

Accordingly, the October 4, 1999

interim rule revised § 882.403(d) to

permit an initial lease for at least one

year or the term of the HAP contract,

whichever is shorter. The interim rule

also provided that if the initial term of

the lease is for less than one year

because the remaining term of the HAP

contract is for less than one year, the

owner and the PHA may mutually agree

to terminate the unit from the HAP

contract. The provision that any renewal

or extension of the lease term may not

extend beyond the remaining term of

the HAP contract was not changed by

the October 4, 1999 interim rule.

The October 4, 1999, interim rule

provided a 60-day public comment

period. No public comments were

received during this period.

Accordingly, this final rule adopts the

October 4, 1999 interim rule without

change.

II. Findings and Certifications

Environmental Impact

A Finding of No Significant Impact

with respect to the environment for this

rule was made in accordance with HUD

regulations at 24 CFR part 50, which

implement section 102(2)(C) of the

National Environmental Policy Act of

1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) at the time of the

interim rule. The Finding of No

Significant Impact remains available for

public inspection between 7:30 a.m. and

5:30 p.m. weekdays in the Office of the

Rules Docket Clerk, Office of the

General Counsel, U.S. Department of

Housing and Urban Development, Room

10276, 451 Seventh Street, SW,

Washington, DC 20410.

Federalism

Executive Order 13132 (entitled

‘‘Federalism’’) prohibits, to the extent

practicable and permitted by law, an

agency from promulgating a regulation

that has federalism implications and

either imposes substantial direct

compliance costs on State and local

governments and is not required by

statute, or preempts State law, unless

the relevant requirements of section 6 of

the Executive Order are met. This final

rule does not have federalism

implications and does not impose

substantial direct compliance costs on

State and local governments or preempt

State law within the meaning of the

Executive Order.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

This rule will not have a significant

economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities within the

meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility

Act (5 U.S.C. 605(b)), because it does

not place major burdens on housing

authorities or housing owners. This

final rule adopts the October 4, 1999,

interim rule without change. The

regulatory flexibility analysis provided

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 80 / Tuesday, April 25, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 24375

in the interim rule is applicable to this

rule. This rulemaking merely provides

an exception to allow leases for terms of

less than twelve months under the

Moderate Rehabilitation Program.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Title II of the Unfunded Mandates

Reform Act of 1995 (2 U.S.C. 1531–

1538) (UMRA) requires Federal agencies

to assess the effects of their regulatory

actions on State, local, and tribal

governments and on the private sector.

This final rule does not impose, within

the meaning of the UMRA, any Federal

mandates on any State, local, or, tribal

governments or on the private sector.

List of Subjects for 24 CFR Part 882

Grant programs—housing and

community development, Homeless,

Lead poisoning, Manufactured homes,

Rent subsidies, Reporting and

recordkeeping requirements.

PART 882—SECTION 8 MODERATE

REHABILITATION PROGRAM

Accordingly, the interim rule

amending 24 CFR part 882, which was

published at 64 FR 53869 on October 4,

1999, is adopted as a final rule without

change.

Dated: April 17, 2000.

Harold Lucas,

Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian

Housing.

[FR Doc. 00–10253 Filed 4–24–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–33–P