[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 16, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12474-12523]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-5828]



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Part III





Department of Housing and Urban Development





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Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS); Physical Condition Inspection 
Proposed Changes to the Dictionary of Deficiency Definitions; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 69, No. 51 / Tuesday, March 16, 2004 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR 4896-N-01]


Public Housing Assessment System (PHAS); Physical Condition 
Inspection Proposed Changes to the Dictionary of Deficiency Definitions

AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian 
Housing, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides information to public housing agencies 
(PHAs), multifamily owners and agents, and members of the public 
regarding proposed changes to the 47 definitions in the physical 
condition Dictionary of Deficiency Definitions that is an appendix to 
the PHAS notice on the physical condition scoring process. The 47 
definitions proposed to be changed are those that have been identified 
as causing the greatest inconsistency among contract inspections. These 
proposed changes would affect the physical condition inspection process 
for both multifamily and public housing properties.

DATES: Comment Due Date: April 15, 2004.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this notice to the Regulations Division, Office of General Counsel, 
Room 10276, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 Seventh 
Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410-0500. Communications should refer to 
the above docket number and title. Facsimile (FAX) comments are not 
acceptable. A copy of each communication submitted will be available 
for public inspection and copying between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. eastern 
time weekdays at the above address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Office of Public and Indian 
Housing, Real Estate Assessment Center (PIH-REAC), Attention: Wanda 
Funk, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 1280 Maryland 
Avenue, SW., Suite 800, Washington, DC 20024-2135; telephone the PIH-
REAC Technical Assistance Center at (888) 245-4860 (this is a toll free 
number). Persons with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay 
Service at (800) 877-8339. Additional information is available from the 
PIH-REAC Internet site at http://www.hud.gov/reac/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

1. Background

    This notice proposes changes to 47 definitions in the Dictionary of 
Deficiency Definitions that is an appendix to the PHAS Notice on the 
Physical Condition Scoring Process, as provided in HUD's regulations 
that govern the PHAS. (See 24 CFR part 902, and especially Sec.  
902.24). The 47 definitions proposed to be changed are those that have 
been identified as causing the greatest inconsistency among contract 
inspections. These proposed changes would effect the physical condition 
inspection process for both multifamily and public housing properties
    The Conference Report 106-988 (Conference Report) accompanying 
HUD's Fiscal Year 2001 Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 106-377, approved 
October 27, 2000), directed the Department to, among other things, 
continue to assess the accuracy and effectiveness of the PHAS system, 
in particular the physical condition inspection protocol. HUD was also 
to perform a statistically valid test of PHAS, conduct a thorough 
analysis of the results, and have the methodology and results reviewed 
by an independent expert before taking any adverse action against a PHA 
based solely on its PHAS score. The Department retained the Louis 
Berger Group (the contractor) to conduct the review of the methodology 
and results of the statistically valid test.
    The findings of the contractor's study concluded that the physical 
condition inspection protocol is repeatable and reliable. A report, 
entitled the ``Review and Assessment of the REAC Study of the Physical 
Assessment Sub-System (PASS) Process'', which addressed the issues 
raised in the Conference Report was provided to HUD's Committee on 
Appropriations on March 1, 2001. The contractor issued a final report 
in June 2000. The contractor also identified 47 definitions in the 
Dictionary of Deficiency Definitions as causing the greatest 
inconsistency among inspections. As noted earlier, the Dictionary of 
Deficiency Definitions is included as an appendix to the PHAS Notice on 
the Physical Condition Scoring Process. The last version of this 
notice, which included the Dictionary of Deficiency Definitions, was 
published in the Federal Register on June 28, 2000 (65 FR 39988). The 
report recommended modifications and minor changes to the 47 
definitions.

2. Informal Consultations Regarding the 47 Definitions

    HUD held informal meetings with multifamily and public housing 
industry representatives, housing advocacy representatives and 
governmental representatives to seek their input regarding ways to 
revise and improve the 47 definitions identified by the contractor. 
After the contractor issued its final and supplemental report in June 
2001, and a HUD review team evaluated the proposed definition changes 
during July and August 2001, HUD issued preliminary comments that 
either agreed with the changes, recommended modifications, or advised 
leaving certain definitions unchanged. HUD and the contractor then 
completed the first revision to the physical inspection software based 
on the input from the HUD review team.
    From 2001 to 2002, HUD and the contractor met with representatives 
from the multifamily industry, the public housing industry, and HUD's 
own public housing staff to hold informal discussions on proposed 
changes to various definitions in the Dictionary of Deficiency 
Definitions. Informed by these discussions, HUD drafted this proposed 
revision to the 47 definitions.
    The proposed revisions to the 47 definitions that resulted from 
these meetings are now being published for public comment for a 30-day 
period. The revisions are included as Appendix 1 to this notice, which 
lists the 47 definitions identified by the contractor showing the 
original definition and the proposed definition.

    Dated: January 12, 2004.
Michael Liu,
Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.
BILLING CODE 4210-33-P

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[FR Doc. 04-5828 Filed 3-15-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-33-C