[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 13 (Thursday, January 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4048-4050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1165]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-5279-N-01]


Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Supplemental 
Information to Application for Assistance Regarding Identification of 
Family Member, Friend or Other Person or Organization Supportive of a 
Tenant for Occupancy in HUD Assisted Housing

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

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The proposed information collection requirement described in 
this notice pertains to supplemental information that housing providers 
participating in federally assisted housing, as defined in this notice, 
are required to give an individual or family applying for assisted 
housing the option to provide as part of their application for 
occupancy. The supplemental information would provide an individual or 
family applying for assistance under these programs with the option of 
including in the application for assistance the name, address, phone 
number, and other relevant information of a family member, friend, or 
person associated with a social, health, advocacy, or similar 
organization, who is familiar with and may assist with the services and 
special care needed by the individual or family, and assist in 
resolving any tenancy issues arising during the tenancy of such tenant. 
The supplemental information is to be maintained by the housing 
provider as confidential information. The housing provider may not 
require the individual or family applying for occupancy to provide the 
information. The information collection pertaining to this supplemental 
information will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. 
HUD is soliciting public comments on the subject proposal.

DATES: Comments Due Date: March 23, 2009.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding 
this proposal. Comments should refer to the proposal by name and/or OMB 
Control Number and should be sent to: Lillian Deitzer, Departmental 
Reports Management Officer, QDAM, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Washington, DC 20410; e-mail 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-8048.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Willie Spearmon, Office of Multifamily 
Housing Programs, Office of Housing, Department of Housing and Urban 
Development, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 6134, Washington, DC 20410-8000; 
telephone 202-708-3000 (this is not a toll-free number). Dina Elani, 
Office of Public and Indian Housing, 451 7th Street, SW., Room 4224, 
Washington, DC 20410-4000; telephone number 202-402-2071 (this is not a 
toll-free number). Persons with hearing or speech disabilities may 
access both numbers through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal 
Information Relay Service at 800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Section 644 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 
(42 U.S.C. 13604) imposed on HUD the obligation to require housing 
providers participating in federally assisted housing to provide any 
individual or family applying for occupancy in HUD-assisted housing 
with the option to include in the application for occupancy the name, 
address, telephone number, and other relevant information of a family 
member, friend, or person associated with a social, health, advocacy, 
or similar organization. The federally assisted housing programs 
covered by this notice are listed in the matrix that accompanies this 
notice.
    The objective of providing such information, if the information is 
provided, and if the applicant becomes a tenant, is to facilitate 
contact by the housing provider with the person or organization 
identified by the tenant, to assist in providing any delivery of

[[Page 4049]]

services or special care to the tenant and assist with resolving any 
tenancy issues arising during the tenancy of such tenant. This 
supplemental application information is to be maintained by the housing 
provider and maintained as confidential information.
    While this statutory requirement to notify applicants for occupancy 
in HUD-assisted housing of the option of providing such information is 
a long-standing one, HUD has discovered that applicants are not being 
consistently notified of the option to provide this information. 
Accordingly, HUD has determined that the best way to ensure that 
providers of federally assisted housing comply with this requirement is 
to require compliance through utilization of a standard form for 
housing providers to give to each applicant for occupancy that notifies 
them of their option to provide the information specified in section 
644 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, and provides 
for the information to be submitted. The standard form that HUD 
proposes for housing providers to use accompanies this notice.

II. Proposed Information Collection

    To facilitate compliance with section 644 of the Housing and 
Community Development Act of 1992, HUD has designed a form that housing 
providers are required to provide to each applicant for occupancy that 
(1) notifies an applicant of the applicant's option to provide the 
information specified in section 644 of the Housing and Community 
Development Act of 1992, (2) provides for the information to be 
submitted, and (3) advises of the confidentiality of the information 
included on the form. This notice provides a listing and description of 
that information, as well as a sample document (that is a sample of the 
document in which required information may be presented to HUD), and 
HUD is submitting the proposed information collection to OMB, as 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), 
and is seeking review as allowed by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995.
    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 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 the use of appropriate automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submission of responses.
    Title of Proposal: Supplemental and Optional Contact Information 
for HUD-Assisted Housing Occupants.
    OMB Control Number, if applicable: Pending.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: HUD 
is proposing this information collection to ensure compliance with 
section 644 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992, as 
discussed in section I of this notice.
    Agency form numbers, if applicable: HUD-Form 92006 (SAFAH).
    Frequency of Submission: Once with each application for occupancy 
in a HUD-assisted housing project, at the applicant's option.
    Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the 
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of 
response, and hours of response.

