(c) Contents and purposes of contracts for assistance payments; amount and scope of monthly assistance payments(1)(A) An assistance contract entered into pursuant to this section shall establish the maximum monthly rent (including utilities and all maintenance and management charges) which the owner is entitled to receive for each dwelling unit with respect to which such assistance payments are to be made. The maximum monthly rent shall not exceed by more than 10 per centum the fair market rental established by the Secretary periodically but not less than annually for existing or newly constructed rental dwelling units of various sizes and types in the market area suitable for occupancy by persons assisted under this section, except that the maximum monthly rent may exceed the fair market rental (A) by more than 10 but not more than 20 per centum where the Secretary determines that special circumstances warrant such higher maximum rent or that such higher rent is necessary to the implementation of a housing strategy as defined in section 12705 of this title, or (B) by such higher amount as may be requested by a tenant and approved by the public housing agency in accordance with paragraph (3)(B). In the case of newly constructed and substantially rehabilitated units, the exception in the preceding sentence shall not apply to more than 20 per centum of the total amount of authority to enter into annual contributions contracts for such units which is allocated to an area and obligated with respect to any fiscal year beginning on or after October 1, 1980. Each fair market rental in effect under this subsection shall be adjusted to be effective on October 1 of each year to reflect changes, based on the most recent available data trended so the rentals will be current for the year to which they apply, of rents for existing or newly constructed rental dwelling units, as the case may be, of various sizes and types in the market area suitable for occupancy by persons assisted under this section. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, after October 12, 1977, the Secretary shall prohibit high-rise elevator projects for families with children unless there is no practical alternative. If units assisted under this section are exempt from local rent control while they are so assisted or otherwise, the maximum monthly rent for such units shall be reasonable in comparison with other units in the market area that are exempt from local rent control.
(B) Fair market rentals for an area shall be published not less than annually by the Secretary on the site of the Department on the World Wide Web and in any other manner specified by the Secretary. Notice that such fair market rentals are being published shall be published in the Federal Register, and such fair market rentals shall become effective no earlier than 30 days after the date of such publication. The Secretary shall establish a procedure for public housing agencies and other interested parties to comment on such fair market rentals and to request, within a time specified by the Secretary, reevaluation of the fair market rentals in a jurisdiction before such rentals become effective. The Secretary shall cause to be published for comment in the Federal Register notices of proposed material changes in the methodology for estimating fair market rentals and notices specifying the final decisions regarding such proposed substantial methodological changes and responses to public comments.
(2)(A) The assistance contract shall provide for adjustment annually or more frequently in the maximum monthly rents for units covered by the contract to reflect changes in the fair market rentals established in the housing area for similar types and sizes of dwelling units or, if the Secretary determines, on the basis of a reasonable formula. However, where the maximum monthly rent, for a unit in a new construction, substantial rehabilitation, or moderate rehabilitation project, to be adjusted using an annual adjustment factor exceeds the fair market rental for an existing dwelling unit in the market area, the Secretary shall adjust the rent only to the extent that the owner demonstrates that the adjusted rent would not exceed the rent for an unassisted unit of similar quality, type, and age in the same market area, as determined by the Secretary. The immediately foregoing sentence shall be effective only during fiscal year 1995, fiscal year 1996 prior to April 26, 1996, and fiscal years 1997 and 1998, and during fiscal year 1999 and thereafter. Except for assistance under the certificate program, for any unit occupied by the same family at the time of the last annual rental adjustment, where the assistance contract provides for the adjustment of the maximum monthly rent by applying an annual adjustment factor and where the rent for a unit is otherwise eligible for an adjustment based on the full amount of the factor, 0.01 shall be subtracted from the amount of the factor, except that the factor shall not be reduced to less than 1.0. In the case of assistance under the certificate program, 0.01 shall be subtracted from the amount of the annual adjustment factor (except that the factor shall not be reduced to less than 1.0), and the adjusted rent shall not exceed the rent for a comparable unassisted unit of similar quality, type, and age in the market area. The immediately foregoing two sentences shall be effective only during fiscal year 1995, fiscal year 1996 prior to April 26, 1996, and fiscal years 1997 and 1998, and during fiscal year 1999 and thereafter. In establishing annual adjustment factors for units in new construction and substantial rehabilitation projects, the Secretary shall take into account the fact that debt service is a fixed expense. The immediately foregoing sentence shall be effective only during fiscal year 1998.
