[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 24, Volume 4]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 24CFR901.5]

[Page 238-243]
 
                 TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
CHAPTER IX--OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, 
               DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
 
PART 901_PUBLIC HOUSING MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 901.5  Definitions.

    Actual vacancy rate is the vacancy rate calculated by dividing the 
total number of vacancy days in the fiscal year by the total number of 
unit days available in the fiscal year.
    Adjusted vacancy rate is the vacancy rate calculated after excluding 
the vacancy days that are exempted for any of the eligible reasons. It 
is calculated by dividing the total number of adjusted vacancy days in 
the fiscal year by the total number of unit days available in the fiscal 
year.
    Alternative management entity (AME) is a receiver, private 
contractor, private manager, or any other entity that is under contract 
with a PHA, or that is otherwise duly appointed or contracted (for 
example, by court order, pursuant to a court ordered receivership 
agreement, if applicable, or agency action), to manage all or part of a 
PHA's operations. Depending upon the scope of PHA management functions 
assumed by the AME, in accordance with Sec. 901.1(b)(2), the AME is 
treated as a PHA or an RMC for purposes of this part and, as 
appropriate, the terms PHA and RMC include AME.
    Assessed fiscal year is the PHA fiscal year that has been reviewed 
for management performance using the PHMAP indicators. Unless otherwise 
indicated, the assessed fiscal year is the immediate past fiscal year of 
a PHA.
    Assistant Secretary means the Assistant Secretary for Public and 
Indian Housing of the Department.
    Available units are dwelling units, (occupied or vacant) under a 
PHA's Annual Contributions Contract, that are available for occupancy, 
after excluding or adjusting for units approved for non-dwelling use, 
employee-occupied units, and vacant units approved for deprogramming 
(units approved for demolition, disposition or units that have been 
combined).
    Average number of days for non-emergency work orders to be completed 
is calculated by dividing the total of the:
    (1) Number of days in the assessed fiscal year it takes to close 
active non-emergency work orders carried over from the previous fiscal 
year;
    (2) The number of days it takes to complete non-emergency work 
orders issued and closed during the assessed fiscal year; and
    (3) The number of days all active non-emergency work orders are open 
in the assessed fiscal year, but not completed, by the total number of 
non-

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emergency work orders used in the calculation of paragraphs (1), (2) and 
(3), of this definition.
    Average turnaround time is the annual average of the total number of 
turnaround days between the latter of the legal expiration date of the 
immediate past lease or the actual move-out date of the former tenant 
(whenever that occurred, including in some previous fiscal year) and the 
date a new lease takes effect. Each time an individual unit is re-
occupied (turned around) during the fiscal year, the turnaround days for 
that unit shall be counted in the turnaround time. Average turnaround 
time is calculated by dividing the total turnaround days for all units 
re-occupied during the assessed fiscal year by the total number of units 
re-occupied during the assessed fiscal year.
    Cash reserve is the amount of cash available for operations at the 
end of an annual reporting period after all necessary expenses of a PHA 
or development have been paid or funds have been set-aside for such 
payment. The cash reserve computation takes into consideration both 
short-term accounts receivable and accounts payable.
    Confirmatory review is an on-site review for the purposes of State/
Area Office verification of the performance level of a PHA, the accuracy 
of the data certified to by a PHA, and the accuracy of the data derived 
from State/Area Office files.
    Correct means to improve performance in an indicator to a level of 
grade C or better.
    Cyclical work orders are work orders issued for the performance of 
routine maintenance work that is done in the same way at regular 
intervals. Examples of cyclical work include, but are not limited to, 
mopping hallways; picking up litter; cleaning a trash compactor; 
changing light bulbs in an entryway; etc. (Cyclical work orders should 
not be confused with preventive maintenance work orders.)
    Deficiency means any grade below C in an indicator or component.
    Down time is the number of calendar days a unit is vacant between 
the later of the legal expiration date of the immediate past lease or 
the actual move-out date of the former resident, and the date the work 
order is issued to maintenance.
    Dwelling rent refers to the resident dwelling rent charges reflected 
in the monthly rent roll(s) and excludes utility reimbursements, 
retroactive rent charges, and any other charges not specifically 
identified as dwelling rent, such as maintenance charges, excess utility 
charges and late charges.
    Dwelling rent to be collected means dwelling rent owed by residents 
in possession at the beginning of the assessed fiscal year, plus 
dwelling rent charged to residents during the assessed fiscal year.
    Dwelling rent uncollected means unpaid resident dwelling rent owed 
by any resident in possession during the assessed fiscal year, but not 
collected by the last day of the assessed fiscal year.
    Dwelling unit is a unit that is either leased or available for lease 
to eligible low-income residents.
    Effective lease date is the date when the executed lease contract 
becomes effective and rent is due and payable and all other provisions 
of the lease are enforceable.
    Emergency means physical work items that pose an immediate threat to 
life, health, safety, or property, or that are related to fire safety.
    Emergency status abated means that an emergency work order is either 
fully completed, or the emergency condition is temporarily eliminated 
and no longer poses an immediate threat. If the work cannot be 
completed, emergency status can be abated by transferring the resident 
away from the emergency situation.
    Emergency work order is a work order, from any source, that involves 
a circumstance that poses an immediate threat to life, health, safety or 
property, or that is related to fire safety.
    Employee occupied units refers to units that are occupied by 
employees who are required to live in public housing as a condition of 
their job, rather than the occupancy being subject to the normal 
resident selection process.
    HQS means Housing Quality Standards as set forth at Sec. 982.401 of 
this title, except that Sec. 982.401(j) of this title

