David B. Bryson and Daniel P. Lindsey
excerpted from the Clearinghouse
Review, v. 33 no. 87
reprinted with permission of the National Center on Poverty Law
As we enter the era of local control, the door is
closing on the era of strong federal protections for the poor. Lamentable as the loss of
federal support may be, housing advocates need to realize that the latest wave of local
control is opening a new window of opportunity to shape public housing and Section 8
policy./1/
The first wave of local control originated from Washington in 1996,
when Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act,
scrapping 60 years of welfare policy and trading long-term entitlements for time-capped
benefits./2/ Congress directed the states to design homegrown welfare-to-work programs as
they saw fit, within certain parameters; but, to a large extent, federal protections gave
way to local control. Now the same is happening in the area of assisted housing, only this
time Congress is bestowing local control not on the states but on local public housing
authorities (PHAs). In the 1998 Housing Act, Congress directed PHAs to submit annual plans
setting forth a host of policy decisions formerly made at the federal level./3/
Over the past few years Congress has eliminated several important
rights held by public housing residents. For instance, there used to be a law that for
every public housing unit demolished, another unit had to be built. This was known as the
one-for-one replacement housing requirement and was repealed by the 1995 Rescission
Act./4/ On the Section 8 side, tenants were traditionally entitled to renew their leases
so long as they complied with them. Now, however, Section 8 landlords may evict tenants
without cause at the end of their lease terms./5/ Some protections remain, but in many
areas Congress is ceding policy-making authority to local PHAs.
The 1998 Housing Act's requirement that local authorities set forth their
policy decisions in an annual plan is Congress' way of keeping local PHAs accountable. The
annual plan is a public document, and as such a PHA cannot hide or downplay strategic
policy decisions of profound importance to low-income families in its jurisdiction./6/
Furthermore, Congress is requiring PHAs to develop their policies in consultation with
residents through one or more resident advisory boards (RABs), which must represent the
interests of both public housing and Section 8 tenants. PHAs must also hold public
hearings to gather input from interested individuals and organizations. PHAs must continue
to work in partnership with RABs in deciding whether to modify their plans after the
hearings.
PHA
Plan Schedules for Public Housing Authorities in the State of Delaware |
Public
Housing Authority (PHA) |
Fiscal
Year
Begins |
PHA
Plan
Due at HUD |
PHA
Plan
to be
available |
DOVER
HOUSING AUTHORITY |
1/1 |
10/15 |
9/1 |
NEWARK
HOUSING AUTHORITY |
4/1 |
1/15 |
12/1 |
WILMINGTON
HOUSING AUTHORITY |
4/1 |
1/15 |
12/1 |
DELAWARE
STATE HOUSING AUTHORITY |
7/1 |
4/15 |
3/1 |
NEW
CASTLE COUNTY |
7/1 |
4/15 |
3/1 |
Sources:
Center for Community Change and National Low-Income Housing Coalition. |
I. Scope of the PHA Plan
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) makes clear that the
broad nature of the annual plan is "to provide a framework for local accountability
and an easily identifiable source by which public housing residents, participants in the
tenant_based assistance program, and other members of the public may locate basic PHA
policies, rules, and requirements concerning its operations, programs, and services."
/8/ As this statement of purpose indicates, the annual plan must include policies
applicable to both public housing and tenant-based assistance. Seventeen specific items
must be included in the plan:/9/
1. A statement of the housing needs of low- and very low-income
families --including the elderly and people with disabilities-- in the PHA's jurisdiction and
a statement of the means by which the PHA intends to address those needs, to the maximum
extent practicable.
2. A statement of the financial resources available to the PHA and its
planned uses of those resources.
3. The PHA's eligibility and admissions policies, including its waiting
list and deconcentration policies.
4. The PHA's rent policies, including its policies for treating income
decreases caused by loss of welfare payments.
5. The PHA's maintenance and management rules and policies.
6. The PHA's grievance procedures.
7. A plan for the capital improvements necessary to sustain the the PHA's
developments.
8. A description of, and timetable for, any proposal to demolish or
dispose of a development under Section 18.
9. A description of any project which the PHA has designated or plans to
designate as elderly or disabled housing.
10. A description of any development which the PHA plans to voucher out,
including an accounting of the funds to be used to finance such vouchers.
11. A list of any public housing buildings the PHA plans to convert to
homeownership.
12. The PHA's programs for providing services to tenants and for promoting
their economic self-sufficiency, and how the PHA will comply with the requirement that
tenants perform eight hours of community work per month.
13. A plan developed and implemented in cooperation with the local police
department to ensure the safety of public housing tenants.