(B) The contract shall further provide for the Secretary to make additional adjustments in the maximum monthly rent for units under contract to the extent he determines such adjustments are necessary to reflect increases in the actual and necessary expenses of owning and maintaining the units which have resulted from substantial general increases in real property taxes, utility rates, or similar costs which are not adequately compensated for by the adjustment in the maximum monthly rent authorized by subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall make additional adjustments in the maximum monthly rent for units under contract (subject to the availability of appropriations for contract amendments) to the extent the Secretary determines such adjustments are necessary to reflect increases in the actual and necessary expenses of owning and maintaining the units that have resulted from the expiration of a real property tax exemption. Where the Secretary determines that a project assisted under this section is located in a community where drug-related criminal activity is generally prevalent and the project’s operating, maintenance, and capital repair expenses have been substantially increased primarily as a result of the prevalence of such drug-related activity, the Secretary may (at the discretion of the Secretary and subject to the availability of appropriations for contract amendments for this purpose), on a project by project basis, provide adjustments to the maximum monthly rents, to a level no greater than 120 percent of the project rents, to cover the costs of maintenance, security, capital repairs, and reserves required for the owner to carry out a strategy acceptable to the Secretary for addressing the problem of drug-related criminal activity. Any rent comparability standard required under this paragraph may be waived by the Secretary to so implement the preceding sentence. The Secretary may (at the discretion of the Secretary and subject to the availability of appropriations for contract amendments), on a project by project basis for projects receiving project-based assistance, provide adjustments to the maximum monthly rents to cover the costs of evaluating and reducing lead-based paint hazards, as defined in section 4851b of this title.
(C) Adjustments in the maximum rents under subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall not result in material differences between the rents charged for assisted units and unassisted units of similar quality, type, and age in the same market area, as determined by the Secretary. In implementing the limitation established under the preceding sentence, the Secretary shall establish regulations for conducting comparability studies for projects where the Secretary has reason to believe that the application of the formula adjustments under subparagraph (A) would result in such material differences. The Secretary shall conduct such studies upon the request of any owner of any project, or as the Secretary determines to be appropriate by establishing, to the extent practicable, a modified annual adjustment factor for such market area, as the Secretary shall designate, that is geographically smaller than the applicable housing area used for the establishment of the annual adjustment factor under subparagraph (A). The Secretary shall establish such modified annual adjustment factor on the basis of the results of a study conducted by the Secretary of the rents charged, and any change in such rents over the previous year, for assisted units and unassisted units of similar quality, type, and age in the smaller market area. Where the Secretary determines that such modified annual adjustment factor cannot be established or that such factor when applied to a particular project would result in material differences between the rents charged for assisted units and unassisted units of similar quality, type, and age in the same market area, the Secretary may apply an alternative methodology for conducting comparability studies in order to establish rents that are not materially different from rents charged for comparable unassisted units. If the Secretary or appropriate State agency does not complete and submit to the project owner a comparability study not later than 60 days before the anniversary date of the assistance contract under this section, the automatic annual adjustment factor shall be applied. The Secretary may not reduce the contract rents in effect on or after April 15, 1987, for newly constructed, substantially rehabilitated, or moderately rehabilitated projects assisted under this section (including projects assisted under this section as in effect prior to November 30, 1983), unless the project has been refinanced in a manner that reduces the periodic payments of the owner. Any maximum monthly rent that has been reduced by the Secretary after April 14, 1987, and prior to November 7, 1988, shall be restored to the maximum monthly rent in effect on April 15, 1987. For any project which has had its maximum monthly rents reduced after April 14, 1987, the Secretary shall make assistance payments (from amounts reserved for the original contract) to the owner of such project in an amount equal to the difference between the maximum monthly rents in effect on April 15, 1987, and the reduced maximum monthly rents, multiplied by the number of months that the reduced maximum monthly rents were in effect.
(3) The amount of the monthly assistance payment with respect to any dwelling unit shall be the difference between the maximum monthly rent which the contract provides that the owner is to receive for the unit and the rent the family is required to pay under section 1437a(a) of this title.
