§ 1437p. Demolition and disposition of public housing
(a)
Applications for demolition and disposition
Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, upon receiving an application by a public housing agency for authorization, with or without financial assistance under this subchapter, to demolish or dispose of a public housing project or a portion of a public housing project (including any transfer to a resident-supported nonprofit entity), the Secretary shall approve the application, if the public housing agency certifies—
(1)
in the case of—
(2)
in the case of an application proposing disposition by sale or other transfer of a public housing project or other real property subject to this subchapter—
(A)
the retention of the property is not in the best interests of the residents or the public housing agency because—
(3)
that the public housing agency has specifically authorized the demolition or disposition in the public housing agency plan, and has certified that the actions contemplated in the public housing agency plan comply with this section;
(4)
that the public housing agency—
(A)
will notify each family residing in a project subject to demolition or disposition 90 days prior to the displacement date, except in cases of imminent threat to health or safety, consistent with any guidelines issued by the Secretary governing such notifications, that—
(ii)
the demolition of the building in which the family resides will not commence until each resident of the building is relocated; and
(iii)
each family displaced by such action will be offered comparable housing—
(II)
that is located in an area that is generally not less desirable than the location of the displaced person’s housing; and
(B)
will provide for the payment of the actual and reasonable relocation expenses of each resident to be displaced;
(C)
will ensure that each displaced resident is offered comparable housing in accordance with the notice under subparagraph (A); and [1]
(5)
that the net proceeds of any disposition will be used—
(A)
unless waived by the Secretary, for the retirement of outstanding obligations issued to finance the original public housing project or modernization of the project; and
(b)
Disapproval of applications
The Secretary shall disapprove an application submitted under subsection (a) of this section if the Secretary determines that—
(1)
any certification made by the public housing agency under that subsection is clearly inconsistent with information and data available to the Secretary or information or data requested by the Secretary; or
(c)
Resident opportunity to purchase in case of proposed disposition
(1)
In general
In the case of a proposed disposition of a public housing project or portion of a project, the public housing agency shall, in appropriate circumstances, as determined by the Secretary, initially offer the property to any eligible resident organization, eligible resident management corporation, or nonprofit organization acting on behalf of the residents, if that entity has expressed an interest, in writing, to the public housing agency in a timely manner, in purchasing the property for continued use as low-income housing.
(2)
Timing
(A)
Expression of interest
A resident organization, resident management corporation, or other resident-supported nonprofit entity referred to in paragraph (1) may express interest in purchasing property that is the subject of a disposition, as described in paragraph (1), during the 30-day period beginning on the date of notification of a proposed sale of the property.
(B)
Opportunity to arrange purchase
If an entity expresses written interest in purchasing a property, as provided in subparagraph (A), no disposition of the property shall occur during the 60-day period beginning on the date of receipt of that written notice (other than to the entity providing the notice), during which time that entity shall be given the opportunity to obtain a firm commitment for financing the purchase of the property.
(d)
Replacement units
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, replacement public housing units for public housing units demolished in accordance with this section may be built on the original public housing location or in the same neighborhood as the original public housing location if the number of the replacement public housing units is significantly fewer than the number of units demolished.
(e)
Consolidation of occupancy within or among buildings
Nothing in this section may be construed to prevent a public housing agency from consolidating occupancy within or among buildings of a public housing project, or among projects, or with other housing for the purpose of improving living conditions of, or providing more efficient services to, residents.
(f)
De minimis exception to demolition requirements
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in any 5-year period a public housing agency may demolish not more than the lesser of 5 dwelling units or 5 percent of the total dwelling units owned by the public housing agency, but only if the space occupied by the demolished unit is used for meeting the service or other needs of public housing residents or the demolished unit was beyond repair.
(h)
Relocation and replacement
Of the amounts appropriated for tenant-based assistance under section
1437f of this title in any fiscal year, the Secretary may use such sums as are necessary for relocation and replacement housing for dwelling units that are demolished and disposed of from the public housing inventory (in addition to other amounts that may be available for such purposes).
[1] So in original. The word “and” probably should not appear.