[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 25, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 25CFR256.2]

[Page 706-708]
 
                            TITLE 25--INDIANS
 
     CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 256--HOUSING IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 256.2  Definitions.

    As used in this part 256:
    Agency means the current organizational unit of the Bureau that 
provides direct services to the governing body or bodies and members of 
one or more specified Indian tribes.
    Appeal means a written request for review of an action or the 
inaction of an official of the Bureau of Indian Affairs that is claimed 
to adversely affect the interested party making the request, as provided 
in part 2 of this chapter.
    Applicant means an individual or persons on whose behalf an 
application for services has been made under this part.
    Area Director means the officer in charge of a Bureau of Indian 
Affairs area office, or his/her authorized delegate.
    Bureau means the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
    Child means a person under the age of 18 or such other age of 
majority as is established for purposes of parental support by tribal or 
state law (if any) applicable to the person at his or her residence, 
except that no other person who has been emancipated by marriage can be 
deemed a child.
    Cost effective means the cost of the project is within the cost 
limits for the category of assistance and adds sufficient years of 
service to the dwelling to

[[Page 707]]

satisfy the recipient's housing needs well into the future.
    Disabled means legally blind; legally deaf; lack of or inability to 
use one or more limbs; chair or bed bound; inability to walk without 
crutches or walker; mental disability in an adult of a severity that 
requires a companion to aid in basic needs, such as dressing, preparing 
food, etc.; or severe heart and/or respiratory problems preventing even 
minor exertion.
    Family means one or more persons maintaining a household.
    Household means persons living with the head of household who may be 
related or unrelated to the head of household and who function as 
members of a family.
    Independent trades person means any person possessing the ability to 
perform work in a particular vocation.
    Indian means any person who is a member of any of those tribes 
listed in the Federal Register pursuant to 25 CFR part 83, as recognized 
by and receiving services from the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
    Indian tribe means an Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 
pueblo, village or community that the Secretary of the Interior 
acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe pursuant to Pub. L. 103-454, 
108 Stat. 4791.
    Permanent members of household means adults living in the household 
that intend to live there continuously from now on and any children 
defined as a child in this part.
    Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior.
    Service area means the reservations (former reservations in 
Oklahoma), allotments, restricted lands, and Indian- owned lands 
(including lands owned by corporations established pursuant to the 
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act) within a geographical area 
designated by the tribe and approved by the Area Director to which 
equitable services can be delivered.
    Servicing housing office means the tribal housing office or bureau 
housing assistance office administering the Housing Improvement Program 
in the service area in which the applicant resides.
    Standard Housing means a dwelling that is decent, safe, and 
sanitary.
    (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this definition, standard 
housing must meet each of the following conditions:
    (i) General construction must conform to applicable tribal, county, 
State, or national codes and to appropriate building standards for the 
region;
    (ii) The heating system must have the capacity to maintain a minimum 
temperature of 70 degrees in the dwelling during the coldest weather in 
the area;
    (iii) The heating system must be safe to operate and maintain and 
deliver a uniform heat distribution;
    (iv) The plumbing system must include a properly installed system of 
piping and fixtures;
    (v) The electrical system must include wiring and equipment properly 
installed to safely supply electrical energy for lighting and appliance 
operation;
    (vi) Occupants per dwelling must not exceed these limits:
    (A) Two bedroom dwelling: Up to four persons;
    (B) Three-bedroom dwelling: Up to seven persons;
    (C) Four-bedroom dwelling: Adequate for all but the very largest 
families;
    (vii) The first bedroom must have at least 120 sq. ft. of floor 
space and additional bedrooms have at least 100 sq. ft. of floor space 
each;
    (viii) The house site must provide economical access to utilities 
and must be easy to enter and leave; and
    (ix) Aesthetics and access to school bus routes must be considered.
    (2) The following exceptions apply to the standards in paragraph (1) 
of this definition:
    (i) If access to a particular utility is not available and there is 
no prospect of access becoming available, then the standard relating to 
that utility does not apply; and
    (ii) In regions of severe climate, the size of the house may be 
reduced to meet the region's applicable building standards.
    Substandard housing means condition(s) exist that do not meet the 
definition of standard housing in this part of the rule.

[[Page 708]]

    Superintendent means the Bureau official in charge of an agency 
office.

[63 FR 10134, Mar. 2, 1998, as amended at 64 FR 13896, Mar. 23, 1999]