[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 54 (Wednesday, March 20, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10320-10322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05303]


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

[Docket No. FR-7011-N-06]


30-Day Notice of Proposed Information Collection: 2019 American 
Housing Survey

AGENCY: Office of the Chief Information Officer, HUD.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: HUD is seeking approval from the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for the information collection described below. In 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, HUD is requesting comment 
from all interested parties on the proposed collection of information. 
The purpose of this notice

[[Page 10321]]

is to allow for 30 days of public comment.

DATES: Comments Due Date: April 19, 2019.

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: HUD Desk Officer, Office of 
Management and Budget, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 
20503; fax:202-395-5806, Email: OIRA [email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anna P. Guido, Reports Management 
Officer, QMAC, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th 
Street SW, Washington, DC 20410; email Anna P. Guido at 
[email protected] or telephone 202-402-5535. This is not a toll-free 
number. Person with hearing or speech impairments may access this 
number through TTY by calling the toll-free Federal Relay Service at 
(800) 877-8339. Copies of available documents submitted to OMB may be 
obtained from Ms. Guido.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice informs the public that HUD is 
seeking approval from OMB for the information collection described in 
Section A.
    The Federal Register notice that solicited public comment on the 
information collection for a period of 60 days was published on 
Tuesday, September 11, 2018 at 83 FR 45955.

A. Overview of Information Collection

    Title of Information Collection: 2019 American Housing Survey.
    OMB Approval Number: 2528-0017.
    Type of Request: Revision of a currently approved collection.
    Form Number: None.
    Description of the need for the information and proposed use: The 
purpose of the American Housing Survey (AHS) is to supply the public 
with detailed and timely information about housing quality, housing 
costs, and neighborhood assets, in support of effective housing policy, 
programs, and markets. Title 12, United States Code, Sections 1701Z-1, 
1701Z-2(g), and 1710Z-10a mandates the collection of this information.
    Like the previous surveys, the 2019 AHS will collect ``core'' data 
on subjects, such as the amount and types of changes in the housing 
inventory, the physical condition of the housing inventory, the 
characteristics of the occupants, housing costs for owners and renters, 
the persons eligible for and beneficiaries of assisted housing, 
remodeling and repair frequency, reasons for moving, the number and 
characteristics of vacancies, and characteristics of resident's 
neighborhood. In addition to the ``core'' data, HUD plans to collect 
supplemental data on post-secondary education, modifications made to 
assist occupants living with disabilities, and information on people's 
concerns regarding the availability and affordability of food.
    The AHS national longitudinal sample consists of approximately 
85,200 housing units, and includes oversample from the largest 15 
metropolitan areas, and approximately 5,200 HUD-assisted housing units. 
In addition to the national longitudinal sample, HUD plans to conduct 
10 additional metropolitan area longitudinal samples, each with 
approximately 3,000 housing units (for a total 30,000 metropolitan area 
housing units). The 10 additional metropolitan area longitudinal 
samples were last surveyed in 2015.
    To help reduce respondent burden on households in the longitudinal 
sample, the 2019 AHS will make use of dependent interviewing 
techniques, which will decrease the number of questions asked. Policy 
analysts, program managers, budget analysts, and Congressional staff 
use AHS data to advise executive and legislative branches about housing 
conditions and the suitability of public policy initiatives. Academic 
researchers and private organizations also use AHS data in efforts of 
specific interest and concern to their respective communities.
    HUD needs the AHS data for two important uses.
    1. With the data, policy analysts can monitor the interaction among 
housing needs, demand and supply, as well as changes in housing 
conditions and costs, to aid in the development of housing policies and 
the design of housing programs appropriate for different target groups, 
such as first-time home buyers and the elderly.
    2. With the data, HUD can evaluate, monitor, and design HUD 
programs to improve efficiency and effectiveness.
    In addition to the core 2019 AHS, HUD plans to collect supplemental 
data on housing insecurity in a follow-on survey to the AHS. Housing 
insecurity is defined as a significant lapse for a given household of 
one or more elements of secure housing. These elements include 
affordability, stable occupancy, and whether the housing is decent and 
safe. ``Affordability'' implies that shelter costs are manageable over 
the long term without severely burdening or compromising other 
consumption that normally is essential for health and well-being. The 
second element, ``stable occupancy'', implies that the household does 
not face substantial risk of involuntary displacement for economic or 
non-economic reasons. The final element, ``decent and safe'', implies 
that a unit has physical attributes that satisfy functional needs for 
well-being related to health, security, and support for activities of 
daily living. Such attributes include appropriate facilities for 
excluding external threats, providing climate control, storing and 
preparing food, maintaining physical and mental hygiene, and developing 
human potential. Not included are aspects of the neighborhood or 
environment that one encounters beyond the confines of the structure or 
property.
    HUD plans to conduct the Housing Insecurity Follow-On survey 
concurrently with the 2019 AHS. Respondents who meet certain criteria 
based on their responses to the 2019 AHS will be recruited at the end 
of the production questionnaire and offered an incentive of $40 to 
participate. Of the respondents who agree to participate in the follow-
on survey, a total of 4,000 responses will be collected via telephone. 
Once the follow-on interview has been completed, respondents will 
receive the incentive for their participation. Data collected from this 
follow-on survey will be used for research and scale development 
purposes.
    HUD needs the AHS Housing Insecurity Follow-On data for two 
important uses. With the data: 1. HUD can evaluate the feasibility of 
collecting data on housing insecurity and better define housing 
insecurity.
    2. HUD can measure the quality of the questions asked regarding 
housing insecurity and develop a composite housing insecurity scale.
    HUD intends to test the use of incentives to reduce non-response 
bias in the AHS. The proposed incentive project will test whether 
offering incentives in geographic areas with a high risk of non-
response can successfully increase responses from communities that 
would otherwise be underrepresented, resulting in lower non-response 
bias. Conditions will be compared to determine sensitivity to the 
amount of the incentive in motivating response compared to a no-
incentive control.
    The incentive project will address the following research 
questions:
    1. Can incentives reduce non-response bias in the AHS?
    2. Where is the inflection point for diminishing marginal returns 
for monetary incentives?