(4) The assistance contract shall provide that assistance payments may be made only with respect to a dwelling unit under lease for occupancy by a family determined to be a lower income family at the time it initially occupied such dwelling unit, except that such payments may be made with respect to unoccupied units for a period not exceeding sixty days (A) in the event that a family vacates a dwelling unit before the expiration date of the lease for occupancy or (B) where a good faith effort is being made to fill an unoccupied unit, and, subject to the provisions of the following sentence, such payments may be made, in the case of a newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated project, after such sixty-day period in an amount equal to the debt service attributable to such an unoccupied dwelling unit for a period not to exceed one year, if a good faith effort is being made to fill the unit and the unit provides decent, safe, and sanitary housing. No such payment may be made after such sixty-day period if the Secretary determines that the dwelling unit is in a project which provides the owner with revenues exceeding the costs incurred by such owner with respect to such project.
(5) The Secretary shall take such steps as may be necessary, including the making of contracts for assistance payments in amounts in excess of the amounts required at the time of the initial renting of dwelling units, the reservation of annual contributions authority for the purpose of amending housing assistance contracts, or the allocation of a portion of new authorizations for the purpose of amending housing assistance contracts, to assure that assistance payments are increased on a timely basis to cover increases in maximum monthly rents or decreases in family incomes.
(6) Redesignated (5).
(7) Repealed. Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 550(a)(3)(C), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2609
(8)(A) Not less than one year before termination of any contract under which assistance payments are received under this section, other than a contract for tenant-based assistance under this section, an owner shall provide written notice to the Secretary and the tenants involved of the proposed termination. The notice shall also include a statement that, if the Congress makes funds available, the owner and the Secretary may agree to a renewal of the contract, thus avoiding termination, and that in the event of termination the Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide tenant-based rental assistance to all eligible residents, enabling them to choose the place they wish to rent, which is likely to include the dwelling unit in which they currently reside. Any contract covered by this paragraph that is renewed may be renewed for a period of up to 1 year or any number or years, with payments subject to the availability of appropriations for any year.
(B) In the event the owner does not provide the notice required, the owner may not evict the tenants or increase the tenants’ rent payment until such time as the owner has provided the notice and 1 year has elapsed. The Secretary may allow the owner to renew the terminating contract for a period of time sufficient to give tenants 1 year of advance notice under such terms and conditions as the Secretary may require.
(C) Any notice under this paragraph shall also comply with any additional requirements established by the Secretary.
(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term “termination” means the expiration of the assistance contract or an owner’s refusal to renew the assistance contract, and such term shall include termination of the contract for business reasons.
(Sept. 1, 1937, ch. 896, title I, § 8, as added Pub. L. 93–383, title II, § 201(a), Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 662; amended Pub. L. 94–375, § 2(d), (e), (g), Aug. 3, 1976, 90 Stat. 1068; Pub. L. 95–24, title I, § 101(c), Apr. 30, 1977, 91 Stat. 55; Pub. L. 95–128, title II, § 201(c)–(e), Oct. 12, 1977, 91 Stat. 1128; Pub. L. 95–557, title II, § 206(d)(1), (e), (f), Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2091, 2092; Pub. L. 96–153, title II, §§ 202(b), 206(b), 210, 211(b), Dec. 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 1106, 1108–1110; Pub. L. 96–399, title II, § 203, title III, § 308(c)(3), Oct. