[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 10 (Wednesday, January 15, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2067-2068]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-788]



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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-4816-N-01]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request; 
Implementation of the Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal 
Opportunity, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement established 
under the final rule implementing the Housing for Older Persons Act of 
1995 (HOPA) will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
Department is soliciting public comments on the information collection 
requirement.

DATES: Comments Due Date: March 17, 2003.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposed information collection requirement. Comments should refer 
to the proposal by name and/or OMB Control Number and should be sent 
to: Turner Russell, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 
451 7th Street, SW., Room 5210, Washington, DC 20410.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Turner Russell, Director, Enforcement 
Support Division, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, Room 
5208, 451 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410, Telephone: (202) 619-
8041 (this is not a toll-free number). Hearing of speech-impaired 
individuals may access this number via TTY by calling the toll-free 
Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8399.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is submitting the proposed 
information collection requirement to the OMB for review, as required 
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C., Chapter 35, as 
amended).
    This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of information to: 
(1) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) 
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information; (3) Enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected, and (4) Minimize the 
burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond; 
including through the use of appropriate automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Title of Regulation: 24 CFR Part 100, Implementation of the Housing 
for Older Persons act of 1995; final rule.
    OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2529-0046.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: In 
the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (the Act) [42 U.S.C. 3601 et 
seq.], Congress prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of 
housing based on familiar status (families with children under 18 years 
of age). However, at Sec.  3607(b)(2) of the act, Congress exempted 3 
categories of ``housing for older persons'' from liability for familial 
status discrimination: (1) Housing provided under any State or program 
which the Secretary of HUD determines is specifically designed and 
operated to assist elderly persons; (2) housing intended for, and 
solely occupied by, persons 62 years of age or older; and (3) housing 
intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person 55 years of 
age or older per unit (``55 or older'' housing). In December 1995, 
Congress passed the ``Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 (HOPA)'' 
[Public Law 104-76]. The HOPA modified the ``55 or older'' housing'' 
exemption provided under the Act by eliminating the requirement for 
``significant facilities and services specifically designed to meet the 
physical or social needs of older persons.'' The HOPA still requires 
that at least 80 percent of the occupied units must be occupied by at 
least one person who is 55 years of age or older; and that housing 
providers must publish and adhere to policies and procedures that 
demonstrate the intent to provide housing for persons 55 years of age 
or older. In addition, the HOPA mandates compliance with ``rules issued 
by the Secretary for verification of occupancy, which shall * * * 
provide for [age] verification by reliable surveys and affidavits.''
    The final rule does not significantly increase the record keeping 
burden. It describes in greater detail the documentation that HUD will 
consider when determining whether or not a community or facility 
qualifies for the ``55 or older'' housing exemption. Further, Sec.  
100.305(e)(5) of the final rule provides a non-extendible one-year 
transition period (May 3, 1999-May 3, 2000) for existing communities or 
facilities that wish to qualify for the ``55 or older'' housing 
exemption. An existing community or facility that fails to complete the 
transition by the expiration of that period must stop reserving vacant 
units for ``55 or older'' residents; market available housing to the 
general public regardless of familial status; and rescind all policies, 
practices, and procedures that discriminate against residents with 
minor children. By definition, such communities would no longer need to 
collect or maintain occupancy/age verification information for purposes 
of the ``55 or older'' housing exemption.
    The information collection requirements contained in Sec. Sec.  
100.306 and 100.307 of the final rule are necessary to satisfy the 
criteria for the ``55 and older'' housing exemption under the HOPA. The 
information required under the act, the HOPA, and the HOPA final rule 
will be collected in the normal course of business in connection with 
the sale, rental, or occupancy of dwelling units within a ``55 or 
older'' housing community or facility. The statutory and regulatory 
requirement to publish and adhere to age verification policies and 
procedures for current and prospective occupants is the usual and 
customary practice of the ``senior housing'' industry without regard to 
the requirements of the Act or the HOPA. The procedures for verifying 
ages of current residents may require an initial survey and periodic 
review and update of existing records. The creation of such records 
should occur in the normal course of sale or rental transactions and 
should require minimal time.
    Three types of information would be collected under the final rule. 
The publication of a community's housing policies and procedures is not 
confidential by nature of the fact that such policies and procedures 
must be disclosed to current and prospective residents, and to 
residential real estate professionals. The occupancy survey results 
must be available for public inspection. The survey summary need not 
contain confidential information because it may simply indicate the 
total number dwelling units occupied by persons 55 years of age or 
older. The supporting age verification records may contain some private 
information, which would be protected from disclosure unless the 
community or facility claims the ``55 or older'' housing exemption as a 
defense to a jurisdictional familial status discrimination complaint 
filed with HUD.
    HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will only 
request disclosure of this information by a housing provider when HUD 
investigates a jurisdictional familial

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status discrimination complaint, and the housing provider claims the 
``55 or older'' housing exemption as an affirmative defense to the 
complaint.
    Agency form numbers(s), if applicable: None.
    Members of affected public: Both the HOPA and the HOPA final rule 
require that small businesses and other small entities that operate 
housing intended for occupancy by persons 55 years of age or older to 
routinely collect and update age verification information necessary to 
meet the eligibility criteria for the ``55 or older'' housing 
exemption. The record keeping requirements are the responsibility of 
the housing provider that wishes to qualify for the exemption.
    Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including the number of respondents, frequency 
of response, and hours of response: The information collection 
requirements of the HOPA final rule are the responsibility of the 
community or facility that claims eligibility for the ``55 or older'' 
housing exemption provided under the HOPA. Since the HOPA does not 
require HUD certification or registration for ``55 or older'' 
communities or facilities, it is difficult to estimate the number of 
communities or facilities that intend to collect this information in 
order to qualify for the exemption. When the proposed rule was 
published for public comment in January 1997, HUD estimated that 
approximately 1,000 communities or facilities would seek the exemption. 
HUD also estimated that the occupancy/age verification data would 
require routine updating with each new housing transaction within the 
community or facility, and that the number of such transactions per 
year might vary significantly depending on the size and nature of the 
community. HUD estimated the average number of housing transactions per 
year at ``10 per community.'' HUD concluded that the publication of 
policies and procedures ``* * *is likely to be a one-time event and in 
most cases will require no additional burden beyond what is done in the 
normal course of business. The estimated total annual burden for the 
three collections is 5,500 hours.''
    Status of the proposed information collection: Extension of a 
currently approved collection.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 34, as amended.

    Dated: January 8, 2003.
Diana Ortiz,
Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 03-788 Filed 1-14-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-28-M