[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 4]
[Revised as of April 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR945.203]

[Page 399-403]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
CHAPTER IX--OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, 
               DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 945--DESIGNATED HOUSING--PUBLIC HOUSING DESIGNATED FOR OCCUPANCY BY DISABLED, ELDERLY, OR DISABLED AND ELDERLY FAMILIES--Table of Contents
 
             Subpart B--Application and Approval Procedures
 
Sec. 945.203  Allocation plan.

    (a) Applicable terminology. (1) As used in this section, the terms 
``initial allocation plan'' refers to the PHA's first submission of an 
allocation plan, and ``updated allocation plan'' refers to the biennial 
update (once every two years) of this plan, which is described in 
paragraph (f) of this section.

[[Page 400]]

    (2) As provided in Sec. 945.105, the term ``project'' includes the 
plural (``projects'') and includes a portion of a project.
    (b) Consultation in plan development. These consultation 
requirements apply to the development of an initial allocation plan as 
provided in paragraph (c) of this section, or any update of the 
allocation plan as provided in paragraph (f) of this section.
    (1) In preparing the draft plan, the PHA shall consult with:
    (i) The State or unit of general local government where the project 
is located;
    (ii) Public and private service providers;
    (iii) Representative advocacy groups for each of these family types: 
disabled families, elderly families, and families with children, where 
such advocacy groups exist;
    (iv) Representatives of the residents of the PHA's projects proposed 
for designation, including representatives from resident councils or 
resident management corporations where they exist; and
    (v) Other parties that the PHA determines would be interested in the 
plan, or other parties that have contacted the PHA and expressed an 
interest in the plan.
    (2) Following the completion of the draft plan, the PHA shall:
    (i) Issue public notices regarding its intention to designate 
housing and the availability of the draft plan for review;
    (ii) Contact directly those individuals, agencies and other 
interested parties specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, and 
advise of the availability of the draft plan for review;
    (iii) Allow not less than 30 days for public comment on the draft 
allocation plan;
    (iv) Make free copies of the draft plan available upon request, and 
in accessible format, when appropriate;
    (v) Conduct at least one public meeting on the draft allocation 
plan;
    (vi) Give fair consideration to all comments received; and
    (vii) Retain any records of public meetings held on the allocation 
plan (or updated plan) and any written comments received on the plan for 
a period of five years commencing from the date of submission of the 
allocation plan to HUD. These records must be available for review by 
HUD.
    (c) Contents of initial plan. The initial allocation plan shall 
contain, at a minimum, the information set forth in this paragraph (c).
    (1) Identification of the project to be designated and type of 
designation to be made. The PHA must:
    (i) Identify the type of designation to be made (i.e., housing for 
disabled families or housing for elderly families);
    (ii) Identify the building(s), floor(s), or unit(s) to be designated 
and their location, or if specific units are not designated, the number 
to be designated; and
    (iii) State the reasons the building(s), floor(s), or unit(s) were 
selected for designation.
    (2) Identification of groups and persons consulted and comments 
submitted. The PHA must:
    (i) Identify the groups and persons with whom the PHA has consulted 
in the development of the allocation plan;
    (ii) Include a summary of comments received on the plan from the 
groups and persons consulted; and
    (iii) Describe how the plan addresses these comments.
    (3) Profile of proposed designated project in pre-designation state. 
This component of the plan must include, for the projects, buildings, or 
portions of buildings to be designated:
    (i) The total number of families currently occupying the project, 
and
    (A) The number of families who are members of the group for whom the 
project is to be designated, and
    (B) The number of families who are not members of the group for whom 
the project is to be designated;
    (ii) An estimate of the total number of elderly families and 
disabled families who are potential tenants of the project (i.e., as the 
project now exists), based on information provided by:
    (A) The waiting list from which vacancies in the project are filled; 
and
    (B) A local housing needs survey, if available, such as the CHAS, 
for the jurisdiction within which the area served by the PHA is located;

[[Page 401]]