[[Page 10322]]

    3. What are the long-term effects of introducing incentives into a 
panel survey?

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                                             Number of     Frequency of   Responses  per    Burden hour   Annual  burden    Hourly cost
         Information collection             respondents      response          annum       per response        hours       per response     Annual cost
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                                                                       Regular AHS
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Occupied Interviews.....................       79,958.00            1.00       79,958.00             .66       52,772.00           $0.00           $0.00
Vacant Interviews.......................       11,793.00            1.00       11,793.00             .33        3,892.00            0.00            0.00
Non-interviews..........................       22,388.00            1.00       22,388.00             .00            0.00            0.00            0.00
Ineligible..............................        3,398.00            1.00        3,398.00             .00            0.00            0.00            0.00
subtotal................................      117,537.00            1.00      117,537.00             .00             .00            0.00            0.00
Re-interviews...........................        8,400.00            1.00        8,400.00             .17        1,428.00            0.00            0.00
Regular AHS sub-total...................      125,937.00  ..............      125,937.00  ..............       58,092.00  ..............  ..............
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                                                      Housing Insecurity Research Module Follow-On
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Occupied Interviews.....................        4,000.00            1.00        4,000.00             .20          800.00            0.00            0.00
Non-interviews..........................            0.00            0.00            0.00             .00            0.00            0.00            0.00
Ineligible..............................            0.00            0.00            0.00             .00            0.00            0.00            0.00
Follow-on sub-total.....................        4,000.00  ..............        4,000.00  ..............          800.00  ..............  ..............
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    Final Total.........................      129,937.00  ..............  ..............  ..............       58,892.00  ..............            0.00
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B. Solicitation of Public Comment

    This notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and 
affected parties concerning the collection of information described in 
Section A on the following:
    (1) 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) The accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the 
proposed collection of information;
    (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
    (4) Ways to 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.
    HUD encourages interested parties to submit comment in response to 
these questions.

    Authority:  Section 3507 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 
44 U.S.C. Chapter 35.

    Dated: March 6, 2019.
Anna P. Guido,
Department Reports Management Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-05303 Filed 3-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4210-67-P