[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 208 (Thursday, October 28, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58081-58082]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-28250]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
[Docket No. FR-4541-N-02]
Notice of Proposed Information Collection: Comment Request
Implementation of the Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995
AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal
Opportunity, HUD.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: the proposed information collection requirement established
under the final rule implementing the Housing for Older Persons Act of
1995 (HOPA) will be submitted to the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act. The
Department is soliciting public comments on the information collection
requirement.
DATES: Comments Due Date: December 27, 1999.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments regarding
this proposed information collection requirement. Comments should refer
to the proposal by name and/or OMB Control Number and should be sent
to: Turner Russell, Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451
7th Street, SW, Room 5210, Washington, DC 20410.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Juan E. Milanes, Acting Director,
Office of Enforcement, Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity,
Room 5206, 451 Seventh Street, SW, Washington, DC 20410, telephone:
(202) 707-0836 (this is not a toll-free number). Hearing or speech-
impaired individuals may access this number via TTY by calling the
toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8399.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department is submitting the proposed
information collection requirement to the OMB for review, as required
by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as
amended).
This Notice is soliciting comments from members of the public and
affecting agencies concerning the proposed collection of information
to: (1) Evaluate 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)
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
[[Page 58082]]
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.
Title of Regulation: 24 CFR Part 100, Implementation of the Housing
for Older Persons Act of 1995; final rule.
OMB Control Number, if applicable: 2529-0046.
Description of the need for the information and proposed use: In
The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 (the Act) [42 U.S.C. Sec. 3601
et seq.], Congress prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of
housing based on familial status (families with children under 18 years
of age). However, at Sec. 3607(b)(2) of the Act, Congress exempted 3
categories of ``housing for older persons'' from liability for familial
status discrimination: (1) housing provided under any State or program
which the Secretary of HUD determines is specifically designed and
operated to assist elderly persons; (2) housing intended for, and
solely occupied by, persons 62 years of age or older; and (3) housing
intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person 55 years of
age or older per until (``55 or older'' housing). In December 1995,
Congress passed the ``Housing for Older Persons Act of 1995 (HOPA)
[Public Law 104-76]. The HOPA modified the ``55 or older'' housing''
exemption provided under the Act by eliminating the requirement for
``significant facilities and services specifically designed to meet the
physical or social needs of older persons.'' The HOPA still requires
that at least 80 percent of the occupied units must be occupied by at
least one person who is 55 years of age or older; and that housing
providers must publish and adhere to policies and procedures that
demonstrate the intent to provide housing for persons 55 years of age
or older. In addition, the HOPA mandates compliance with ``rules issued
by the Secretary for verification of occupancy, which shall * * *
provide for [age] verification by reliable surveys and affidavits.''
The final rule does not significantly increase the record keeping
burden. It describes in greater detail the documentation that HUD will
consider when determining whether or not a community or facility
qualifies for the ``55 or older'' housing exemption. Further,
Sec. 100.305(e)(5) of the final rule provides a non-extendible one-year
transition period [May 3, 1999-May 3, 2000] for existing communities or
facilities that wish to qualify for the ``55 or older'' housing
exemption. An existing community or facility that fails to complete the
transition by the expiration of that period must stop reserving vacant
units for ``55 or older'' residents; market available housing to the
general public regardless of familial status; and rescind all policies,
practices, and procedures that discriminate against residents with
minor children. By definition, such communities would no longer need to
collect or maintain occupancy/age verification information for purposes
of the ``55 or older'' housing exemption.
The information collection requirements contained in Secs. 100.306
and 100.307 of the final rule are necessary to satisfy the criteria for
the ``55 or older'' housing exemption under the HOPA. The information
required under the Act, the HOPA, and the HOPA final rule will be
collected in the normal course of business in connection with the sale,
rental or occupancy of dwelling units within a ``55 or older'' hosing
community or facility. The statutory and regulatory requirement to
publish and adhere to age verification policies and procedures for
current and prospective occupants is the usual and customary practice
of the ``senior housing'' industry without regard to the requirements
of the Act or the HOPA. The procedures for verifying ages of current
residents may require an initial survey and periodic review and update
of existing records. The creation of such records should occur in the
normal course of sale of rental transactions and should require minimal
time.
Three types of information would be collected under the final rule.
The publication of a community's housing policies and procedures is not
confidential by nature of the fact that such policies and procedures
must be disclosed to current and prospective residents, and to
residential real estate professionals. The occupancy survey results
must be available for public inspection. The survey summary need not
contain confidential information because it may simply indicate the
total number of dwelling units occupied by persons 55 years of age or
older. The supporting age verification records may contain some private
information which would need not be disclosed unless the community or
facility claims the ``55 or older'' housing exemption as a defense to a
jurisdictional familial status discrimination complaint filed with HUD.
HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity will request
disclosure of this information by a housing provider when HUD
investigates a jurisdictional familial status discrimination complaint,
and the housing provider claims the ``55 or older'' housing exemption
as an affirmative defense to the complaint. Agency form number(s), if
applicable: None.
Members of affected public: Both the HOPA and the HOPA final rule
require that small businesses and other small entities that operate
housing intended for occupancy by persons 55 years of age or order to
routinely collect and update age verification information necessary to
meet the eligibility criteria for the ``55 or older'' housing
exemption. The record keeping requirements are the responsibility of
the housing provider that wishes to qualify for the exemption.
Estimation of the total numbers of hours needed to prepare the
information collection including number of respondents, frequency of
response, and hours of response: The information collection
requirements of the HOPA final rule are the responsibility of the
community or facility that claims eligibility for the ``55 or older''
housing exemption provided under the HOPA. Since the HOPA does not
require HUD certification or registration for ``55 or older''
communities or facilities, it is difficult to estimate the number of
communities or facilities that intend to collect this information in
order to qualify for the exemption. When the proposed rule was
published for public comment in January 1997, HUD estimated that
approximately 1,000 communities or facilities would seek the exemption.
HUD also estimated that the occupancy/age verification data would
require routine updating with each new housing transaction within the
community or facility, and that the number of such transactions per
year might vary significantly depending on the size and nature of the
community. HUD estimated the average number of housing transactions per
year at ``10 per community.'' HUD concluded that the publication of
policies and procedures ``* * * is likely to be a one-time event and in
most cases will require no additional burden beyond what is done in the
normal course of business. The estimated total annual burden for the
three collections is 5,500 hours.''
Status of the proposed information collection: Revision of a
currently approved collection.
Authority: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C.
Chapter 35, as amended.
Dated: October 21, 1999.
Juan E. Milanes,
Acting Director, Office of Enforcement.
[FR Doc. 99-28250 Filed 10-27-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4210-28-M