[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR115.207]

[Page 678-679]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
    CHAPTER I--OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR EQUAL OPPORTUNITY, 
               DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 115--CERTIFICATION AND FUNDING OF STATE AND LOCAL FAIR HOUSING ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES--Table of Contents
 
      Subpart B--Certification of Substantially Equivalent Agencies
 
Sec. 115.207  Procedure for interim certification.

    (a) Upon receipt of a request for certification filed under 
Sec. 115.206, the Assistant Secretary may request further information 
necessary for a determination to be made under this section. The 
Assistant Secretary may consider the relative priority given to fair 
housing administration, as compared to the agency's other duties and 
responsibilities, as well as the compatibility or potential conflict of 
fair housing objectives with these other duties and responsibilities.
    (b) Interim certification. If the Assistant Secretary determines, 
after application of the criteria set forth in Sec. 115.202 that the 
State or local law or ordinance, on its face, provides substantive 
rights, procedures, remedies, and judicial review procedures for alleged 
discriminatory housing practices that are substantially equivalent to 
those provided in the Act, the Assistant Secretary may offer to enter 
into an Agreement for the Interim Referral of Complaints and Other 
Utilization of Services (Interim Agreement). The interim agreement will 
outline the procedures and authorities upon which the interim 
certification is based.
    (c) Such interim agreement, after it is signed by all appropriate 
signatories, will result in the agency receiving interim certification.
    (d)(1) Interim agreements shall be for a term of no more than three 
years. The Assistant Secretary, through the FHEO Field Office, will 
conduct one or more on-site assessments to determine whether the agency 
administers its fair housing law or ordinance in a manner that is 
substantially equivalent to the Act.
    (2) Performance Improvement Plan. If the agency is not administering 
its law or ordinance in a manner that is substantially equivalent, the 
Assistant Secretary, may, but need not, offer a Performance Improvement 
Plan (PIP) to the agency. The PIP will outline the agency's 
deficiencies, identify necessary corrective actions, and include a 
timetable for completion.
    (3) If the agency receives a PIP, funding under the FHAP may be 
suspended for the duration of the PIP. Once the

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agency has implemented corrective actions to eliminate the deficiencies, 
and such corrective actions are accepted by the Assistant Secretary, 
funding may be reinstated.