U.S. Code of Federal Regulations

Regulations most recently checked for updates: Oct 09, 2024

§ 570.3 - Definitions.

The terms Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing, HUD, and Secretary are defined in 24 CFR part 5. All of the following definitions in this section that rely on data from the United States Bureau of the Census shall rely upon the data available from the latest decennial census or the American Community Survey.

Act means title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).

Age of housing means the number of year-round housing units, as further defined in section 102(a)(11) of the Act.

Applicant means a State or unit of general local government that makes application pursuant to the provisions of subpart E, F, G or M.

Buildings for the general conduct of government shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(21) of the Act.

CDBG funds means Community Development Block Grant funds, including funds received in the form of grants under subpart D, F, or § 570.405 of this part, funds awarded under section 108(q) of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, loans guaranteed under subpart M of this part, urban renewal surplus grant funds, and program income as defined in § 570.500(a).

Chief executive officer of a State or unit of general local government means the elected official or the legally designated official, who has the primary responsibility for the conduct of that entity's governmental affairs. Examples of the “chief executive officer” of a unit of general local government are: the elected mayor of a municipality; the elected county executive of a county; the chairperson of a county commission or board in a county that has no elected county executive; and the official designated pursuant to law by the governing body of a unit of general local government.

City means the following:

(1) For purposes of Entitlement Community Development Block Grant and Urban Development Action Grant eligibility:

(i) Any unit of general local government that is classified as a municipality by the United States Bureau of the Census, or

(ii) Any other unit of general local government that is a town or township and that, in the determination of the Secretary:

(A) Possesses powers and performs functions comparable to those associated with municipalities;

(B) Is closely settled (except that the Secretary may reduce or waive this requirement on a case by case basis for the purposes of the Action Grant program); and

(C) Contains within its boundaries no incorporated places as defined by the United States Bureau of the Census that have not entered into cooperation agreements with the town or township for a period covering at least 3 years to undertake or assist in the undertaking of essential community development and housing assistance activities. The determination of eligibility of a town or township to qualify as a city will be based on information available from the United States Bureau of the Census and information provided by the town or township and its included units of general local government.

(2) For purposes of Urban Development Action Grant eligibility only, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the counties of Kauai, Maui, and Hawaii in the State of Hawaii, and Indian tribes that are eligible recipients under the State and Local Government Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972 and located on reservations in Oklahoma as determined by the Secretary of the Interior or in Alaskan Native Villages.

Community Development Financial Institution has the same meaning as used in the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 (12 U.S.C. 4701 note).

Consolidated plan. The plan prepared in accordance with 24 CFR part 91, which describes needs, resources, priorities and proposed activities to be undertaken with respect to HUD programs, including the CDBG program. An approved consolidated plan means a consolidated plan that has been approved by HUD in accordance with 24 CFR part 91.

Discretionary grant means a grant made from the various Special Purpose Grants in accordance with subpart E of this part.

Entitlement amount means the amount of funds which a metropolitan city or urban county is entitled to receive under the Entitlement grant program, as determined by formula set forth in section 106 of the Act

Extent of growth lag shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(12) of the Act.

Extent of housing overcrowding shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(10) of the Act.

Extent of poverty means the number of persons whose incomes are below the poverty level based on data compiled and published by the United States Bureau of the Census available from the latest census referable to the same point or period in time and the latest reports from the Office of Management and Budget. For purposes of this part, the Secretary has determined that it is neither feasible nor appropriate to make adjustments at this time in the computations of “extent of poverty” for regional or area variations in income and cost of living.

Family refers to the definition of “family” in 24 CFR 5.403.

Household means all persons occupying a housing unit. The occupants may be a family, as defined in 24 CFR 5.403; two or more families living together; or any other group of related or unrelated persons who share living arrangements, regardless of actual or perceived, sexual orientation, gender identity, or marital status.

