Sec. 8. Right of residents to return; relocation
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An applicant shall, not later than 30 days before submitting an application to the Secretary for a grant under this Act— hold a community meeting and provide information to all residents who occupy a dwelling unit in public housing or assisted housing subject to the transformation plan of— the intent of the applicant to submit an application for a grant under this Act; their right to return and relocation housing options; and all planned replacement housing units; and solicit from each resident information regarding the desire of the resident to return to the replacement housing units constructed upon the original public or assisted housing location, interest in moving to other neighborhoods or communities, or interest in retaining a voucher for rental assistance.
Each transformation plan assisted under this Act shall provide opportunities for the active involvement and participation of, and consultation with, residents of the public and assisted housing that is subject to the transformation plan during the planning process for the transformation plan, including prior to submission of the application, and during all phases of the planning and implementation, which opportunities— may include participation of members of any resident council or tenant organization, but may not be limited to those members; and shall include— all segments of the population of residents of the public and assisted housing that is subject to the revitalization plan, including single parent-headed households, the elderly, young employed and unemployed adults, teenage youth, and disabled persons; and a process that provides opportunity for comment on specific proposals for redevelopment, any demolition and disposition involved, and any proposed significant amendments or changes to the transformation plan.
The Secretary may not make a grant under this Act to an applicant unless the applicant has convened and conducted a public meeting regarding the transformation plan, including the one-for-one replacement to occur under the plan, not later than 30 days before submission of the application for the grant under this section for the plan, at a time and location that is convenient for residents of the public and assisted housing subject to the plan. An applicant may not carry out any significant amendment or change to a transformation plan unless— the applicant has convened and conducted a public meeting regarding the significant amendment or change at a time and location that is convenient for residents of the public and assisted housing subject to the plan and has provided each household occupying a dwelling unit in the public and assisted housing with written notice of the meeting not less than 10 days before such meeting; after the meeting held under subparagraph (A), the applicant consults with the households occupying dwelling units in the public and assisted housing that are subject to, or to be subject to the plan, and the agency submits a report to the Secretary describing the results of the consultation; and the Secretary approves the significant amendment or change.
The Secretary may not approve a transformation plan under this Act unless the plan provides that each resident of public or assisted housing displaced by activities under the transformation plan who wishes to return to the on-site or off-site replacement housing provided under the plan may return if the resident— was in compliance with the lease at the time of departure from the housing subject to rehabilitation or demolition; and would be eligible, as of the time of the return, for occupancy under the eligibility, screening, and occupancy standards, policies, or practices applicable to the housing from which the resident was displaced, as in effect at the time of displacement.
All relocation activities resulting from, or that will result from, demolition, disposition, or both demolition and disposition, to be carried out under a transformation plan relating to a grant under this Act shall be subject to the following requirements: The Uniform Relocation and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 ( 42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq. ) shall apply. To the extent the provisions of this subsection and such Act conflict, the provisions that provide greater protection to residents displaced by the demolition, disposition, or demolition and disposition, shall apply.
The applicant shall submit to the Secretary, together with the application for a grant under this Act, a relocation plan providing for the relocation of residents occupying the public or assisted housing for which the demolition or disposition is proposed, which shall include— a statement of the estimated number of vouchers for rental assistance under section 8 that will be needed for such relocation; identification of the location of the replacement dwelling units that will be made available for permanent occupancy; and a statement of whether any temporary, off-site relocation of any residents is necessary and a description of the plans for such relocation.
Within a reasonable time after notice to the applicant of the approval of an application for a grant under this section, the applicant shall provide notice in writing, in plain and non-technical language, to the residents of the public and assisted housing subject to the approved transformation plan that— states that the application and transformation plan has been approved; describes the process involved to relocate the residents, including a statement that the residents may not be relocated until the conditions set forth in section 10 have been met; provides information regarding relocation options; and advises residents of the availability of relocation counseling as required in paragraph (7).
