Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1981

Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1981 - Title I: Community and Economic Development - Amends the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 to authorize combined appropriations for block grants for community development activities and urban development action grants for fiscal year 1982 and 1983.

Eliminates application requirements for block grants to metropolitan cities and urban counties. Directs any such city or county (entitlement community) and any State seeking a grant to submit to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: (1) a final statement on community development objectives and the projected use of funds; and (2) certifications that the grant will be administered in accordance with the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968 and that the projected use of funds gives priority to activities to benefit low and moderate income families or to prevent urban blight. Directs grantees to publish proposed grant statements for public comment, and to make the final statement available to the public.

Permits grants to be made to an entitlement community only if such community certifies that it is following a current housing assistance plan approved by the Secretary.

Requires grantees (entitlement communities and States) to submit performance reports. Directs the Secretary to review the performance of grantees annually to determine: (1) whether each entitlement community has carried out its activities, housing assistance plan, and certifications in a timely manner; and (2) whether each State grantee has distributed funds to local governments in a timely manner and conducted appropriate review of the performance of such local governments. Authorizes the Secretary to adjust, reduce, or withdraw grants to local governments on the basis of such reviews.

Directs State grantees to perform actions of the Secretary concerning the release of funds to units of local government to carry out the purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1974.

Provides grantees authority to receive grant payments in one lump sum to establish a revolving fund in a private institution to finance rehabilitation activities.

Eliminates certain restrictions on the use of block grant funds for the provision of public services not provided by a local government within the last 12 months. Authorizes the use of such funds for the provision of assistance to private, for-profit entities to carry out an economic development project. Limits to ten percent the amount of any grant which may be used for public service activities. Permits the Secretary to waive such limitation.

Revises the formula for the allocation of funds appropriated for community development block grants. Allocates 70 percent of such funds for entitlement communities and 30 percent of such funds to States for nonentitlement areas. Requires the reallocation of funds which are not received by an entitlement community for a fiscal year or which become available as a result of an adjustment of grant amounts following reviews according to the existing dual formula.

Requires that State allocations be distributed by the States to units of local government located in nonentitlement areas according to each State's final use projection.

Permits States to elect not to receive an allocation for fiscal year 1982, in which case the Secretary shall administer the allocation of funds for local governments in accordance with provisions existing prior to enactment of this Act.

Reduces the amounts of appropriations which may be set aside for the Secretary's discretionary fund for fiscal years 1982 and 1983. Eliminates uses of the fund for making grants for: (1) areawide community development programs; (2) disaster assistance; and (3) correcting inequities resulting from the block grant allocation formula.

Reduces the amount of appropriations authorized for urban development action grants for fiscal year 1982. Modifies the contents of grant applications to eliminate requirements for: (1) documentation of results in providing housing for persons of low and moderate income and in providing housing and employment for minorities; (2) an urban development action plan consistent with the community development program, the housing assistance plan, and the overall economic development plan of the area; and (3) preparation of a citizen participation plan and publication of information on fund availability and eligible activities. Revises grant selection criteria to include: (1) the extent to which the grant will stimulate economic recovery by leveraging private investment; (2) the number of jobs to be created; and (3) the extent to which State or local government funding has been committed.

Eliminates a requirement that the Secretary allocate such grants equally among programs to restore deteriorated neighborhoods, to retain real property for industrial purposes, and to renew commercial employment centers. Directs the Secretary to assure that the amount of any grant is the least necessary to make the project feasible. Prohibits the Secretary from making any such grant unless the applicant provides assurances that its program will be conducted in conformity with the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968.

Prohibits discrimination on the basis of age or with respect to a handicapped individual under any program or activity funded under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.

Extends the deadline for submission of the Secretary's annual report to Congress on activities under such Act.

Authorizes appropriations for fiscal year 1983 to carry out the urban homesteading program.

Repeals: (1) the Neighborhood Self-Help Development Act of 1978; (2) provisions of the Housing Act of 1954 governing comprehensive planning grants; (3) the rehabilitation loan program under the Housing Act of 1964; and (4) the weatherization assistance program under the Energy Conservation and Production Act.

Title II: Housing Assistance Programs - Increases the Secretary's annual contributions contract authority for low-income housing projects for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 and the corresponding budget authority. Requires the Secretary to allocate a specific portion of the additional contract authority for fiscal year 1982 for public housing modernization. Restricts the allocation of the remaining contract authority between existing and newly constructed or substantially rehabilitated units.

Authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 for operating subsidies for public housing projects.

Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 and the National Housing Act to establish the rent for housing units assisted under such Acts at the highest of: (1) 30 percent of the family's monthly adjusted income; (2) 10 percent of the family's monthly income; or (3) the portion of any welfare assistance designated for the family's housing costs.

Establishes uniform definitions for rental assistance programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Redefines the term "low income families" for purposes of the United States Housing Act of 1937 to exclude families whose incomes exceed 80 percent of the median area income. Requires that at least 30 percent (currently 20 percent) of the units available for initial occupancy in a public housing project in a fiscal year be occupied by very low income families.

Requires the Secretary to review the incomes of families living in public housing projects and rental housing projects designed for lower-income families annually (currently biennially).

Establishes the amount of monthly assistance payments to owners who provide housing for lower-income families as the difference between the maximum rent the owners may charge under terms of the assistance contract and the rent established for tenants of assisted units.

Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 to establish the rent supplement for units provided for lower-income tenants at the lesser of: (1) 70 percent of the fair market rent; or (2) the amount by which the fair market rent exceeds 30 percent (currently 25 percent) of the tenant's adjusted income. Provides for delayed application of such revised supplement where immediate application would violate existing leases or cause extraordinary hardship.

Amends the Housing and Community Development Amendments of 1978 to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 1982 and 1983 for operating assistance for troubled multifamily housing projects.

Authorizes the Secretary to utilize additional budget authority provided for contributions contracts under the United States Housing Act of 1937 for rent supplements under the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965.

Eliminates provisions authorizing only the public housing agency to evict a tenant in an assisted unit. Declares that the tenant's rights shall be determined by the lease and applicable State and local law.

Increases the mortgage purchase authority of the Government National Mortgage Association for fiscal year 1982.

Authorizes the Secretary to borrow from the U.S. Treasury such sums as may be necessary to finance the loan program for housing for the elderly and handicapped for fiscal year 1983.

Amends the National Housing Act to eliminate the requirement that the Secretary recapture assistance provided to a homeowner when the homeowner fails to make mortgage payments for 90 days or more.

Title III: Program Amendments and Extensions - Amends the National Housing Act to extend the Secretary's authority to insure loans for mortgages and home improvement. Extends the Secretary's authority to establish the maximum interest rates for certain mortgage insurance programs. Limits the maximum principal amount of loans and mortgages that the Secretary may insure under such Act in fiscal year 1982.

Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1970 to authorize appropriations for research for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in fiscal years 1982 and 1983.

Amends the National Housing Act to increase the amount of funds authorized to be appropriated to cover losses sustained by the General Insurance Fund. Increases the maximum amounts of property improvement loans eligible for Federal insurance with respect to existing single family structures or manufactured homes, apartment buildings or dwellings for two or more families, and historic structures. Provides for higher loans where financing of a solar energy system is involved. Increases maximum loan amounts for financing the purchase of single and multi-module manufactured homes and lots for such homes. Permits the Secretary to increase such amounts by a specified sum when necessary to meet higher area costs. Eliminates the distinction between an undeveloped and a developed lot. Increases the maximum loan terms for: (1) property improvement loans where installation of a solar energy system is involved; (2) loans to purchase single-module manufactured homes; and (3) historic preservation loans. Increases the maximum loan amount which the Secretary may insure in connection with a manufactured home park.

Amends the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 to authorize the Secretary to provide low and moderate income tenants with default and delinquency counseling.

Title IV: Multifamily Mortgage Foreclosure - Multifamily Mortgage Foreclosure Act of 1981 - Authorizes the Secretary to foreclose multifamily mortgages held by the Secretary encumbering real estate located in any State.

Sets forth procedures for the designation of a foreclosure commissioner or commissioners by the Secretary. Designates the Secretary as a guarantor of payment of any judgment against such commissioners.

Permits a foreclosure by the Secretary to commence upon the breach of a covenant or condition in the mortgage agreement for which foreclosure is authorized under such mortgage.

Specifies procedures for: (1) notice of default and foreclosure sale; (2) service of such notice; (3) presale reinstatement and cancellation of foreclosure; (4) conduct of a foreclosure sale; (5) disposition of foreclosure costs and sale proceeds; (6) transfer of title and possessions; and (7) recording the foreclosure and sale.

Authorizes the Secretary to require, as a condition and term of sale, that the purchaser at a foreclosure sale under this Act agree to the continued operation of the security property in accordance with the appropriate loan program.