[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: 24CFR990.102] [Page 704-706] TITLE 24--HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER IX--OFFICE OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC AND INDIAN HOUSING, DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT PART 990_THE PUBLIC HOUSING OPERATING FUND PROGRAM--Table of Contents Subpart A_The Operating Fund Formula Sec. 990.102 Definitions. Allowable Expense Level (AEL). The per unit per month dollar amount of expenses (excluding Utilities and expenses allowed under Sec. 990.108) computed in accordance with Sec. 990.105, which is used to compute the amount of operating subsidy. Allowable Utilities Consumption Level (AUCL). The amount of Utilities expected to be consumed per unit per month by the PHA during the Requested Budget Year, which is equal to the average amount consumed per unit per month during the Rolling Base Period. Base Year. The PHA's fiscal year immediately preceding its first fiscal year of receipt of operating subsidy under this part (either under the Operating Fund Formula or its predecessor, the Performance Funding System (PFS)). Base Year Expense Level. The expense level (excluding Utilities, audits and certain other items) for the Base Year, computed as provided in Sec. 990.105. Current Budget Year. The fiscal year in which the PHA is currently operating. Dwelling rent. The amount charged monthly for a dwelling unit occupied by a resident or family eligible for public housing as determined in Sec. 960.253 of this title. For purposes of determining subsidy eligibility, the dwelling rent will not reflect decreases resulting from the PHA's implementation of any optional earned income exclusions. Formula. The revised formula derived from the actual expenses of the sample group of PHAs receiving assistance under the Operating Fund Formula, which is used to determine the Formula Expense Level and the Range of each PHA (see Sec. 990.105(c)). FHA-based operating expense level (FHAEL). The per unit per month dollar amount of expenses (excluding utilities and expenses allowed under Sec. 990.108) computed in accordance with Sec. 990.105(e), which is used on a one-time basis to adjust the AEL for selected PHAs. Formula Expense Level. The per unit per month dollar amount of expenses (excluding Utilities and audits) computed under the Formula, in accordance with Sec. 990.105. HUD Field Office. The HUD Field Office that has been delegated authority under the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 to perform functions pertaining to this subpart for the area in which the PHA is located. Local Inflation Factor. The HUD-supplied weighted average percentage increase in local government wages and salaries for the area in which the PHA is located and non-wage expenses. Long-term vacancy. This term means the same as it is used in the definition of ``Unit Months Available'' in this section. Nondwelling rent. The amount charged monthly, including utility and equipment charges, to a lessee for a dwelling unit that is being used for nondwelling purposes. For purposes of determining operating subsidy: (1) If the nondwelling unit has been approved for subsidy (e.g., the unit is being used for economic self-sufficiency services or anti-drug activities) at the rate of the PHA's AEL, the PHA [[Page 705]] will include all charges as nondwelling rent; (2) If the nondwelling unit has not been approved for subsidy, a PHA will include as nondwelling rent only that portion of the charge that exceeds the rate of the PHA's AEL. Operating budget. The PHA's operating budget and all related documents, as required by HUD, approved by the PHA Board of Commissioners. Other income. Income from rent billed to lessees of dwelling units rented for nondwelling purposes, and from charges to residents for excess utility consumption for PHA supplied utilities. Project. Each project under an Annual Contributions Contract to which the Operating Fund Formula is applicable, as provided in Sec. 990.103. Project Units. All dwelling units of a PHA's Projects. Projected Operating Income Level. The per unit per month dollar amount of dwelling rental income plus other income, computed as provided in Sec. 990.109. Requested Budget Year. The budget year (fiscal year) of a PHA following the Current Budget Year. Rolling Base Period. The 36-month period that ends 12 months before the beginning of the PHA Requested Budget Year, which is used to determine the Allowable Utilities Consumption Level used to compute the Utilities Expense Level. Top of Range. Formula Expense Level multiplied by 1.15. Transition funding. Funding for excessively high-cost PHAs, as provided in Sec. 990.106. Unit Approved for Deprogramming. (1) A dwelling unit for which HUD has approved the PHA's formal request to remove the dwelling unit from the PHA's inventory and the Annual Contributions Contract but for which removal, i.e., deprogramming, has not yet been completed; or (2) A nondwelling structure or a dwelling unit used for nondwelling purposes which the PHA has determined will no longer be used for PHA purposes and which HUD has approved for removal from the PHA's inventory and Annual Contributions Contract. Unit months available. Project Units multiplied by the number of months the Project Units are available for occupancy during a given PHA fiscal year. For purposes of this part, a unit is considered available for occupancy from the date established as the End of the Initial Operating Period for the Project until the time the unit is approved by HUD for deprogramming and is vacated or is approved for nondwelling use. In the case of a PHA development involving the acquisition of scattered site housing, see also Sec. 990.104(b). A unit will be considered a long-term vacancy and will not be considered available for occupancy in any given PHA Requested Budget Year if the PHA determines that: (1) The unit has been vacant for more than 12 months at the time the PHA determines its Actual Occupancy Percentage; (2) The unit is not either: (i) A vacant unit undergoing modernization; or (ii) A unit vacant for circumstances and actions beyond the PHA's control, as these terms are defined in this section; and (3) The PHA determines that it will have a vacancy percentage of more than 3% and will have more than five vacant units, for its Requested Budget Year, even after adjusting for vacant units undergoing modernization and units that are vacant for circumstances and actions beyond the PHA's control, as defined in this section. (Reference in this part to ``more than five units'' or ``fewer than five units'' shall refer to a circumstance in which five units equals or exceeds 3% of the number of units to which the 3% threshold is applicable.) Units vacant due to circumstances and actions beyond the PHA's control. Dwelling units that are vacant due to circumstances and actions that prohibit the PHA from occupying, selling, demolishing, rehabilitating, reconstructing, consolidating or modernizing vacant units and are beyond the PHA's control. 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 being held vacant as part of a [[Page 706]] court-ordered or HUD-approved desegregation plan. (2) Laws. Federal or State laws of general applicability, or their implementing regulations. Units vacant only because they do not meet minimum standards pertaining to construction or habitability under Federal, State, or local laws or regulations will not be considered vacant due to circumstances and actions beyond the PHA's control. (3) Changing market conditions. For example, small PHAs that are located in areas experiencing population loss or economic dislocations may face a lack of demand in the foreseeable future, even after the PHA has taken aggressive marketing and outreach measures. (4) Natural disasters. (5) RMC Funding. The failure of a PHA to fund an otherwise approvable RMC request for Federal modernization funding. (6) Casualty Losses. Delays in repairing damage to vacant units due to the time needed for settlement of insurance claims. Utilities. Electricity, gas, heating fuel, water and sewerage service. Utilities expense level. The per unit per month dollar amount of utilities expense, computed as provided in Sec. 990.107. Vacant unit undergoing modernization. A vacant unit in a project not considered to be obsolete (as determined using the indicia in Sec. 970.6 of this chapter), when the project is undergoing modernization that includes work that is necessary to reoccupy the vacant unit, and in which one of the following conditions is met: (1) The unit is under construction (i.e., the construction contract has been awarded or force account work has started); or (2) The treatment of the vacant unit is included in a HUD-approved modernization budget (or its successor under the public housing Capital Fund program), but the time period for placing the vacant unit under construction has not yet expired. The PHA must place the vacant unit under construction within two Federal Fiscal Years (FFYs) after the FFY in which the modernization funds are approved.