[[Page 240]]

does not apply and instead part 35, subparts A, B, L, and R of this 
title apply.
    Improvement Plan is a document developed by a PHA, specifying the 
actions to be taken, including timetables, that may be required to 
correct deficiencies where the grade for an indicator is a grade D or E, 
and shall be required to correct deficiencies of failed indicators, 
identified as a result of the PHMAP assessment when an MOA is not 
required.
    Indicators means the major categories of PHA management functions 
that are examined under this program for assessment purposes. The list 
of individual indicators and the way they are graded is provided in 
Sec. 901.10 through Sec. 901.45.
    Lease up time is the number of calendar days between the time the 
repair of a unit is completed and a new lease takes effect.
    Local occupancy/housing codes are the minimum standards for human 
occupancy, if any, as defined by the local ordinance(s) of the 
jurisdiction in which the housing is located.
    Maintenance plan is a comprehensive annual plan of a PHA's 
maintenance operation that contains the fiscal year's estimated work 
schedule and which is supported by a staffing plan, contract schedule, 
materials and procurement plan, training, and approved budget. The plan 
should establish a strategy for meeting the goals and time frames of the 
facilities management planning and execution, capital improvements, 
utilities, and energy conservation activities.
    Major systems include, but are not limited to, structural/building 
envelopes which include roofing, walls, windows, hardware, flashing and 
caulking; mechanical systems which include heating, ventilation, air 
conditioning, plumbing, drainage, underground utilities (gas, electrical 
and water), and fuel storage tanks; electrical systems which include 
underground systems, above ground systems, elevators, emergency 
generators, door bells, electronic security devices, fire alarms, smoke 
alarms, outdoor lighting, and indoor lighting (halls, stairwells, public 
areas and exit signs); and transformers.
    Make ready time is the number of calendar days between the date the 
unit is referred to maintenance for repair by a work order and occupancy 
is notified that the unit is ready for re-occupancy.
    Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) is a binding contractual agreement 
between a PHA and HUD that is required for each PHA designated as 
troubled and/or mod-troubled. The MOA sets forth target dates, 
strategies and incentives for improving management performance; and 
provides sanctions if performance does not result.
    Move-out date is the actual date when the resident vacates the unit, 
which may or may not coincide with the legal expiration of the lease 
agreement.
    Non-emergency work order is any work order that covers a situation 
that is not an immediate threat to life, health, safety, or property, or 
that is unrelated to fire safety.
    Percent of dwelling rent uncollected is calculated by dividing the 
amount of dwelling rent uncollected by the total dwelling rent to be 
collected.
    PHA means a public housing agency. As appropriate in accordance with 
Sec. 901.1(b)(2), PHA also includes AME.
    Percentage of emergency work orders completed within 24 hours is the 
ratio of emergency work orders completed in 24 hours to the total number 
of emergency work orders. The formula for calculating this ratio is: 
total emergency work orders completed (or emergency status abated) in 24 
hours or less, divided by the total number of emergency work orders.
    PHA-generated work order is any work order that is issued in 
response to a request from within the PHA administration.
    Preventive maintenance program is a program under which certain 
maintenance procedures are systematically performed at regular intervals 
to prevent premature deterioration of buildings and systems. The program 
is developed and regularly updated by the PHA, and fully documents what 
work is to be performed and at what intervals. The program includes a 
system for tracking the performance of preventive maintenance work.
    Preventive maintenance work order is any work done on a regularly 
scheduled basis in order to prevent deterioration or breakdowns in 
individual units or major systems.

