Rule2023-15174
Single Family Housing Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas Pilot Program
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
July 18, 2023
Effective
July 18, 2023
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentRural Housing Service
Abstract
The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is issuing this notification to waive four regulatory requirements for the Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in a Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas (PDDAs) pilot program. The Agency's intention is to evaluate the existing regulations and remove regulatory barriers to assist eligible applicants in PDDAs to improve the program usage for very-low-income homeowners that are seeking to repair their damaged homes that are in PDDAs. This notification briefly discusses the four waivers and provides contact information for additional details about the pilot.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 136 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45809-45810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15174]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published
under 50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.
The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by the Superintendent of Documents.
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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 136 / Tuesday, July 18, 2023 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 45809]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Rural Housing Service
7 CFR Part 3550
[Docket No. RHS-23-SFH-0017]
Single Family Housing Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in
Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas Pilot Program
AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notification.
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SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural
Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA), is issuing this notification to waive four regulatory
requirements for the Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in a
Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas (PDDAs) pilot program. The
Agency's intention is to evaluate the existing regulations and remove
regulatory barriers to assist eligible applicants in PDDAs to improve
the program usage for very-low-income homeowners that are seeking to
repair their damaged homes that are in PDDAs. This notification briefly
discusses the four waivers and provides contact information for
additional details about the pilot.
DATES: The effective date for the four regulatory waivers is July 18,
2023. The duration of the pilot is anticipated to continue until July
18, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Williams, Management and
Program Analyst, Special Programs, Single Family Housing Direct Loan
Division, Rural Development,1400 Independence Ave., Washington, DC
20250, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#670609130f08091e0b49100e0b0b0e060a14271214030649000811"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="83e2edf7ebecedfaefadf4eaefefeae2eef0c3f6f0e7e2ade4ecf5">[email protected]</span></a>; Phone: (202) 720-9649.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Authority
The RHS Single Family Housing Direct Loan Division program
administers the Section 504 Loans and Grants program under the
authority of the Title V, Section 504(a), of the Housing Act of 1949,
as amended 42 U.S.C. 1474; and implemented under 7 CFR part 3550. As
set forth in 7 CFR 3550.7, RHS may authorize limited demonstration
programs to test new approaches to offering housing under the statutory
authority granted to the Secretary. Such demonstration programs may not
be consistent with some of the provisions contained in this part.
However, any program requirements that are statutory will remain in
effect.
Background
The RHS offers a variety of programs to build or improve housing
and essential community facilities in rural areas. RHS offers loans,
grants, and loan guarantees for single and multifamily housing, child-
care centers, fire and police stations, hospitals, libraries, nursing
homes, schools, first responder vehicles and equipment, housing for
farm laborers, and much more. RHS also provides technical assistance
loans and grants in partnership with non-profit organizations, Indian
tribes, state and federal government agencies, and local communities.
The RHS administers the Section 504 Loan and Grant program with the
objective to assist very low-income owner-occupants of modest single-
family homes in rural areas to repair their homes. Loan funds are
available for repairs to improve or modernize a home, make it safer or
more sanitary, or remove health and safety hazards. For homeowners 62
years old and over who cannot repay a loan, grant funds are available
to remove health or safety hazards, or remodel dwellings to make them
accessible to a household member with a disability.
The following twenty-four (24) States and U.S. Territories are
selected based on presidentially declared disasters in calendar year
2022, involvement in the Rural Partners Network, and to provide wide
geographic and historic production variation for the pilot: Alabama,
Alaska, American Samoa, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky,
Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota,
Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South
Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
New Section 504 Pilot Regulatory Waivers
RHS has determined that the following four waivers are to be tested
under the new pilot (demonstration) program for the Single-Family
Housing Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in PDDAs, under the
waiver authority provided at 7 CFR 3550.7:
<bullet> The first waiver is for pilot applicants not to be subject
to the age requirement, with an exception to the requirement that
applicants at least 18 years of age or older, to be eligible to apply
for grants. The current regulation states that to be eligible for grant
assistance, an applicant must be 62 years of age or older at the time
of application (see, 7 CFR 3550.103(b)).
