(a)-(d) [Reserved]

(e) Section 23 policies for units planned for conversion on or before September 30, 1981. (1) PHAs shall not enter into new leases with owners for additional units nor shall they renew or extend leases with owners except consistent with the conversion schedules.

(2) Subject to the rights of families under existing leases, PHAs may continue to lease units to families under Section 23 only on a month-to-month basis.

(3) PHAs shall conduct annual inspections of all units to determine whether the units are decent, safe and sanitary.

(4) PHAs shall certify with their requisitions to HUD for payments under the ACC that the units are decent, safe and sanitary, or the PHA shall furnish HUD with a report of the nature of the deficiencies of the units which are not so certified. If an owner's units are not decent, safe and sanitary.

(i) Where the owner is responsible under the terms of the lease for correcting the deficiencies, the PHA shall send the owner written notification requiring the owner to take specified corrective action within a specified time. The notification shall also state that, if the owner fails to comply, rent payments will be suspended. If the owner fails to comply with the first notification, he shall be notified by the PHA of the noncompliance and rent payments shall be suspended immediately. In the event of such suspension of rent payments, the PHA shall requisition a correspondingly lower ACC payment.

(ii) Where the PHA is responsible under the terms of the lease for correcting the deficiencies, the Field Office shall send written notification requiring the PHA to take specified corrective action within a specified time. The notification shall also state that, if the PHA fails to comply, HUD will make reduced payments to the PHA only in the amount of the rent due the owner. If the PHA fails to comply with the first notification, the PHA shall be notified of the noncompliance, and the PHA shall not receive any fees for performing management functions until the PHA has complied with the Field Office request and has corrected the noted deficiencies.

(f) [Reserved]

(g) Section 23 policies for units not planned to be converted. (1) PHAs shall not enter into new leases with owners for additional units nor shall they renew or extend leases with owners for more than one year.

(2) The provisions contained in paragraphs (e) (3) and (4) of this section shall apply.

(h) Request for rent increases. An owner may submit to the PHA a request for rent increase because of increases in operating cost, when the rents to the owner, after adjustments based on provisions in the lease, are insufficient to provide decent, safe and sanitary housing. Such a request shall be supported by an audited financial statement, and the data shall clearly show that failure to obtain additional revenue will result in deterioriation of units and loss of decent, safe and sanitary housing for low-income families. The PHA shall inspect the units to determine whether the units are decent, safe and sanitary. Where the need for an adjustment under this paragraph is shown:

(1) Subject to available contract authority and prior approval by the HUD Field Office, the PHA may grant an adjustment to the extent documented and justified for those items of expenses (excluding debt service) for which the owner is responsible under the lease.

(2) The amount of the adjustment must be reasonable when compared with similar items under the Section 8 Existing Housing program.

(3) The adjusted amount for expenses shall not exceed the result of applying the appropriate Section 8 Existing Housing Annual Adjustment Factor (24 CFR part 888) most recently published by HUD in the Federal Register to the appropriate expense base in effect under the lease prior to this adjustment.

(4) The adjustment shall not be retroactive to pay for costs that the owner had previously incurred.

(5) The adjustment shall be effective for a period not to exceed one year.