19466 Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 85 / Wednesday, May 1, 1996 / Notices

1Unless otherwise specified, all sections cited

herein are in the Federal Housing Enterprises

Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992.

Sections 1331–1336 of that Act are codified at 12

U.S.C. 4561–66.

2Sections 1332(c) and 1333(c).

3Sections 1332(c)(2) and 1333(c)(2).

4 24 CFR 81.2.

5 Id.

6 Id.

7The AHS medians have been adjusted for the

percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for

Fuel and Other Utilities between July–December

1993 (the period when the AHS was conducted)

and November 1995, and have been projected

forward using the Data Resources Incorporated

(DRI) predicted increase from November 1995

through the fourth quarter of 1996.

DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR–4057–N–01]

Office of the Secretary; Utility

Allowances for Use by the Federal

National Mortgage Association and the

Federal Home Loan Mortgage

Corporation

AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, HUD.

ACTION: Notice of utility allowances.

SUMMARY: This notice issues the utility

allowances established in accordance

with the Secretary’s authority to

regulate the Federal National Mortgage

Association (‘‘Fannie Mae’’) and the

Federal Home Loan Mortgage

Corporation (‘‘Freddie Mac’’) (each

enterprise is also referred to as a

‘‘Government-Sponsored Enterprise’’ or

‘‘GSE’’). These allowances are used to

determine whether rental units financed

by GSE mortgage purchases are

affordable and may count toward the

achievement of the income-based

housing goals established by the

Secretary. For these purposes, the

allowances in this notice shall be added

to the contract rent for rental units in

which: (1) tenant income is not

available; (2) contract rent does not

include the cost of utilities; and (3) the

GSE does not use the HUD Section 8

utility allowances.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 23, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Janet Tasker, Director, Office of

Government-Sponsored Enterprises

Oversight, Department of Housing and

Urban Development, Room 6154, 451

Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C.

20410, telephone (202) 708–2224 (this is

not a toll-free number). For hearing- and

speech-impaired persons, this number

may be accessed via TTY (text

telephone) by calling the Federal

Information Relay Service at 1–800–

877–8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Environmental Impact

In accordance with 40 CFR 1508.4 of

the regulations of the Council on

Environmental Quality and 24 CFR

50.20(l) of the HUD regulations, the

policies and procedures contained in

this notice relate only to cost

determinations that do not affect the

physical condition of any building and,

therefore, are categorically excluded

from the requirements of the National

Environmental Policy Act.

Background

The Federal Housing Enterprise

Financial Safety and Soundness Act of

1992, enacted as Title XIII of the

Housing and Community Development

Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102–550, approved

October 28, 1992; codified generally at

12 U.S.C. 4501–4561) (‘‘the Act’’),1

requires the Secretary, inter alia, to

establish and monitor the performance

of the GSEs in meeting annual goals for

mortgage purchases on housing for lowand moderate-income families and

special affordable housing, i.e., housing

meeting the needs of and affordable to

low-income families in low-income

areas and very low-income families. On

January 2, 1996, the Secretary’s new

regulation of the GSEs, codified at 24

CFR part 81, became effective. See 60

FR 61846 (Dec. 1, 1995).

Under the Act and regulations, in

considering whether a rental dwelling

unit that is financed by a GSE mortgage

purchase is affordable and counts

toward any housing goal, the Secretary

must consider the income of tenants if

income information is available. Where

income information is not available,

rent on the dwelling unit is used as a

proxy and compared to the rent levels

affordable to very-low-, low-, and

moderate-income families and families

whose incomes do not exceed 50

percent of the area median income

(‘‘especially low-income families’’).2 To

be considered affordable and count

under the goal, the rent cannot exceed

30 percent of the maximum income

level of the family’s classification, i.e.,

especially low-, very-low-, low-, or

moderate-income, with adjustments for

unit size.3

Under the regulation, ‘‘rent’’ is

defined as contract rent, but only where

the contract rent includes the cost of all

utilities.4 In all other instances, rent is

contract rent plus either: the actual cost

of utilities, or a utility allowance.5 The

regulation allows the GSEs to choose

from two different utility allowances—

the allowances used in the HUD Section

8 Program or the utility allowances

derived from the American Housing

Survey (AHS) and issued annually by

the Secretary.6

This notice issues the AHS-derived

utility allowances for 1996 and 1997. In

establishing these allowances, the

Department analyzed AHS data on the

median costs,7 based on unit type, paid

by renters in both multifamily and

single family properties for electricity,

gas, oil, water, and other utilities.

The GSEs were advised by letter dated

March 22, 1996, that these allowances

were to be issued in the Federal

Register.

The Utility Allowances

In accordance with sections 1321,

1331–33, and 1336 of the Federal

Housing Enterprise Financial Safety and

Soundness Act (12 U.S.C. 4541, 4561–

63, and 4566), and as provided in

paragraph (1) under the definition of

‘‘utility allowance’’ in section 81.2(b) of

Title 24 of the Code of Federal

Regulations, the AHS-derived utility

allowances for 1996 and 1997 are as

follows:

Type of property

Number of bedrooms

Efficiency 1 2 3 or

more

Multifamily ..... $51 $59 $78 $102

Single family 67 78 104 134

Effect of Notice Beyond 1997

For 1998 and thereafter, the Secretary

shall establish AHS-derived utility

allowances by subsequent notice.

Pending establishment of such

allowances for 1998 and thereafter, the

allowances in this notice shall continue

to be used by the GSEs.

Dated: April 23, 1996.

Henry G. Cisneros,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 96–10689 Filed 4–30–96; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4210–32–P