[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 4]
[Revised as of April 1, 2004]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR982.310]

[Page 599-601]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
CHAPTER IX--OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, 
               DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 982_SECTION 8 TENANT BASED ASSISTANCE: HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER 
PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
                        Subpart G_Leasing a Unit
 
Sec. 982.310  Owner termination of tenancy.

    (a) Grounds. During the term of the lease, the owner may not 
terminate the tenancy except on the following grounds:
    (1) Serious violation (including but not limited to failure to pay 
rent or other amounts due under the lease) or repeated violation of the 
terms and conditions of the lease;
    (2) Violation of federal, State, or local law that imposes 
obligations on the tenant in connection with the occupancy or use of the 
premises; or
    (3) Other good cause.
    (b) Nonpayment by PHA: Not grounds for termination of tenancy. (1) 
The family is not responsible for payment of the portion of the rent to 
owner covered by the housing assistance payment under the HAP contract 
between the owner and the PHA.

[[Page 600]]

    (2) The PHA failure to pay the housing assistance payment to the 
owner is not a violation of the lease between the tenant and the owner. 
During the term of the lease the owner may not terminate the tenancy of 
the family for nonpayment of the PHA housing assistance payment.
    (c) Criminal activity. (1) Evicting drug criminals due to drug crime 
on or near the premises. The lease must provide that drug-related 
criminal activity engaged in, on or near the premises by any tenant, 
household member, or guest, or such activity engaged in on the premises 
by any other person under the tenant's control, is grounds for the owner 
to terminate tenancy. In addition, the lease must provide that the owner 
may evict a family when the owner determines that a household member is 
illegally using a drug or when the owner determines that a pattern of 
illegal use of a drug interferes with the health, safety, or right to 
peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents.
    (2) Evicting other criminals. (i) Threat to other residents. The 
lease must provide that the owner may terminate tenancy for any of the 
following types of criminal activity by a covered person:
    (A) Any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or 
right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents 
(including property management staff residing on the premises);
    (B) Any criminal activity that threatens the health, safety, or 
right to peaceful enjoyment of their residences by persons residing in 
the immediate vicinity of the premises; or
    (C) Any violent criminal activity on or near the premises by a 
tenant, household member, or guest, or any such activity on the premises 
by any other person under the tenant's control.
    (ii) Fugitive felon or parole violator. The lease must provide that 
the owner may terminate the tenancy if a tenant is:
    (A) Fleeing to avoid prosecution, or custody or confinement after 
conviction, for a crime, or attempt to commit a crime, that is a felony 
under the laws of the place from which the individual flees, or that, in 
the case of the State of New Jersey, is a high misdemeanor; or
    (B) Violating a condition of probation or parole imposed under 
Federal or State law.
    (3) Evidence of criminal activity. The owner may terminate tenancy 
and evict by judicial action a family for criminal activity by a covered 
person in accordance with this section if the owner determines that the 
covered person has engaged in the criminal activity, regardless of 
whether the covered person has been arrested or convicted for such 
activity and without satisfying the standard of proof used for a 
criminal conviction. (See part 5, subpart J, of this title for 
provisions concerning access to criminal records.)
    (d) Other good cause. (1) ``Other good cause'' for termination of 
tenancy by the owner may include, but is not limited to, any of the 
following examples:
    (i) Failure by the family to accept the offer of a new lease or 
revision;
    (ii) A family history of disturbance of neighbors or destruction of 
property, or of living or housekeeping habits resulting in damage to the 
unit or premises;
    (iii) The owner's desire to use the unit for personal or family use, 
or for a purpose other than as a residential rental unit; or
    (iv) A business or economic reason for termination of the tenancy 
(such as sale of the property, renovation of the unit, or desire to 
lease the unit at a higher rental).
    (2) During the initial lease term, the owner may not terminate the 
tenancy for ``other good cause'', unless the owner is terminating the 
tenancy because of something the family did or failed to do. For 
example, during this period, the owner may not terminate the tenancy for 
``other good cause'' based on any of the following grounds: failure by 
the family to accept the offer of a new lease or revision; the owner's 
desire to use the unit for personal or family use, or for a purpose 
other than as a residential rental unit; or a business or economic 
reason for termination of the tenancy (see paragraph (d)(1)(iv) of this 
section).
    (e) Owner notice--(1) Notice of grounds.
    (i) The owner must give the tenant a written notice that specifies 
the

[[Page 601]]

grounds for termination of tenancy during the term of the lease. The 
tenancy does not terminate before the owner has given this notice, and 
the notice must be given at or before commencement of the eviction 
action.
    (ii) The notice of grounds may be included in, or may be combined 
with, any owner eviction notice to the tenant.
    (2) Eviction notice. (i) Owner eviction notice means a notice to 
vacate, or a complaint or other initial pleading used under State or 
local law to commence an eviction action.
    (ii) The owner must give the PHA a copy of any owner eviction notice 
to the tenant.
    (f) Eviction by court action. The owner may only evict the tenant 
from the unit by instituting a court action.
    (g) Regulations not applicable. 24 CFR part 247 (concerning 
evictions from certain subsidized and HUD-owned projects) does not apply 
to a tenancy assisted under this part 982.
    (h) Termination of tenancy decisions.--(1) General. If the law and 
regulation permit the owner to take an action but do not require action 
to be taken, the owner may take or not take the action in accordance 
with the owner's standards for eviction. The owner may consider all of 
the circumstances relevant to a particular eviction case, such as:
    (i) The seriousness of the offending action;
    (ii) The effect on the community of denial or termination or the 
failure of the owner to take such action;
    (iii) The extent of participation by the leaseholder in the 
offending action;
    (iv) The effect of denial of admission or termination of tenancy on 
household members not involved in the offending activity;
    (v) The demand for assisted housing by families who will adhere to 
lease responsibilities;
    (vi) The extent to which the leaseholder has shown personal 
responsibility and taken all reasonable steps to prevent or mitigate the 
offending action;
    (vii) The effect of the owner's action on the integrity of the 
program.
    (2) Exclusion of culpable household member. The owner may require a 
tenant to exclude a household member in order to continue to reside in 
the assisted unit, where that household member has participated in or 
been culpable for action or failure to act that warrants termination.
    (3) Consideration of rehabilitation. In determining whether to 
terminate tenancy for illegal use of drugs or alcohol abuse by a 
household member who is no longer engaged in such behavior, the owner 
may consider whether such household member is participating in or has 
successfully completed a supervised drug or alcohol rehabilitation 
program, or has otherwise been rehabilitated successfully (42 U.S.C. 
13661). For this purpose, the owner may require the tenant to submit 
evidence of the household member's current participation in, or 
successful completion of, a supervised drug or alcohol rehabilitation 
program or evidence of otherwise having been rehabilitated successfully.
    (4) Nondiscrimination limitation. The owner's termination of 
assistance actions must be consistent with fair housing and equal 
opportunity provisions of Sec. 5.105 of this title.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
2577-0169)

[60 FR 34695, July 3, 1995, as amended at 60 FR 45661, Sept. 1, 1995; 64 
FR 26645, May 14, 1999; 64 FR 56913, Oct. 21, 1999; 66 FR 28804, May 24, 
2001]