La. Stat. Ann. § R.S. 40:439
Rental of housing and other property
Operative Text
§439. Rental of housing and other property Subject only to the limitations contained in R.S. 40:482 through 489, a local housing authority may: (1) Lease or rent any dwellings, facilities, or other real or personal property owned, controlled, or possessed by the authority, or with respect to which the authority has contractual rights permitting such lease or rental, for such terms, upon such conditions and lease terms and in exchange for such rentals as the authority may from time to time in its discretion determine. (2) Establish rents in such manner and in such amounts as the authority may deem appropriate, including but not limited to rents based upon family income, determined with such adjustments and exclusions as the authority deems appropriate, minimum rents, flat rents, graduated rents, rent ranges, and maximum rents, any of which may vary among the authority's developments. (3) Establish any other standards and conditions relating to rentals that the authority may deem appropriate.
Under La. R.S. § 40:439, local housing authorities in Louisiana are granted broad discretion to lease or rent property they own or control, set rent amounts using a wide variety of methods—such as income-based, flat, graduated, or tiered rents—and establish additional rental standards and conditions. These powers apply across all of an authority's housing developments and may differ from one development to another. The only limits on this authority come from the provisions found in R.S. 40:482 through 489.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers who partner with or operate under a local housing authority should be aware that La. R.S. § 40:439 gives those authorities significant flexibility in structuring lease terms, rent schedules, and rental conditions. Compliant operators typically align their lease agreements and rent structures with whatever rent methodology—income-based, flat, graduated, or otherwise—the authority has formally adopted for a given development. Staying current with any changes the authority makes to its rental standards is a routine part of operating within this framework.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
La. R.S. § 40:439 establishes that the local housing authority managing your development has wide latitude to set and adjust rents using methods such as income-based calculations, flat rents, or graduated schedules, subject to the constraints in R.S. 40:482–489. Tenants who believe a rent determination was made outside the authority's permitted methods or in violation of those limiting provisions may have grounds to raise that issue with the housing authority directly or through a tenant-rights organization. General information about how a specific authority calculates rents is typically available through that authority's administrative office or public records.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 20, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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