[[Page 241]]

    Reduced actual vacancy rate within the previous three years is a 
comparison of the vacancy rate in the PHMAP assessment year (the 
immediate past fiscal year) with the vacancy rate of that fiscal year 
which is two years previous to the assessment year. It is calculated by 
subtracting the vacancy rate in the assessment year from the vacancy 
rate in the earlier year. If a PHA elects to certify to the reduction of 
the vacancy rate within the previous three years, the PHA shall retain 
justifying documentation to support its certification for HUD post 
review.
    Reduced the average time it took to complete non-emergency work 
orders during the previous three years is a comparison of the average 
time it took to complete non-emergency work orders in the PHMAP 
assessment year (the immediate past fiscal year) with the average time 
it took to complete non-emergency work orders of that fiscal year which 
is two years previous to the assessment year. It is calculated by 
subtracting the average time it took to complete non-emergency work 
orders in the PHMAP assessment year from the average time it took to 
complete non-emergency work orders in the earlier year. If a PHA elects 
to certify to the reduction of the average time it took to complete non-
emergency work orders during the previous three years, the PHA shall 
retain justifying documentation to support its certification for HUD 
post review.
    Resident-generated work order is a work order issued by a PHA in 
response to a request from a lease holder or family member of a lease 
holder.
    Resident management corporation (RMC) means the entity that proposes 
to enter into, or that enters into, a management contract with a PHA in 
accordance with 24 CFR 964.120. As appropriate in accordance with Sec. 
901.1(b)(2), RMC also includes AME.
    Routine operating expenses are all expenses which are normal, 
recurring fiscal year expenditures. Routine expenses exclude those 
expenditures that are not normal fiscal year expenditures and those that 
clearly represent work of such a substantial nature that the expense is 
clearly not a routine occurrence.
    Standards equivalent to HQS are housing/occupancy inspection 
standards that are equal to HUD's Section 8 HQS.
    Substantial default means a PHA is determined by the Department to 
be in violation of statutory, regulatory or contractual provisions or 
requirements, whether or not these violations would constitute a 
substantial default or a substantial breach under explicit provisions of 
the relevant Annual Contributions Contract (ACC) or a Memorandum of 
Agreement.
    Unit days available are the number of days that the available units 
were available for occupancy in a PHA fiscal year. Unit days available 
are calculated by adding the number of days that each unit was available 
for occupancy in the year.
    Units approved for non-dwelling use refers to units approved for 
non-dwelling status for use in the provision of social services, 
charitable purposes, public safety activities and resident services, or 
used in the support of economic self-sufficiency and anti-drug 
activities.
    Units vacant due to circumstances and actions beyond the PHA's 
control are dwelling units that are vacant due to circumstances and 
actions that prohibit the PHA from occupying, selling, demolishing, 
rehabilitating, reconstructing, consolidating or modernizing the units. 
For purposes of this definition, circumstances and actions beyond the 
PHA's control are limited to:
    (1) Litigation. The effect of court litigation such as a court order 
or settlement agreement that is legally enforceable. An example would be 
units that are required to remain vacant because of fire/police 
investigations, coroner's seal, or as part of a court-ordered or HUD-
approved desegregation effort.
    (2) Laws. Federal or State laws of general applicability, or their 
implementing regulations. This category does not include units vacant 
only because they do not meet minimum housing and building code 
standards pertaining to construction or habitability under Federal, 
State, or local laws or regulations, except when these code violations 
are caused for reasons beyond the control of the PHA, rather than as a 
result of management and/or

[[Page 242]]