    (iii) An estimate of the number of potential tenants who will need 
accessible units based on information provided by:
    (A) The needs assessment prepared in accordance with 24 CFR 8.25, 
and
    (B) A housing needs survey, if available, such as the CHAS or HUD-
prescribed successor survey;
    (iv) The number of units in the project that became vacant and 
available for occupancy during the year preceding the date of submission 
of the allocation plan to HUD;
    (v) The average length of vacancy for dwelling units in the project 
for the year preceding the date of submission of the allocation plan to 
HUD;
    (vi) An estimate of the number of units in the project that the PHA 
expects to become vacant and available for occupancy during the two-year 
period following the date of submission of the allocation plan to HUD 
(i.e., if the project were not to be designated);
    (vii) An estimate of the average length of time elderly families and 
non-elderly persons with disabilities currently have to wait for a 
dwelling unit.
    (4) Projected profile of project in designated state. This component 
of the plan must:
    (i) Identify the source of the families for the designated project 
(e.g., current residents of the project, families currently on the 
waiting list, residents of other projects, and potential tenants based 
on information from the local housing needs survey);
    (ii) For projects proposed to be designated for occupancy by elderly 
families an estimate of the number of:
    (A) Units in the project that are anticipated to become vacant and 
available for occupancy during the two-year period following the date of 
submission of the allocation plan to HUD;
    (B) Near-elderly families who may be needed to fill units in the 
designated project for elderly families, as provided in Sec. 945.303(c);
    (iii) Describe any impact the designation may have on the average 
length of time applicants in the group for which the project is 
designated and other applicants will have to wait for a dwelling unit.
    (5) PHA occupancy policies and procedures. This component of the 
plan must describe any changes the PHA intends to make in its admission 
policies to accommodate the designation, including:
    (i) How the waiting list will be maintained;
    (ii) How dwelling units will be assigned; and
    (iii) How records will be maintained to document the effect on all 
families who would have resided in the designated project if it had not 
been designated.
    (6) Strategy for addressing the current and future housing needs of 
the families in the PHA's jurisdiction. The PHA must:
    (i) Identify the housing resources currently owned or controlled by 
the PHA, including any mixed population projects, in existence, as 
provided in 24 CFR part 960, subpart D, that will be available to these 
families;
    (ii) Describe the steps to be taken by the PHA to respond to any 
need for accessible units that will no longer be available for 
applicants who need them. The PHA has a continuing obligation under 
section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794) to provide 
accessible dwellings even if the project designation removes accessible 
dwellings from the inventory of possible dwellings for non-elderly 
persons with disabilities;
    (iii) If a project is being designated for elderly families, 
describe the steps the PHA will take to facilitate access to supportive 
services by non-elderly disabled families. The services should be 
equivalent to those available in the designated project and requested by 
non-elderly disabled families. If the PHA funds supportive services for 
the designated project for elderly families, the PHA must provide the 
same level of services, upon the request of non-elderly disabled 
families.
    (iv) If a project is being designated for elderly families, identify 
the additional housing resources that the PHA determines will be 
sufficient to provide assistance to not less than the number of non-
elderly disabled families that would have been housed by the PHA if 
occupancy in units in the designated project were not restricted to 
elderly families (one-for-one replacement is

[[Page 402]]