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                                                                                   Estimated
 Information to be collected is supplemental     Number of        Number of       average time      Estimated
 and optional contact information under the    respondents *    responses per   for requirement   annual burden
             following programs                                   respondent      (in minutes)      (in hours)
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Public Housing..............................           98,906                1              .15        14,835.90
Tenant-Based Rental Vouchers................          188,898                1              .15        28,334.70
Section 202 Project Rental Assistance                  17,852                1              .15         2,677.80
 Contracts (PRAC)...........................
Section 811 Project Rental Assistance                   5,968                1              .15           895.20
 Contracts (PRAC)...........................
Section 202/162 Project Assistance Contract               197                1              .15            29.55
 (PAC)......................................
Section 8 Project-Based.....................          230,910                1              .15        34,636.50
Section 236.................................            7,504                1              .15         1,125.60
Section 221(d)(3) Below Market Interest Rate              499                1              .15            74.85
 (BMIR).....................................
Rent Supplement.............................              831                1              .15           124.65
Rental Assistance Payment (RAP).............            1,143                1              .15           171.45
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    Totals..................................          552,708  ...............  ...............       82,906.20
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*Note: The number of respondents is the estimated number of total new admissions in the covered programs, and
  therefore the total number of potential respondents. However, not all newly admitted individuals and families
  may choose to complete Supplemental and Optional Contact Information for HUD-Assisted Housing Occupants.

    Status of the proposed information collection: Pending OMB 
approval.

    Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C., 
Chapter 35.

    Dated: January 13, 2009.
Ronald A. Spraker,
General Deputy Assistant, Secretary for Housing--General Deputy, 
Federal Housing Commissioner.
OMB Control  2502-xxxx
Exp. (xx/xx/xxxx)

Attachment A

Supplemental and Optional Contact Information for HUD-Assisted Housing 
Occupants

Supplement to Application for Federally Assisted Housing

This Form Is To Be Provided to Each Applicant for Federally Assisted 
Housing
    Applicant Name:
    Mailing Address:
    Telephone No:
    Optional Contact Person or Organization: You have the right by law 
to include, at your option and as part of your application for housing, 
the name, address, telephone number, and other relevant information of 
a family member, friend, or social, health, advocacy, or other 
organization. If you choose to exercise this option, please include the 
relevant information on this form.

[[Page 4050]]

    Name of Additional Contact Person or Organization:
    Relationship, if any, if individual is identified:
    Address:
    Telephone No:
    E-mail address (if applicable) or other contact information:
    Commitment of Housing Provider: If the applicant becomes a tenant 
of the federally assisted housing for which the applicant is providing, 
the information on this form shall be maintained during the period of 
the tenant's occupancy in federally assisted housing for the purpose of 
facilitating contact with such additional contact person or 
organization to assist in providing any services or special care for 
the tenant and to assist in resolving any relevant tenancy issues 
arising during the tenancy of such tenant.
    Confidentiality Statement: The information provided on this form is 
confidential information and will not be disclosed to anyone else 
except as permitted by the applicant or applicable law.
    Legal Notification: The option of an applicant to provide 
information regarding an additional contact person or organization is 
required to be offered to each applicant for federally assisted housing 
by section 644 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1992 
(Pub. L. 102-55, approved October 28, 1992). The housing provider 
accepting the applicant's application for assistance does not 
discriminate on the basis of race, sex, age, color, creed, religion, 
handicap, national origin, family composition or familial status in 
admission to, or participation in its federally assisted housing 
programs.
    The information collection requirements contained in this form were 
submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520). The public 
reporting burden is estimated at 15 minutes per response. In accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act, an agency may not conduct or sponsor, 
and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of 
information, unless the collection displays a currently valid OMB 
control number.

HUD-Form 92006
SAFAH

[FR Doc. E9-1165 Filed 1-21-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-67-P