<bullet> The second waiver is for pilot applicants not to be
subject to the restricted use of Section 504 funds (see, 7 CFR
3550.102(e)(5)) which excludes refinancing any debt or obligation of
the applicant incurred before the date of application, except for the
installation and assessment costs of utilities. With an exception to
this requirement, repair costs that are incurred mainly as a result of
disaster-related damages could be covered by the 504 programs, which
traditionally excludes pre-application costs. Repairs necessitated by
disaster events are often emergency in nature, and program applicants
incur the costs prior to their 504 application. An exception to this
requirement will enable applicants to repair disaster-caused damages
and address other needed repairs.
<bullet> The third and fourth waivers are mainly in place to
coordinate efforts with Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA)
Individual Assistance Program to provide manufactured homes as
replacement housing in PDDAs:
a. Pilot applicants are not subject to the restricted use of
Section 504 funds found at 7 CFR 3550.102(e)(3), which excludes the
cost of moving a mobile or manufactured home from one site to another;
b. Applicants in need of total home replacement after a disaster
often need funding for the delivery of a mobile or manufactured home.
This waiver will permit Section 504 funding to pay this expense and
be leveraged in replacement housing efforts. Pilot applicants are not
subject to the same occupancy guidelines in 7
[[Page 45810]]
CFR 3550.103(a), which states, applicants must, `own and occupy the
property' to be eligible for the Section 504 program. The pilot removes
this guideline when the applicant owns the site and will occupy the
unit once installed or a permanent housing solution on the applicant's
site is anticipated within 12 months from the date of closing. This
will enable applicants affected by the disaster who are anticipated to
become current owners and occupiers of the property to receive
assistance without meeting the stipulation upfront.
The duration of the pilot is anticipated to continue until July 18,
2025, at which time the RHS may extend the pilot program (with or
without modifications) or terminate it depending on the workload and
resources needed to administer the program, feedback from the public,
and the effectiveness of the program. If the pilot program is extended
or terminated, the RHS will notify the public by publishing a notice in
the Federal Register. After RHS analyzes the findings from the results
of the program, if the RHS concludes that the testing was successful,
it will codify the waivers into 7 CFR part 3550 to be applied
programwide.
Eligibility Requirements
Eligible participants in the Section 504 program must abide by the
statutory requirements set forth in 7 CFR part 3550. Eligible PDDAs
(individual and public assistance) can be found on the FEMA website at:
<a href="https://www.fema.gov/disaster/declarations">https://www.fema.gov/disaster/declarations</a>.
Paperwork Reduction Act
The regulatory waivers for this pilot contains no new reporting or
recordkeeping burdens under OMB control number 0575-0172 that would
require approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35).
Non-Discrimination Statement
In accordance with Federal civil rights laws and USDA civil rights
regulations and policies, the USDA, its mission areas, agencies, staff
offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administering
USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color,
national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender
expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status,
family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance
program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil
rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA
(not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing
deadlines vary by program or incident.
Program information may be made available in languages other than
English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of
communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large
print, audiotape, American Sign Language) should contact the
responsible Mission Area, agency, staff office; the or the Federal
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should
complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form,
which can be obtained online at <a href="https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf">https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf</a>, from any USDA office, by calling (866)
632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must
contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a
written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient
detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights about the
nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation.
The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
(1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC
20250-9410; or
(2) Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
(3) Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1565677a726774783b7c7b61747e7055606671743b727a63"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cdbdbfa2aabfaca0e3a4a3b9aca6a88db8bea9ace3aaa2bb">[email protected]</span></a>.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
Cathy Glover,
Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service, Rural Development, USDA.
[FR Doc. 2023-15174 Filed 7-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XV-P
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