(a) Minimizing displacement. Consistent with the other goals and objectives of this part, recipients and subrecipients must ensure that they have taken all reasonable steps to minimize the displacement of persons (families, individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and farms) as a result of projects assisted under this part. “Project,” as used in this section, means any activity or series of activities assisted with Continuum of Care funds received or anticipated in any phase of an undertaking.

(b) Temporary relocation. (1) Existing Building Not Assisted under Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Act. No tenant may be required to relocate temporarily for a project if the building in which the project is being undertaken or will be undertaken is not currently assisted under Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Act. The absence of such assistance to the building means the tenants are not homeless and the tenants are therefore not eligible to receive assistance under the Continuum of Care program. When a tenant moves for such a project under conditions that cause the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (URA), 42 U.S.C. 4601-4655,to,the.

(2) Existing Transitional Housing or Permanent Housing Projects Assisted Under Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Act. Consistent with paragraph (c)(2)(ii) of this section, no program participant may be required to relocate temporarily for a project if the person cannot be offered a decent, safe, and sanitary unit in the same building or complex upon project completion under reasonable terms and conditions. The length of occupancy requirements in § 578.79 may prevent a program participant from returning to the property upon completion (See paragraph (c)(2)(iii)(D) of this section). Any program participant who has been temporarily relocated for a period beyond one year must be treated as permanently displaced and offered relocation assistance and payments consistent with paragraph (c) of this section. Program participants temporarily relocated in accordance with the policies described in this paragraph must be provided:

(i) Reimbursement for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the temporary relocation, including the cost of moving to and from the temporarily occupied housing and any increase in monthly rent/occupancy charges and utility costs; and

(ii) Appropriate advisory services, including reasonable advance written notice of:

(A) The date and approximate duration of the temporary relocation;

(B) The location of the suitable, decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling to be made available for the temporary period;

(C) The reasonable terms and conditions under which the program participant will be able to occupy a suitable, decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling in the building or complex upon completion of the project; and

(D) The provisions of paragraph (b)(2)(i) of this section.

(c) Relocation assistance for displaced persons. (1) In general. A displaced person (defined in paragraph (c)(2) of this section) must be provided relocation assistance in accordance with the requirements of the URA and implementing regulations at 49 CFR part 24. A displaced person must be advised of his or her rights under the Fair Housing Act. Whenever possible, minority persons must be given reasonable opportunities to relocate to decent, safe, and sanitary replacement dwellings, not located in an area of minority concentration, that are within their financial means. This policy, however, does not require providing a person a larger payment than is necessary to enable a person to relocate to a comparable replacement dwelling. See 49 CFR 24.205(c)(2)(ii)(D).

(2) Displaced person. (i) For the purposes of paragraph (c) of this section, the term “displaced person” means any person (family, individual, business, nonprofit organization, or farm) that moves from real property, or moves personal property from real property, permanently, as a direct result of acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition for a project. This includes any permanent, involuntary move for a project, including any permanent move from the real property that is made:

(A) After the owner (or person in control of the site) issues a notice to move permanently from the property, or refuses to renew an expiring lease, if the move occurs after the date of the submission by the recipient or subrecipient of an application for assistance to HUD (or the recipient, as applicable) that is later approved and funded and the recipient or subrecipient has site control as evidenced in accordance with § 578.25(b); or

(B) After the owner (or person in control of the site) issues a notice to move permanently from the property, or refuses to renew an expiring lease, if the move occurs after the date the recipient or subrecipient obtains site control, as evidenced in accordance with § 578.25(b), if that occurs after the application for assistance; or

(C) Before the date described under paragraph (c)(2)(i)(A) or (B) of this section, if the recipient or HUD determines that the displacement resulted directly from acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition for the project; or

(D) By a tenant of a building that is not assisted under Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Act, if the tenant moves after execution of the agreement covering the acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition of the property for the project; or

(ii) For the purposes of paragraph (c) of this section, the term “displaced person” means any person (family, individual, business, nonprofit organization, or farm) that moves from real property, or moves personal property from real property, permanently, as a direct result of acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition for a project. This includes any permanent, involuntary move for a project that is made by a program participant occupying transitional housing or permanent housing assisted under Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Act, if any one of the following three situations occurs:

(A) The program participant moves after execution of the agreement covering the acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition of the property for the project and is either not eligible to return upon project completion or the move occurs before the program participant is provided written notice offering the program participant an opportunity to occupy a suitable, decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling in the same building or complex upon project completion under reasonable terms and conditions. Such reasonable terms and conditions must include a lease (or occupancy agreement, as applicable) consistent with Continuum of Care program requirements, including a monthly rent or occupancy charge and monthly utility costs that does not exceed the maximum amounts established in § 578.77; or

(B) The program participant is required to relocate temporarily, does not return to the building or complex, and any one of the following situations occurs:

(1) The program participant is not offered payment for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the temporary relocation;

(2) The program participant is not eligible to return to the building or complex upon project completion; or

(3) Other conditions of the temporary relocation are not reasonable; or

(C) The program participant is required to move to another unit in the same building or complex, and any one of the following situations occurs:

(1) The program participant is not offered reimbursement for all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with the move;

(2) The program participant is not eligible to remain in the building or complex upon project completion; or

(3) Other conditions of the move are not reasonable.

(iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (c)(2)(i) or (ii) of this section, a person does not qualify as a “displaced person” if:

(A) The person has been evicted for serious or repeated violation of the terms and conditions of the lease or occupancy agreement; the eviction complied with applicable federal, State, or local requirements (see § 578.91); and the recipient or subrecipient determines that the eviction was not undertaken for the purpose of evading the obligation to provide relocation assistance;

(B) The person moved into the property after the submission of the application but, before signing a lease or occupancy agreement and commencing occupancy, was provided written notice of the project's possible impact on the person (e.g., the person may be displaced, temporarily relocated, or incur a rent increase) and the fact that the person would not qualify as a “displaced person” (or for any relocation assistance provided under this section), as a result of the project;

(C) The person is ineligible under 49 CFR 24.2(a)(9)(ii));

(D) The person is a program participant occupying transitional housing or permanent housing assisted under Title IV of the Act who must move as a direct result of the length-of- occupancy restriction under § 578.79; or

(E) HUD determines that the person was not displaced as a direct result of acquisition, rehabilitation, or demolition for the project.

(iv) The recipient may request, at any time, HUD's determination of whether a displacement is or would be covered under this section.

(3) Initiation of negotiations. For purposes of determining the formula for computing replacement housing payment assistance to be provided to a displaced person pursuant to this section, if the displacement is a direct result of privately undertaken rehabilitation, demolition, or acquisition of the real property, “initiation of negotiations” means the execution of the agreement between the recipient and the subrecipient, or between the recipient (or subrecipient, as applicable) and the person owning or controlling the property. In the case of an option contract to acquire property, the initiation of negotiations does not become effective until execution of a written agreement that creates a legally enforceable commitment to proceed with the purchase, such as a purchase agreement.

(d) Real property acquisition requirements. Except for acquisitions described in 49 CFR 24.101(b)(1) through (5), the URA and the requirements of 49 CFR part 24, subpart B apply to any acquisition of real property for a project where there are Continuum of Care funds in any part of the project costs.

(e) Appeals. A person who disagrees with the recipient's (or subrecipient's, if applicable) determination concerning whether the person qualifies as a displaced person, or the amount of relocation assistance for which the person is eligible, may file a written appeal of that determination with the recipient (see 49 CFR 24.10). A low-income person who is dissatisfied with the recipient's determination on his or her appeal may submit a written request for review of that determination to the local HUD field office.