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1629, 1641; Pub. L. 97–35, title III, §§ 322(e), 324–326(a), (e)(1), 329H(a), Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 402, 405–407, 410; Pub. L. 98–181, title I [title II, §§ 203(b)(1), (2), 207–209(a), 210, 211], Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1178, 1181–1183; Pub. L. 98–479, title I, § 102(b)(6)–(10), Oct. 17, 1984, 98 Stat. 2221, 2222; Pub. L. 100–242, title I, §§ 141–149, title II, § 262, Feb. 5, 1988, 101 Stat. 1849–1853, 1890; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 100–358, § 5, June 29, 1988, 102 Stat. 681; Pub. L. 100–628, title X, §§ 1004(a), 1005(b)(1), (c), 1006, 1014(b), (c), 1029, Nov. 7, 1988, 102 Stat. 3264, 3265, 3269, 3272; Pub. L. 101–235, title I, § 127, title VIII, § 801(c), (g), Dec. 15, 1989, 103 Stat. 2025, 2058, 2059; Pub. L. 101–625, title II, § 289(b), title IV, § 413, title V, §§ 541–545(a), 545(2)[(b)], 546–549, 550(a), (c), 551–553, 572, title VI, §§ 603, 613(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4128, 4160, 4216–4224, 4236, 4277, 4280; Pub. L. 102–139, title II, Oct. 28, 1991, 105 Stat. 756; Pub. L. 102–550, title I, §§ 141–148, 185(a), title VI, §§ 623(b), 660, 674, 675, 682(b), title X, § 1012(g), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3713–3715, 3745, 3819, 3825, 3827, 3828, 3830, 3905; Pub. L. 103–233, title I, § 101(c)(2), (3), (d), Apr. 11, 1994, 108 Stat. 357; Pub. L. 103–327, title II, Sept. 28, 1994, 108 Stat. 2315; Pub. L. 104–19, title I, § 1003, July 27, 1995, 109 Stat. 236; Pub. L. 104–99, title IV, §§ 402(d)(2), (3), (6)(A)(iii), (iv), 405(c), Jan. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 41, 42, 44; Pub. L. 104–134, title I, § 101(e) [title II, §§ 203(a)–(c), 208], Apr. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 1321–257, 1321–281, 1321–284; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 104–140, § 1(a), May 2, 1996, 110 Stat. 1327; Pub. L. 104–193, title IX, § 903(a)(2), Aug. 22, 1996, 110 Stat. 2348; Pub. L. 104–204, title II, § 201(g), Sept. 26, 1996, 110 Stat. 2893; Pub. L. 105–18, title II, § 10002, June 12, 1997, 111 Stat. 201; Pub. L. 105–33, title II, §§ 2003, 2004, Aug. 5, 1997, 111 Stat. 257; Pub. L. 105–65, title II, §§ 201(c), 205, title V, § 523(a), (c), Oct. 27, 1997, 111 Stat. 1364, 1365, 1406, 1407; Pub. L. 105–276, title II, § 209(a), title V, §§ 514(b)(1), 545(a), (b), 547–549(a)(2), (b), 550(a), 552–555(a), 556(a), 565(c), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2485, 2547, 2596–2607, 2609–2611, 2613, 2631; Pub. L. 106–74, title II, § 223, title V, §§ 523(a), 531(d), 535, 538(a), Oct. 20, 1999, 113 Stat. 1076, 1104, 1116, 1121, 1122; Pub. L. 106–246, div. B, title II, § 2801, July 13, 2000, 114 Stat. 569; Pub. L. 106–377, § 1(a)(1) [title II, §§ 205, 228, 232(a), 234], Oct. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 1441, 1441A–24, 1441A–30, 1441A–31, 1441A–35; Pub. L. 106–569, title III, § 301(a), title IX, §§ 902(a), 903(a), Dec. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 2952, 3026; Pub. L. 107–95, § 12, Dec. 21, 2001, 115 Stat. 921; Pub. L. 107–116, title VI, § 632, Jan. 10, 2002, 115 Stat. 2227; Pub. L. 109–162, title VI, § 606, Jan. 5, 2006, 119 Stat. 3041; Pub. L. 109–271, § 5(d), (e), Aug. 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 759; Pub. L. 109–461, title VII, § 710, Dec. 22, 2006, 120 Stat. 3441; Pub. L. 110–234, title IV, § 4002(b)(1)(B), (2)(Y), May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1096, 1097; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title IV, § 4002(b)(1)(B), (2)(Y), June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 1857, 1859; Pub. L. 110–289, div. B, title VIII, § 2835(a), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2871; Pub. L. 111–22, div. A, title VII, §§ 703, 704, May 20, 2009, 123 Stat. 1661, 1662; Pub. L. 111–203, title XIV, § 1484(2), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2204; Pub. L. 111–372, title III, § 302, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 4084; Pub. L. 113–4, title VI, § 601(b)(2), Mar. 7, 2013, 127 Stat. 107; Pub. L. 113–76, div. L, title II, §§ 220(a), 242, Jan. 17, 2014, 128 Stat. 630, 636; Pub. L. 114–94, div. G, title LXXVIII, § 78001(b), Dec. 4, 2015, 129 Stat. 1791; Pub. L. 114–201, title I, §§ 101(a), 102(d)–(f), 105, 106(a), 107(a), (b), 108, 110, 112(a), July 29, 2016, 130 Stat. 783, 790, 791, 796, 800, 801, 803; Pub. L. 115–174, title III, § 304(a), (b), May 24, 2018, 132 Stat. 1339; Pub. L. 116–260, div. Q, title I, §§ 101(b)(2), 103(b), (c), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2163, 2166, 2169; Pub. L. 116–283, div. H, title XCI, § 9103(a), Jan. 1, 2021, 134 Stat. 4781; Pub. L. 117–328, div. AA, title VI, § 601(a)(2), Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5543.)