maintenance failures by the PHA. Examples of exempted units under this 
category are: vacant units that are documented to be uninhabitable for 
reasons beyond the PHA's control due to high/unsafe levels of hazardous/
toxic materials (e.g., lead-based paint or asbestos), by order of the 
local health department or directive of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, where the conditions causing the order are beyond the control of 
the PHA, and units kept vacant because they became structurally unsound 
(e.g., buildings damaged by shrinking/swelling subsoil or similar 
situations). Other examples are vacant units in which resident property 
has been abandoned, but only if State law requires the property to be 
left in the unit for some period of time, and only for the period stated 
in the law and vacant units required to remain vacant because of fire/
police investigations, coroner's seal, or court order.
    (3) Changing market conditions. Example of units in this category 
are small PHAs that are located in areas experiencing population loss or 
economic dislocations that face a lack of demand in the foreseeable 
future, even after the PHA has taken aggressive marketing and outreach 
measures. Where a PHA claims extraordinary market conditions, the PHA 
will be expected to document the market conditions to which it refers 
(the examples of changing population base and competing projects are the 
simplest), the explicit efforts that the PHA has made to address those 
conditions, the likelihood that those conditions will be mitigated or 
eliminated in the near term, and why the market conditions are such that 
the PHA is prevented from occupying, selling, demolishing, 
rehabilitating, reconstructing, consolidating or modernizing the vacant 
units. In order to justify the adjustment, the PHA will need to document 
the specific market conditions that exist and document marketing and 
outreach efforts. The PHA will need to describe when the downturn in 
market conditions occurred, the location(s) of the unit(s) effected, the 
likelihood that these circumstances will be mitigated or eliminated in 
the near term and why the market conditions are such that they are 
preventing the PHA from occupying, selling, demolishing, rehabilitating, 
reconstructing, consolidating, or modernizing the vacant units.
    (4) Natural disasters. These are vacant units that are documented to 
be uninhabitable because of damaged suffered as a result of natural 
disasters such as floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc. In 
the case of a ``natural disaster'' claim, the PHA would be expected to 
point to a proclamation by the President or the Governor that the county 
or other local area in question has, in fact, been declared a disaster 
area.
    (5) Insufficient funding. Lack of funding for otherwise approvable 
applications made for Comprehensive Improvement Assistance Program 
(CIAP) funds (only PHAs with less than 250 units are eligible to apply 
and compete for CIAP funds). This definition will cease to be used if 
CIAP is replaced by a formula grant.
    (6) Casualty Losses. Vacant units that have sustained casualty 
damage and are pending resolution of insurance claims or settlements, 
but only until the insurance claim is adjusted, i.e., funds to repair 
the unit are received. The vacancy days exempted are those included in 
the period of time between the casualty loss and the receipt of funds 
from the insurer to cover the loss in whole or in part.
    Vacancy day is a day when an available unit is not under lease by an 
eligible low-income resident. The maximum number of vacancy days for any 
unit is the number of days in the year, regardless of the total amount 
of time the unit has been vacant. Vacancy days are calculated by adding 
the total number of days vacant from all available units that were 
vacant for any reason during the PHA's fiscal year.
    Vacant unit is an available unit that is not under lease to an 
eligible low-income family.
    Vacant unit turnaround work order is a work order issued that 
directs a vacant unit to be made ready to lease to a new resident and 
reflects all work items to prepare the unit for occupancy.

[[Page 243]]

    Vacant unit undergoing modernization as defined in 24 CFR Sec. 
990.102. In addition, the following apply when computing time periods 
for a vacant unit undergoing modernization:
    (1) If a unit is vacant prior to being included in a HUD-approved 
modernization budget, those vacancy days that had accumulated prior to 
the unit being included in the modernization budget must be included as 
non-exempted vacancy days in the calculation.
    (2) The calculation of turnaround time for newly modernized units 
starts when the unit in turned over to the PHA from the contractor and 
ends when the lease is effective for the new or returning resident. 
Thus, the total turnaround time would be the sum of the pre-
modernization vacancy time, and the post-modernization vacancy time.
    (3) Unit-by-unit documentation, showing when a vacant unit was 
included in a HUD-approved modernization budget, when it was released to 
the PHA by the contractor, and when a new lease is effective for the new 
or returning resident, must be maintained by the PHA.
    (4) Units remaining vacant more than two FFYs after the FFY in which 
the modernization funds are approved, may no longer be exempted from the 
calculation of the adjusted vacancy rate if the construction contract 
has not been let. These units may be exempted again, but only after a 
contract is let.
    Vacant units approved for deprogramming exist when a PHA's 
application for the demolition and/or disposition of public housing 
units has received written approval from HUD; or when a PHA's 
application to combine/convert has received written approval from HUD.
    Work order is a directive, containing one or more tasks issued to a 
PHA employee or contractor to perform one or more tasks on PHA property. 
This directive describes the location and the type of work to be 
performed; the date and time of receipt; date and time issued to the 
person or entity performing the work; the date and time the work is 
satisfactorily completed; the parts used to complete the repairs and the 
cost of the parts; whether the damage was caused by the resident; and 
the charges to the resident for resident-caused damage. The work order 
is entered into a log which indicates at all times the status of all 
work orders as to type (emergency, non-emergency), when issued, and when 
completed.
    Work order completed during the immediate past fiscal year is any 
work order that is completed during the PHA's fiscal year regardless of 
when it may have been received.
    Work order deferred for modernization is any work order that is 
combined with similar work items and completed within the current PHMAP 
assessment year, or will be completed in the following year if there are 
less than three months remaining before the end of the PHA fiscal year 
when the work order was generated, under the PHA's modernization program 
or other PHA capital improvements program.

[61 FR 68933, Dec. 30, 1996, as amended at 64 FR 50228, Sept. 15, 1999]