§ 1437r. Public housing resident management

(a) Purpose

The purpose of this section is to encourage increased resident management of public housing projects, as a means of improving existing living conditions in public housing projects, by providing increased flexibility for public housing projects that are managed by residents by—

(1) permitting the retention, and use for certain purposes, of any revenues exceeding operating and project costs; and

(2) providing funding, from amounts otherwise available, for technical assistance to promote formation and development of resident management entities.

For purposes of this section, the term “public housing project” includes one or more contiguous buildings or an area of contiguous row houses the elected resident councils of which approve the establishment of a resident management corporation and otherwise meet the requirements of this section.

(b) Program requirements

(1) Resident council

As a condition of entering into a resident management program, the elected resident council of a public housing project shall approve the establishment of a resident management corporation. When such approval is made by the elected resident council of a building or row house area, the resident management program shall not interfere with the rights of other families residing in the project or harm the efficient operation of the project. The resident management corporation and the resident council may be the same organization, if the organization complies with the requirements applicable to both the corporation and council. The corporation shall be a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of the State in which the project is located, and the tenants of the project shall be the sole voting members of the corporation. If there is no elected resident council, a majority of the households of the public housing project shall approve the establishment of a resident council to determine the feasibility of establishing a resident management corporation to manage the project.

(2) Public housing management specialist

The resident council of a public housing project, in cooperation with the public housing agency, shall select a qualified public housing management specialist to assist in determining the feasibility of, and to help establish, a resident management corporation and to provide training and other duties agreed to in the daily operations of the project.

(3) Bonding and insurance

Before assuming any management responsibility for a public housing project, the resident management corporation shall provide fidelity bonding and insurance, or equivalent protection, in accordance with regulations and requirements of the Secretary and the public housing agency. Such bonding and insurance, or its equivalent, shall be adequate to protect the Secretary and the public housing agency against loss, theft, embezzlement, or fraudulent acts on the part of the resident management corporation or its employees.

(4) Management responsibilities

A resident management corporation that qualifies under this section, and that supplies insurance and bonding or equivalent protection sufficient to the Secretary and the public housing agency, shall enter into a contract with the public housing agency establishing the respective management rights and responsibilities of the corporation and the public housing agency. Such contract shall be consistent with the requirements of this chapter applicable to public housing projects and may include specific terms governing management personnel and compensation, access to public housing project records, submission of and adherence to budgets, rent collection procedures, tenant income verification, tenant eligibility determinations, tenant eviction, the acquisition of supplies and materials, rent determination, community service requirements,,^[1] and such other matters as may be appropriate. The contract shall be treated as a contracting out of services and shall be subject to any provision of a collective bargaining agreement regarding contracting out to which the public housing agency is subject.

(5) Annual audit

The books and records of a resident management corporation operating a public housing project shall be audited annually by a certified public accountant. A written report of each audit shall be forwarded to the public housing agency and the Secretary.

A contract under this section for management of a public housing project by a resident management corporation shall provide for—

(1) the public housing agency to provide a portion of the assistance to agency from the Capital and Operating Funds to the resident management corporation in accordance with subsection (e) of this section for purposes of operating the public housing project covered by the contract and performing such other eligible activities with respect to the project as may be provided under the contract;

(2) the amount of income expected to be derived from the project itself (from sources such as rents and charges);

(3) the amount of income to be provided to the project from the other sources of income of the public housing agency (such as interest income, administrative fees, and rents); and

(4) any income generated by a resident management corporation of a public housing project that exceeds the income estimated under the contract shall be used for eligible activities under subsections (d)(1) and (e)(1) of section 1437g of this title.

(d) Waiver of Federal requirements

(1) Waiver of regulatory requirements

Upon the request of any resident management corporation and public housing agency, and after notice and an opportunity to comment is afforded to the affected tenants, the Secretary may waive (for both the resident management corporation and the public housing agency) any requirement established by the Secretary (and not specified in any statute) that the Secretary determines to unnecessarily increase the costs or restrict the income of a public housing project.

(2) Waiver to permit employment

Upon the request of any resident management corporation, the Secretary may, subject to applicable collective bargaining agreements, permit residents of such project to volunteer a portion of their labor.

(3) Exceptions

The Secretary may not waive under this subsection any requirement with respect to income eligibility for purposes of section 1437n of this title, rental payments under section 1437a (a) of this title, tenant or applicant protections, employee organizing rights, or rights of employees under collective bargaining agreements.

(e) Direct provision of operating and capital assistance

(1) In general

The Secretary shall directly provide assistance from the Operating and Capital Funds to a resident management corporation managing a public housing development pursuant to a contract under this section, but only if—

(A) the resident management corporation petitions the Secretary for the release of the funds;

(B) the contract provides for the resident management corporation to assume the primary management responsibilities of the public housing agency; and

(2) Use of assistance

Any assistance from the Operating and Capital Funds provided to a resident management corporation pursuant to this subsection shall be used for purposes of operating the public housing developments of the agency and performing such other eligible activities with respect to public housing as may be provided under the contract.

(3) Responsibility of public housing agency

If the Secretary provides direct funding to a resident management corporation under this subsection, the public housing agency shall not be responsible for the actions of the resident management corporation.

(4) Calculation of Operating Fund allocation

Notwithstanding any provision of section 1437g of this title or any regulation under such section, and subject to the exception provided in paragraph (3), the portion of the amount received by a public housing agency under section 1437g of this title that is due to an allocation from the Operating Fund and that is allocated to a public housing project managed by a resident management corporation shall not be less than the public housing agency per unit monthly amount provided in the previous year as determined on an individual project basis.

(5) Calculation of total income

(A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the amount of funds provided by a public housing agency to a public housing project managed by a resident management corporation may not be reduced during the 3-year period beginning on February 5, 1988, or on any later date on which a resident management corporation is first established for the project.

(B) If the total income of a public housing agency (including any amounts from the Capital or Operating Funds provided to the public housing agency under section 1437g of this title) is reduced or increased, the income provided by the public housing agency to a public housing project managed by a resident management corporation shall be reduced or increased in proportion to the reduction or increase in the total income of the public housing agency, except that any reduction in amounts from the Operating Fund that occurs as a result of fraud, waste, or mismanagement by the public housing agency shall not affect the funds provided to the resident management corporation.

(6) Retention of excess revenues

(A) Any income generated by a resident management corporation of a public housing project that exceeds the income estimated for purposes of this subsection shall be excluded in subsequent years in calculating

(i) the allocations from the Operating Fund for the public housing agency under section 1437g of this title; and

(ii) the funds provided by the public housing agency to the resident management corporation.

(B) Any revenues retained by a resident management corporation under subparagraph (A) shall be used for purposes of improving the maintenance and operation of the public housing project, for establishing business enterprises that employ residents of public housing, or for acquiring additional dwelling units for low-income families.

(f) , (g) Repealed. Pub. L. 105–276, title V, § 532(a)(5), Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2575

(h) Applicability

Any management contract between a public housing agency and a resident management corporation that is entered into after November 7, 1988, shall be subject to this section and the regulations issued to carry out this section.

[1] So in original.

U.S. Code

§ 1437r. Public housing resident management