Income. For the purpose of determining whether a family or household is low- and moderate-income under subpart C of this part, grantees may select any of the three definitions listed below for each activity, except that integrally related activities of the same type and qualifying under the same paragraph of § 570.208(a) shall use the same definition of income. The option to choose a definition does not apply to activities that qualify under § 570.208(a)(1) (Area benefit activities), except when the recipient carries out a survey under § 570.208(a)(1)(vi). Activities qualifying under § 570.208(a)(1) generally must use the area income data supplied to recipients by HUD. The three definitions are as follows:

(1)(i) “Annual income” as defined under the Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments program at 24 CFR 5.609 (except that if the CDBG assistance being provided is homeowner rehabilitation under § 570.202, the value of the homeowner's primary residence may be excluded from any calculation of Net Family Assets); or

(ii) Annual income as reported under the Census long-form for the most recent available decennial Census. This definition includes:

(A) Wages, salaries, tips, commissions, etc.;

(B) Self-employment income from own nonfarm business, including proprietorships and partnerships;

(C) Farm self-employment income;

(D) Interest, dividends, net rental income, or income from estates or trusts;

(E) Social Security or railroad retirement;

(F) Supplemental Security Income, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, or other public assistance or public welfare programs;

(G) Retirement, survivor, or disability pensions; and

(H) Any other sources of income received regularly, including Veterans' (VA) payments, unemployment compensation, and alimony; or

(iii) Adjusted gross income as defined for purposes of reporting under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Form 1040 for individual Federal annual income tax purposes.

(2) Estimate the annual income of a family or household by projecting the prevailing rate of income of each person at the time assistance is provided for the individual, family, or household (as applicable). Estimated annual income shall include income from all family or household members, as applicable. Income or asset enhancement derived from the CDBG-assisted activity shall not be considered in calculating estimated annual income.

Insular area shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(24) of the Act.

Low- and moderate-income household means a household having an income equal to or less than the Section 8 low-income limit established by HUD.

Low- and moderate-income person means a member of a family having an income equal to or less than the Section 8 low-income limit established by HUD. Unrelated individuals will be considered as one-person families for this purpose.

Low-income household means a household having an income equal to or less than the Section 8 very low-income limit established by HUD.

Low-income person means a member of a family that has an income equal to or less than the Section 8 very low-income limit established by HUD. Unrelated individuals shall be considered as one-person families for this purpose.

Metropolitan area shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(3) of the Act.

Metropolitan city shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(4) of the Act except that the term “central city” is replaced by “principal city.”

Microenterprise shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(22) of the Act.

Moderate-income household means a household having an income equal to or less than the Section 8 low-income limit and greater than the Section 8 very low-income limit, established by HUD.

Moderate-income person means a member of a family that has an income equal to or less than the Section 8 low-income limit and greater than the Section 8 very low-income limit, established by HUD. Unrelated individuals shall be considered as one-person families for this purpose.

Nonentitlement amount means the amount of funds which is allocated for use in a State's nonentitlement areas as determined by formula set forth in section 106 of the Act.

Nonentitlement area shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(7) of the Act.

Origin year means the specific Federal fiscal year during which the annual grant funds were appropriated.

Population means the total resident population based on data compiled and published by the United States Bureau of the Census available from the latest census or which has been upgraded by the Bureau to reflect the changes resulting from the Boundary and Annexation Survey, new incorporations and consolidations of governments pursuant to § 570.4, and which reflects, where applicable, changes resulting from the Bureau's latest population determination through its estimating technique using natural changes (birth and death) and net migration, and is referable to the same point or period in time.

Small business means a business that meets the criteria set forth in section 3(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 631,636,637.

State shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(2) of the Act.

Unit of general local government shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(1) of the Act.

Urban county shall have the meaning provided in section 102(a)(6) of the Act. For the purposes of this definition, HUD will determine whether the county's combined population contains the required percentage of low- and moderate-income persons by identifying the number of persons that resided in applicable areas and units of general local government based on data from the most recent decennial census, and using income limits that would have applied for the year in which that census was taken.

Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) means a grant made by the Secretary pursuant to section 119 of the Act and subpart G of this part.

[53 FR 34437, Sept. 6, 1988; 53 FR 41330, Oct. 21, 1988, as amended at 56 FR 56126, Oct. 31, 1991; 60 FR 1915, 1943, Jan. 5, 1995; 60 FR 56909, Nov. 9, 1995; 61 FR 5209, Feb. 9, 1996; 61 FR 11475, Mar. 20, 1996; 61 FR 18674, Apr. 29, 1996; 68 FR 69582, Dec. 12, 2003; 69 FR 32778, June 10, 2004; 77 FR 5675, Feb. 3, 2012; 80 FR 42366, July 16, 2015; 80 FR 69870, Nov. 12, 2015; 85 FR 47910, Aug. 7, 2020; 88 FR 9665, Feb. 14, 2023]