574.300—Eligible activities.
(a) General.
Subject to applicable requirements described in §§ 574.310, 574.320, 574.330, and 574.340, HOPWA funds may be used to assist all forms of housing designed to prevent homelessness including emergency housing, shared housing arrangements, apartments, single room occupancy (SRO) dwellings, and community residences. Appropriate supportive services, as required by § 574.310(a), must be provided as part of any HOPWA assisted housing, but HOPWA funds may also be used to provide services independently of any housing activity.
(1)
Housing information services including, but not limited to, counseling, information, and referral services to assist an eligible person to locate, acquire, finance and maintain housing. This may also include fair housing counseling for eligible persons who may encounter discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, familial status, or handicap;
(2)
Resource identification to establish, coordinate and develop housing assistance resources for eligible persons (including conducting preliminary research and making expenditures necessary to determine the feasibility of specific housing-related initiatives);
(3)
Acquisition, rehabilitation, conversion, lease, and repair of facilities to provide housing and services;
(5)
Project- or tenant-based rental assistance, including assistance for shared housing arrangements;
(6)
Short-term rent, mortgage, and utility payments to prevent the homelessness of the tenant or mortgagor of a dwelling;
(7)
Supportive services including, but not limited to, health, mental health, assessment, permanent housing placement, drug and alcohol abuse treatment and counseling, day care, personal assistance, nutritional services, intensive care when required, and assistance in gaining access to local, State, and Federal government benefits and services, except that health services may only be provided to individuals with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome or related diseases and not to family members of these individuals;
(8)
Operating costs for housing including maintenance, security, operation, insurance, utilities, furnishings, equipment, supplies, and other incidental costs;
(9)
Technical assistance in establishing and operating a community residence, including planning and other pre-development or pre-construction expenses and including, but not limited to, costs relating to community outreach and educational activities regarding AIDS or related diseases for persons residing in proximity to the community residence;
(i)
Each grantee may use not more than 3 percent of the grant amount for its own administrative costs relating to administering grant amounts and allocating such amounts to project sponsors; and
(ii)
Each project sponsor receiving amounts from grants made under this program may use not more than 7 percent of the amounts received for administrative costs.
(c) Faith-based activities.
(1)
Organizations that are religious or faith-based are eligible, on the same basis as any other organization, to participate in the HOPWA program. Neither the Federal government nor a State or local government receiving funds under HOPWA programs shall discriminate against an organization on the basis of the organization's religious character or affiliation.
(2)
Organizations that are directly funded under the HOPWA program may not engage in inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization, as part of the programs or services funded under this part. If an organization conducts such activities, the activities must be offered separately, in time or location, from the programs or services funded under this part, and participation must be voluntary for the beneficiaries of the HUD-funded programs or services.
(3)
An organization that participates in the HOPWA program will retain its independence from Federal, State, and local governments, and may continue to carry out its mission, including the definition, practice, and expression of its religious beliefs, provided that it does not use direct HOPWA funds to support any inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, or proselytization. Among other things, faith-based organizations may use space in their facilities to provide HOPWA-funded services, without removing religious art, icons, scriptures, or other religious symbols. In addition, a HOPWA-funded religious organization retains its authority over its internal governance, and it may retain religious terms in its organization's name, select its board members on a religious basis, and include religious references in its organization's mission statements and other governing documents.
(4)
An organization that participates in the HOPWA program shall not, in providing program assistance, discriminate against a program beneficiary or prospective program beneficiary on the basis of religion or religious belief.
(5)
HOPWA funds may not be used for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of structures to the extent that those structures are used for inherently religious activities. HOPWA funds may be used for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of structures only to the extent that those structures are used for conducting eligible activities under this part. Where a structure is used for both eligible and inherently religious activities, HOPWA funds may not exceed the cost of those portions of the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation that are attributable to eligible activities in accordance with the cost accounting requirements applicable to HOPWA funds in this part. Sanctuaries, chapels, or other rooms that a HOPWA-funded religious congregation uses as its principal place of worship, however, are ineligible for HOPWA-funded improvements. Disposition of real property after the term of the grant, or any change in use of the property during the term of the grant, is subject to government-wide regulations governing real property disposition (see 24 CFR parts 84 and 85 ).
(6)
If a State or local government voluntarily contributes its own funds to supplement federally funded activities, the State or local government has the option to segregate the Federal funds or commingle them. However, if the funds are commingled, this section applies to all of the commingled funds.