14. The PHA's pet policy.
15. A certification that the PHA will comply with the federal civil rights
laws and affirmatively further fair housing.
16. The results of the most recent fiscal year audit.
17. A statement of the PHA's long-term plans for the operation,
rehabilitation, and disposition of its developments.
Each plan must include a table of contents and an executive summary. Once
the initial annual plan has been filed, any subsequent plans must include a brief summary
of the PHA's progress in meeting previously stated goals./10/
This is not a short list. For anyone to focus effectively on all 17 items
probably would be impossible. That anyone would need to is unlikely, however. Advocates
most likely would limit their focus based on the demographics of their local communities
and the needs of their clients. Even so, certain issues loom large for many advocates and
include such concerns as the needs statement, admissions and rent policies, plans to
demolish, rehabilitate, sell, and/or voucher out buildings, the conversion from
certificates to vouchers, and the determination of Section 8 payment standards.
-----
The late David B. Bryson was deputy director of the National Housing Law Project, 614
Grand Ave., Suite 306, Oakland, CA 94610; 510.251.9400. Daniel P. Lindsey is a staff
attorney at the National Center on Poverty Law, 205 W. Monroe St., 2d Floor, Chicago, IL
60606; 312.263.3830, ext. 232.
We are grateful to Daniel Lindsey for permission to excerpt
this article.
|
Notes
/1/ We would like to express our appreciation to the
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, which provided funding for David B.
Bryson's research and writing of this article. The MacArthur Foundation also funds the
work of the housing attorneys of the National Center on Poverty Law. The opinions
expressed here are ours and do not necessarily represent the views of the MacArthur
Foundation.
/2/ Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, Pub.
L. No. 104_193, § 103, 110 Stat. 2105, 2112 (Aug. 22, 1996). Congress replaced Aid to
Families with Dependent Children with a block grant program called Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF). This change eliminated the families' entitlement to
subsistence-level welfare assistance for as long as benefits were needed. Id. § 116(c),
110 Stat. 2105, 2184. TANF instead provides temporary financial assistance to families as
their breadwinners make a transition to work. Under TANF the federal government makes
available to the states a fixed amount of federal funding that is divided up by a set
formula. States now have wide discretion to design their own programs.
/3/ Section 511 of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of
1998, Pub. L. No. 105_276, 112 Stat. 2461, 2518, tit. V (Oct. 21, 1998), codified at 42
U.S.C. § 1437c_1 (West Supp. 1999). The text of the 1998 Housing Act can be downloaded on
the World Wide Web by searching for "Public Law 105_276" at
www.access.gpo.gov/nara/nara005.html. See also Wendy Pollack & Dina Schlossberg,
Department of Housing and Urban Development and Section 3: Challenges and Opportunities,
in this issue.
/4/ Pub. L. No. 104_19, § 1002(a), 109 Stat. 194.
/5/ 42 U.S.C. § 1437f(o)(7)(West Supp. 1999).
/6/ Public housing authorities (PHAs) must also submit five_year plans,
which include (1) the PHA's five_year mission for serving the needs of low_income families
in its jurisdiction and (2) the goals and objectives the PHA is adopting in order to carry
out that mission. 42 U.S.C. § 1437c_1(a) (West Supp. 1999).
/7/ Each PHA is required to submit its plan to the Department of Housing
and Urban Development (HUD) at least 75 days before the beginning of its fiscal year. Thus
for a PHA whose fiscal year begins on January 1, the plan due date is October 15, 1999.
PHAs with fiscal years beginning April 1 have to submit their plans by January 15, 2000.
Those whose fiscal years begin on July 1 and October 1 have to submit plans by April 15,
2000, and July 15, 2000, respectively. Because the PHA's development of its plan is likely
to begin four to five months before these due dates, advocates may now begin representing
tenants and applicants in some jurisdictions. 24 C.F.R. § 903.3(b) (1999), 64 Fed. Reg.
8181 (Feb. 18, 1999).
/8/24 C.F.R. § 903.1(b) (1999), 64 Fed. Reg. 8181 (Feb. 18, 1999).
/9/42 U.S.C. § 1437c_1(d).
/10/ HUD added these three requirements (table of contents, executive
summary, and progress report) through the statute's "catchall" provision
requiring PHAs to include "[a]ny other information required by law to be included in
a public housing agency plan." 42 U.S.C. § 1437c_1(d)(18) (West Supp. 1999).
Otherwise, HUD's interim rule did not add any requirements to those contained in the
statute. 24 C.F.R. § 903.7(r) (1999), 64 Fed. Reg. 8184 (Feb. 18, 1999). |