[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45809-45810]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15174]



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 Rules and Regulations
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents 
 having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed 
 to and codified in the Code of Federal Regulations, which is published 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 136 / Tuesday, July 18, 2023 / Rules 
and Regulations  

[[Page 45809]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service

7 CFR Part 3550

[Docket No. RHS-23-SFH-0017]


Single Family Housing Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in 
Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas Pilot Program

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notification.

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SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural 
Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture 
(USDA), is issuing this notification to waive four regulatory 
requirements for the Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in a 
Presidentially Declared Disaster Areas (PDDAs) pilot program. The 
Agency's intention is to evaluate the existing regulations and remove 
regulatory barriers to assist eligible applicants in PDDAs to improve 
the program usage for very-low-income homeowners that are seeking to 
repair their damaged homes that are in PDDAs. This notification briefly 
discusses the four waivers and provides contact information for 
additional details about the pilot.

DATES: The effective date for the four regulatory waivers is July 18, 
2023. The duration of the pilot is anticipated to continue until July 
18, 2025.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anthony Williams, Management and 
Program Analyst, Special Programs, Single Family Housing Direct Loan 
Division, Rural Development,1400 Independence Ave., Washington, DC 
20250, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Email: 
[email protected]; Phone: (202) 720-9649.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Authority

    The RHS Single Family Housing Direct Loan Division program 
administers the Section 504 Loans and Grants program under the 
authority of the Title V, Section 504(a), of the Housing Act of 1949, 
as amended 42 U.S.C. 1474; and implemented under 7 CFR part 3550. As 
set forth in 7 CFR 3550.7, RHS may authorize limited demonstration 
programs to test new approaches to offering housing under the statutory 
authority granted to the Secretary. Such demonstration programs may not 
be consistent with some of the provisions contained in this part. 
However, any program requirements that are statutory will remain in 
effect.

Background

    The RHS offers a variety of programs to build or improve housing 
and essential community facilities in rural areas. RHS offers loans, 
grants, and loan guarantees for single and multifamily housing, child-
care centers, fire and police stations, hospitals, libraries, nursing 
homes, schools, first responder vehicles and equipment, housing for 
farm laborers, and much more. RHS also provides technical assistance 
loans and grants in partnership with non-profit organizations, Indian 
tribes, state and federal government agencies, and local communities.
    The RHS administers the Section 504 Loan and Grant program with the 
objective to assist very low-income owner-occupants of modest single-
family homes in rural areas to repair their homes. Loan funds are 
available for repairs to improve or modernize a home, make it safer or 
more sanitary, or remove health and safety hazards. For homeowners 62 
years old and over who cannot repay a loan, grant funds are available 
to remove health or safety hazards, or remodel dwellings to make them 
accessible to a household member with a disability.
    The following twenty-four (24) States and U.S. Territories are 
selected based on presidentially declared disasters in calendar year 
2022, involvement in the Rural Partners Network, and to provide wide 
geographic and historic production variation for the pilot: Alabama, 
Alaska, American Samoa, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, 
Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Carolina, North Dakota, 
Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, South 
Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

New Section 504 Pilot Regulatory Waivers

    RHS has determined that the following four waivers are to be tested 
under the new pilot (demonstration) program for the Single-Family 
Housing Section 504 Home Repair Loans and Grants in PDDAs, under the 
waiver authority provided at 7 CFR 3550.7:
     The first waiver is for pilot applicants not to be subject 
to the age requirement, with an exception to the requirement that 
applicants at least 18 years of age or older, to be eligible to apply 
for grants. The current regulation states that to be eligible for grant 
assistance, an applicant must be 62 years of age or older at the time 
of application (see, 7 CFR 3550.103(b)).
     The second waiver is for pilot applicants not to be 
subject to the restricted use of Section 504 funds (see, 7 CFR 
3550.102(e)(5)) which excludes refinancing any debt or obligation of 
the applicant incurred before the date of application, except for the 
installation and assessment costs of utilities. With an exception to 
this requirement, repair costs that are incurred mainly as a result of 
disaster-related damages could be covered by the 504 programs, which 
traditionally excludes pre-application costs. Repairs necessitated by 
disaster events are often emergency in nature, and program applicants 
incur the costs prior to their 504 application. An exception to this 
requirement will enable applicants to repair disaster-caused damages 
and address other needed repairs.
     The third and fourth waivers are mainly in place to 
coordinate efforts with Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) 
Individual Assistance Program to provide manufactured homes as 
replacement housing in PDDAs:
    a. Pilot applicants are not subject to the restricted use of 
Section 504 funds found at 7 CFR 3550.102(e)(3), which excludes the 
cost of moving a mobile or manufactured home from one site to another;
    b. Applicants in need of total home replacement after a disaster 
often need funding for the delivery of a mobile or manufactured home.
    This waiver will permit Section 504 funding to pay this expense and 
be leveraged in replacement housing efforts. Pilot applicants are not 
subject to the same occupancy guidelines in 7

[[Page 45810]]

CFR 3550.103(a), which states, applicants must, `own and occupy the 
property' to be eligible for the Section 504 program. The pilot removes 
this guideline when the applicant owns the site and will occupy the 
unit once installed or a permanent housing solution on the applicant's 
site is anticipated within 12 months from the date of closing. This 
will enable applicants affected by the disaster who are anticipated to 
become current owners and occupiers of the property to receive 
assistance without meeting the stipulation upfront.
    The duration of the pilot is anticipated to continue until July 18, 
2025, at which time the RHS may extend the pilot program (with or 
without modifications) or terminate it depending on the workload and 
resources needed to administer the program, feedback from the public, 
and the effectiveness of the program. If the pilot program is extended 
or terminated, the RHS will notify the public by publishing a notice in 
the Federal Register. After RHS analyzes the findings from the results 
of the program, if the RHS concludes that the testing was successful, 
it will codify the waivers into 7 CFR part 3550 to be applied 
programwide.

Eligibility Requirements

    Eligible participants in the Section 504 program must abide by the 
statutory requirements set forth in 7 CFR part 3550. Eligible PDDAs 
(individual and public assistance) can be found on the FEMA website at: 
https://www.fema.gov/disaster/declarations.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The regulatory waivers for this pilot contains no new reporting or 
recordkeeping burdens under OMB control number 0575-0172 that would 
require approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
Chapter 35).

Non-Discrimination Statement

    In accordance with Federal civil rights laws and USDA civil rights 
regulations and policies, the USDA, its mission areas, agencies, staff 
offices, employees, and institutions participating in or administering 
USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, 
national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender 
expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, 
family/parental status, income derived from a public assistance 
program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil 
rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA 
(not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing 
deadlines vary by program or incident.
    Program information may be made available in languages other than 
English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of 
communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large 
print, audiotape, American Sign Language) should contact the 
responsible Mission Area, agency, staff office; the or the Federal 
Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, a complainant should 
complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, 
which can be obtained online at https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf, from any USDA office, by calling (866) 
632-9992, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must 
contain the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and a 
written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient 
detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights about the 
nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation.
    The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to USDA by:
    (1) Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant 
Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 
20250-9410; or
    (2) Fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
    (3) Email: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Cathy Glover,
Acting Administrator, Rural Housing Service, Rural Development, USDA.
[FR Doc. 2023-15174 Filed 7-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-XV-P