Except in cases of a substantial and imminent threat to health or safety, not later than 90 days before the date on which residents will be relocated, the grantee shall provide notice in writing, in plain and non-technical language, to each family residing in a public or assisted housing project that is subject to an approved transformation plan, and in accordance with such guidelines as the Secretary may issue governing such notifications, that— the public or assisted housing project will be demolished or disposed of; the demolition of the building in which the family resides will not commence until each resident of the building is relocated; and if temporary, off-site relocation is necessary, each family displaced by the action shall be offered comparable housing— that meets housing quality standards; that is located in an area that is generally not less desirable than the location of the housing of the displaced family, which shall include not less than 1 unit located in an area of low poverty or 1 unit located within the neighborhood of the original public or assisted housing site; that is identified and available to the family; and which shall include— tenant-based assistance, except that the requirement under this subparagraph regarding offering of comparable housing shall be fulfilled by use of tenant-based assistance only upon the relocation of the family into such housing; project-based assistance; occupancy in a unit operated or assisted by the public housing agency or the owner of the assisted project demolished or disposed of under this section, at a rental rate paid by the family that is comparable to the rental rate applicable to the unit from which the family is relocated; or other comparable housing.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the case of a household that is provided tenant-based assistance for relocation of the household under this section, the period during which the household may lease a dwelling unit using that assistance shall not be shorter in duration than the 150-day period that begins at the time a comparable replacement unit is made available to the family. If a household is unable to lease a dwelling unit using the assistance described in subparagraph
(A)during the period described in that subparagraph, the grantee shall— extend the period during which the household may lease a dwelling unit using the assistance; or at the request of the resident, provide the resident with the next available comparable public housing unit or comparable housing unit for which project-based assistance is provided. The grantee shall provide for the payment of the actual and reasonable relocation expenses, including security deposits, of each resident to be displaced and any other relocation expenses as are required by the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 ( 42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq. ). The grantee shall provide all advisory programs and services as required by the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 ( 42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq. ) and counseling for residents who are displaced that shall— fully inform residents to be displaced of all relocation options, which may include relocating to housing in a neighborhood with a lower concentration of poverty than their current residence, a neighborhood where relocation will not increase racial segregation, or remaining in the current neighborhood; and include providing school options for children and comprehensive housing search assistance for households that receive a voucher for tenant-based assistance. The grantee shall not commence demolition or complete disposition of a building subject to the approved transformation plan until all residents residing in the building are relocated. The applicant shall not commence relocation before approval by the Secretary of the transformation plan providing for the demolition or disposition, unless the applicant generally relocates residents in accordance with this section, as determined by the Secretary, except in the case of a substantial and imminent threat to health or safety. To facilitate compliance with the requirement under subsection
(a)(relating to right of residents to return), the Secretary shall, by regulation, require each grantee of a grant under this section, during the period of the transformation plan assisted with the grant and until all funding under the grant has been expended— to maintain a current address of residence and contact information for each household affected by the transformation plan who was occupying a dwelling unit in the housing that is subject to the plan; and to provide such updated information to the Secretary on at least a quarterly basis. The Secretary may not close out any grant made under this section before the grantee has certified to the Secretary that the agency has complied with subsection
(a)(relating to right of residents to return) with respect to each resident displaced as a result of the transformation plan, including providing occupancy in a replacement dwelling unit for each resident who requested such a unit in accordance with such subsection. A returning resident shall be provided a preference for occupancy of on-site or off-site replacement units before those units are made available for occupancy by any other eligible households, or the resident may choose to retain tenant-based voucher assistance provided under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f(o) ) for relocation from the properties revitalized under a transformation plan assisted with a grant under this Act. A public housing agency or any other manager of on-site or off-site replacement housing shall not, through the application of any additional eligibility, screening, occupancy, or other policy or practice, prevent any person otherwise eligible under subsection
(a)from occupying a replacement housing unit.
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