Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 70 - TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT › Part XVII - Real Estate › Chapter 1 - Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition for Federally and Federally-Assisted Programs and State Programs › Section XVII-115 - Additional Information

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. General
1. Definition of Comparable Replacement
				Dwelling
a. The requirement in §101.
				B.4.f that a comparable replacement dwelling be functionally equivalent to the
				displacement dwelling means that it must perform the same function, provide the
				same utility, and be capable of contributing to a comparable style of living as
				the displacement dwelling. While it need not possess every feature of the
				displacement dwelling, the principal features must be present.
b. For example, if the displacement dwelling
				contains a pantry and a similar dwelling is not available, a replacement
				dwelling with ample kitchen cupboards may be acceptable. Insulated and heated
				space in a garage might prove an adequate substitute for basement workshop
				space. A dining area may substitute for a separate dining room. Under some
				circumstances, attic space could substitute for basement space for storage
				purposes, and vice versa. Only in unusual circumstances may a comparable
				replacement dwelling contain fewer rooms or consequentially less living space
				than the displacement dwelling. Such may be the case when a decent, safe, and
				sanitary replacement dwelling (which by definition is
adequate to
				accommodate
the displaced person) may be found to be functionally
				equivalent to a larger but very run-down substandard displacement
				dwelling.
c.Section 101. B.4.g requires that a comparable replacement dwelling for a person who is not
				receiving assistance under any government housing program before displacement
				must be currently available on the private market without any subsidy under a
				government housing program.
d. A
				public housing unit may qualify as a comparable replacement dwelling only for a
				person displaced from a public housing unit; a privately-owned dwelling with a
				housing program subsidy tied to the unit may qualify as a comparable
				replacement dwelling only for a person displaced from a similarly subsidized
				unit or public housing; a housing program subsidy to a person (not tied to the
				building), such as a HUD Section 8 Existing Housing Program Certificate or a
				Housing Voucher, may be reflected in an offer of a comparable replacement
				dwelling to a person receiving a similar subsidy or occupying a privately-owned
				subsidized unit or public housing unit before displacement.
e. However, nothing in this Part prohibits
				the department from offering, or precludes a person from accepting, assistance
				under a government housing program, even if the person did not receive similar
				assistance before displacement. However, the department is obligated to inform
				the person of his or her options under this Part. (If a person accepts
				assistance under a government housing program, the rental assistance payment
				under §109. B would be computed on the basis of the person's actual
				out-of-pocket cost for the replacement housing.)