HUD Handbook 7465.1 § 6-4

a.   POLICY - General

         (1)   PHAs must make a distinction between disaster
               victims who would qualify for public housing and
               those who would not. The former can be admitted
               as public housing tenants. The latter are
               sometimes given shelter for the duration of the
               emergency but do not become public housing
               tenants.

         (2)   Neither the PHA nor HUD can waive the statutory
               requirement that only lower income families can be
               admitted as public housing tenants.

    b.   POLICY - Disaster victims who would qualify for public
         housing

         (1)   If the PHA does not already have a selection
               preference that would include disaster victims,
               the PHA could adopt such a preference.

         (2)   The PHA would add the names of the disaster
               victims who are interested in admission to public
               housing and who would qualify for the program to
               the waiting list.

         (3)   The PHA could admit disaster victims ahead of
               other applicants on the waiting list only if the
               PHA's preference for disaster victims, and any
               other preferences the disaster victims might have,
               were high enough to give them priority for
               admission over other applicants.

         (4)   The PHA must always give applicants on the waiting
               list, whether disaster victims or not, a priority
               for vacant, habitable units over disaster victims
               who are not qualified for public housing.

    c.   POLICY - Disaster victims who would NOT qualify for
         public housing

         (1)   In responding to a disaster, PHAs have sometimes
               used available space such as community areas,
               warehouse and storage space, and vacant units to
               meet the immediate shelter needs of those affected
               by the disaster, regardless of their eligibility
               for public housing. This does not constitute an
               admission.

         (2)   PHAs may use public housing units as temporary
               shelters only for the duration of the emergency.

d.      DISCUSSION - General

            (1)   If it is a Federally-declared disaster, the PHA
                  should coordinate its efforts with the Federal
                  Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) team sent to
                  help with relief.

            (2)   If it is not a Federally-declared disaster, the
                  PHA should coordinate its efforts with the state
                  and local emergency organizations or with private
                  relief organizations such as the Red Cross.

    e.      DISCUSSION - Disaster victims who would qualify for
            public housing

            (1)   In deciding how high a selection preference to
                  give disaster victims, the PHA should balance the
                  needs of the disaster victims with the needs of
                  its other applicants, some of whom may have been
                  on the waiting list for quite some time.

            (2)   A PHA which has a selection preference for
                  applicants who are displaced or have an emergency
                  need should determine whether disaster victims
                  would already be covered under those categories.
                  Unless the PHA's admission policies provided for
                  it, the PHA could not give the disaster victims a
                  higher priority based on being displaced or having
                  an emergency need than they would other applicants
                  who were displaced or had an emergency need.

            (3)   PHAs should remember that single persons who are
                  displaced by a Federally-declared disaster are
                  considered a "family" for eligibility purposes.

            (4)   The disaster victims could apply directly to the
                  PHA or be referred to the PHA through a Federal,
                  state, local, or private emergency organization.

            (5)   In responding to a disaster, the PHA might need to
                  process applications, determine eligibility, and
                  admit applicants - all at an especially rapid
                  pace. A complete verification of income and
                  determination of suitability for tenancy could
                  probably not occur until after the family moved
                  in.

            (6)   The family would be charged a rent based on HUD
                  regulations.

            (7)   Once the verification and evaluation were
                  satisfactorily completed, the PHA would sign a

                lease directly with the family, making them public
                housing tenants.

f.   HUD RESPONSIBILITY

            Each HUD regional office has an emergency coordinator
            who is responsible for advising the other HUD offices
            and PHAs about the procedures to follow in dealing with
            a particular disaster.

       g.   REFERENCES

            U.S. Housing Act of 1937, Section 3(a)

            Handbook 3200.2 REV-2, Disaster Response and Assistance

            Annual Contributions Contract