not required). Among these resources may be:
    (A) Normal turnover in existing projects;
    (B) Existing housing stock that previously was not available to or 
considered for non-elderly disabled families. Examples are dwellings in 
general occupancy (family) projects that are reconfigured to meet the 
dwelling size needs of the non-elderly disabled families, or were 
previously occupied by elderly families who will relocate to the 
designated project for elderly families, or were previously vacant 
because there had not been a demand for dwellings of that size in that 
location;
    (C) Housing for which the PHA has received preliminary notification 
that it will obtain; and
    (D) Housing for which the PHA plans to apply during the period 
covered by the allocation plan, and which it has a reasonable 
expectation of obtaining.
    (v) Where a project is being designated for elderly families, 
explain how the PHA plans to secure the required additional housing 
resources. In the case of housing for which the PHA plans to apply, the 
PHA must provide sufficient information about the housing resource and 
its application to establish that the PHA can reasonably expect to 
obtain the housing.
    (vi) Describe incentives, if any, that the PHA intends to offer to:
    (A) Families who are members of the group for whom a project was 
designated to achieve voluntary transfers to the designated project; and
    (B) Families who are not members of the group for whom a project was 
designated to achieve voluntary transfers from the project proposed to 
be designated;
    (d) Criteria for allocation plan approval. HUD shall approve an 
initial allocation plan, or updated allocation plan, if HUD determines 
that:
    (1) The information contained in the plan is complete and accurate 
(a plan that is incomplete, i.e., missing required statements or items, 
will be disapproved), and the projections are reasonable;
    (2) Implementation of the plan will not result in a substantial 
increase in the vacancy rates in the designated project;
    (3) Implementation of the plan will not result in a substantial 
increase in delaying or denying housing assistance to families on the 
PHA's waiting list because of designating projects;
    (4) The plan for securing sufficient additional housing resources 
for non-elderly disabled persons can reasonably be achieved; and
    (5) The plan conforms to the requirements of this part.
    (e) Allocation plan approval or disapproval.--(1) Written 
notification. HUD shall notify each PHA, in writing, of approval or 
disapproval of the initial or updated allocation plan.
    (2) Timing of notification. An allocation plan shall be considered 
to be approved by HUD if HUD fails to provide the PHA with notification 
of approval or disapproval of the plan, as required by paragraph (e)(1) 
of this section, within:
    (i) 90 days after the date of submission of an allocation plan that 
contains comments, as provided in paragraph (c)(2) of this section; or
    (ii) 45 days after the date of submission of all other plans, 
including
    (A) Initial plans for which no comments were received;
    (B) Updated plans, as provided in paragraph (f) of this section; and
    (C) Revised initial plans or revised updated plans, as provided in 
paragraph (e)(4) of this section.
    (3) Approval limited solely to approval of designated housing. HUD's 
approval of an initial plan or updated allocation plan under this 
section may not be construed to constitute approval of any request for 
assistance for major reconstruction of obsolete projects, assistance for 
development or acquisition of public housing, or assistance under 24 CFR 
part 890 (supportive housing for persons with disabilities).
    (4) Resubmission following disapproval. If HUD disapproves an 
initial allocation plan, a PHA shall have a period of not less than 45 
days or more than 90 days following notification of disapproval as 
provided in paragraph (e)(2) of this section, to submit amendments to 
the plan, or to submit a revised plan.
    (f) Biennial update of plan--(1) General. Each PHA that owns or 
operates a

[[Page 403]]

public housing project that is designated for occupancy under this part 
shall update its allocation plan not less than once every two years, 
from the date of HUD approval of the initial allocation plan. A PHA that 
wishes to amend or revise its plan later than 90 days after HUD 
disapproval must begin the hearing and consultation process again.
    (2) Failure to submit updated plan. If the PHA fails to submit the 
updated plan as required by this paragraph (f), the Secretary may revoke 
the designation in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 
(f)(4)(ii) of this section.
    (3) Contents of updated plan. The updated allocation plan shall 
contain, at a minimum, the following information:
    (i) The most recent update of the allocation plan data, and 
projections for the next two years;
    (ii) An assessment of the accuracy of the projections contained in 
previous plans and in the updated allocation plan;
    (iii) The number of times a vacancy was filled in accordance with 
Sec. 945.303(c);
    (iv) A discussion of the impact of the designation on the designated 
project and the other public housing projects operated by the PHA, using 
the data obtained from the system developed in Sec. 945.203(c), 
including
    (A) The number of times there was a substantial increase in delaying 
housing assistance to families on the PHA's waiting list because 
projects were designated; and
    (B) The number of times there was a substantial increase in denying 
housing assistance to families on the PHA's waiting list because 
projects were designated;
    (v) A plan for adjusting the allocation of designated units, if 
necessary.
    (4) Criteria for approval of updated plan. (i) HUD shall approve an 
updated allocation plan based on HUD's review and assessment of the 
updated plan, using the criteria in (d) of this section. If HUD 
considers it appropriate, the review and assessment shall include any 
on-site review and monitoring of PHA performance in the administration 
of its designated housing and in the allocation of the PHA's housing 
resources. Notification of approval or disapproval of the updated 
allocation plan shall be provided in accordance with paragraph (e) of 
this section;
    (ii) If a PHA's updated plan is not approved, HUD may require PHAs 
to change the designation of existing or planned projects to other 
categories, such as general occupancy or mixed population projects.
    (5) Notification of approval or disapproval of updated plan. HUD 
shall notify each PHA submitting an updated plan of approval or 
disapproval of the updated plan, in accordance with the form of 
notification and within the time periods required by paragraph (e) of 
this section.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
2577-0192)