[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 49, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 49CFR24.402]

[Page 250-251]
 
                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION
 
          Subtitle A--Office of the Secretary of Transportation
 
PART 24_UNIFORM RELOCATION ASSISTANCE AND REAL PROPERTY ACQUISITION FOR 
 
                 Subpart E_Replacement Housing Payments
 
Sec.  24.402  Replacement housing payment for 90-day occupants.

    (a) Eligibility. A tenant or owner-occupant displaced from a 
dwelling is entitled to a payment not to exceed $5,250 for rental 
assistance, as computed in accordance with paragraph (b) of this 
section, or downpayment assistance, as computed in accordance with 
paragraph (c) of this section, if such displaced person:
    (1) Has actually and lawfully occupied the displacement dwelling for 
at least 90 days immediately prior to the initiation of negotiations; 
and
    (2) Has rented, or purchased, and occupied a decent, safe, and 
sanitary replacement dwelling within 1 year (unless the Agency extends 
this period for good cause) after:
    (i) For a tenant, the date he or she moves from the displacement 
dwelling; or
    (ii) For an owner-occupant, the later of:
    (A) The date he or she receives final payment for the displacement 
dwelling, or in the case of condemnation, the date the full amount of 
the estimate of just compensation is deposited with the court; or
    (B) The date he or she moves from the displacement dwelling.
    (b) Rental assistance payment--(1) Amount of payment. An eligible 
displaced person who rents a replacement dwelling is entitled to a 
payment not to exceed $5,250 for rental assistance. (See Sec.  24.404.) 
Such payment shall be 42 times the amount obtained by subtracting the 
base monthly rental for the displacement dwelling from the lesser of:
    (i) The monthly rent and estimated average monthly cost of utilities 
for a comparable replacement dwelling; or
    (ii) The monthly rent and estimated average monthly cost of 
utilities for the decent, safe, and sanitary replacement dwelling 
actually occupied by the displaced person.
    (2) Base monthly rental for displacement dwelling. The base monthly 
rental for the displacement dwelling is the lesser of:
    (i) The average monthly cost for rent and utilities at the 
displacement dwelling for a reasonable period prior to displacement, as 
determined by the Agency (for an owner-occupant, use the fair market 
rent for the displacement dwelling. For a tenant who paid little or no 
rent for the displacement dwelling, use the fair market rent, unless its 
use would result in a hardship because of the person's income or other 
circumstances);
    (ii) Thirty (30) percent of the displaced person's average monthly 
gross household income if the amount is classified as ``low income'' by 
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Annual Survey of 
Income Limits for the Public Housing and Section 8 Programs \4\. The 
base monthly rental shall be established solely on the criteria in 
paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section for persons with income exceeding 
the survey's ``low income'' limits, for persons refusing to provide 
appropriate evidence of income, and for persons who are dependents. A 
full time student or resident of an institution may be assumed to be a 
dependent, unless the person demonstrates otherwise; or,
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    \4\ The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Public 
Housing and Section 8 Program Income Limits are updated annually and are 
available on FHWA's Web site at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/realestate/ua/
ualic.htm.
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    (iii) The total of the amounts designated for shelter and utilities 
if the displaced person is receiving a welfare assistance payment from a 
program that designates the amounts for shelter and utilities.

[[Page 251]]

    (3) Manner of disbursement. A rental assistance payment may, at the 
Agency's discretion, be disbursed in either a lump sum or in 
installments. However, except as limited by Sec.  24.403(f), the full 
amount vests immediately, whether or not there is any later change in 
the person's income or rent, or in the condition or location of the 
person's housing.
    (c) Downpayment assistance payment--(1) Amount of payment. An 
eligible displaced person who purchases a replacement dwelling is 
entitled to a downpayment assistance payment in the amount the person 
would receive under paragraph (b) of this section if the person rented a 
comparable replacement dwelling. At the Agency's discretion, a 
downpayment assistance payment that is less than $5,250 may be increased 
to any amount not to exceed $5,250. However, the payment to a displaced 
homeowner shall not exceed the amount the owner would receive under 
Sec.  24.401(b) if he or she met the 180-day occupancy requirement. If 
the Agency elects to provide the maximum payment of $5,250 as a 
downpayment, the Agency shall apply this discretion in a uniform and 
consistent manner, so that eligible displaced persons in like 
circumstances are treated equally. A displaced person eligible to 
receive a payment as a 180-day owner-occupant under Sec.  24.401(a) is 
not eligible for this payment. (See appendix A, Sec.  24.402(c).)
    (2) Application of payment. The full amount of the replacement 
housing payment for downpayment assistance must be applied to the 
purchase price of the replacement dwelling and related incidental 
expenses.