Public Housing: Housing Agency Officials Want More Flexibility in
Replacing Deteriorated Housing (Testimony, 03/22/94, GAO/T-RCED-94-159).

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classified more
than a dozen large public housing authorities (PHA) as "troubled"
because the public housing they manage is plagued with excessive vacancy
rates. Although public housing vacancy rates nationwide are eight
percent, troubled agencies average more than double that because many
deteriorated properties are unlivable and have no tenants. Until PHAs
can demolish or dispose of these properties, HUD continues to pay PHAs
large sums to prevent further deterioration. Housing agency officials
told GAO that a maze of interrelated constraints prevents them from
replacing worn out and often vacant or crime-ridden housing with livable
stock. These officials said that because of inflexible rules and red
tape, they spend millions of dollars on vacant properties and more money
to rehabilitate aging buildings than it would have cost to build new
ones. HUD officials characterized the process of public housing
replacement as gridlock. This testimony discusses (1) the one-for-one
replacement statute that requires replacing every demolished or disposed
of public housing unit with one meeting acceptable housing standards;
(2) site and neighborhood standards that seek to avoid
over-concentrations of minorities or persons receiving federal
assistance; and (3) HUD oversight of troubled housing agencies.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  T-RCED-94-159
     TITLE:  Public Housing: Housing Agency Officials Want More 
             Flexibility in Replacing Deteriorated Housing
      DATE:  03/22/94
   SUBJECT:  Public housing
             Declining neighborhoods
             Low income housing
             Housing construction
             Replacement housing
             Public assistance programs
             Housing programs
             Urban development programs
             Federal/state relations
             Municipal governments
IDENTIFIER:  HUD Section 8 Certificate Program
             HUD Public Housing Management Assessment Program
             
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