§4103 Definitions

Summary

Gives plain meanings for the important words used in the chapter. Adjusted income — the yearly household income after allowed deductions like $480 for certain youth, students, or disabled household members (not including the head or spouse), $400 for an elderly or disabled family, medical and attendant costs that exceed 3 percent of annual income, child care needed for work or school, earned money of children under 18, travel costs up to $25 per family per week for work or school, and any other amounts the tribe’s housing plan allows. Affordable housing — housing that meets the rules in subchapter II, including permanent homes for homeless people with disabilities, transitional housing, and single-room occupancy. Drug-related criminal activity — illegal manufacture, sale, distribution, use, or possession with intent involving a controlled substance (see 21 U.S.C. 802). Elderly family / near-elderly family — families whose head, spouse, or only member is elderly or near-elderly, including groups of such persons or those living with people the tribe’s housing plan says are essential to their care. Elderly person — age 62 or older. Family — any household, with or without children, including elderly, near-elderly, disabled families, or a single person. Grant beneficiary — the Indian tribe(s) the grant is for. Housing related community development — facilities or projects owned by a tribe or its housing entity that are needed for housing in an Indian area and that lower construction cost, make housing more affordable or accessible, or further the chapter’s goals; this does not include activities under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. Income — all household members’ income as the Secretary of HUD decides, except amounts not actually received, items excludable under 42 U.S.C. 1382b(a)(7), and certain VA disability or dependency payments under title 38. Indian — a member of an Indian tribe. Indian area — the area where a tribe or its housing entity provides help under the chapter. Indian housing plan — the plan required under section 4112. Indian tribe — a tribe recognized by the federal government or by a State; a State-recognized tribe must also have had an Indian Housing Authority contract and funding before the “effective date” in section 705 and within the five years before that date, with certain limits on rights described in the law. Low-income family — a family with income at or below 80 percent of the area median, though the Secretary may set different limits for specific reasons. Median income — for an Indian area, the higher of the area median set by the Secretary or the U.S. median. Near-elderly person — age 55 up to 61. Nonprofit — an organization whose net earnings do not go to private individuals. Person with disabilities — someone who meets the definition in 42 U.S.C. 423, or who the Secretary finds has a long-term impairment that limits independent living and could be helped by better housing, or who has a developmental disability under 42 U.S.C. 15002; this includes persons with AIDS and excludes people eligible only because of drug or alcohol dependence. Recipient — the tribe or authorized entity that gets grant money for the tribe. Secretary — the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development unless the chapter says otherwise. State — the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, other U.S. territories or possessions, and Indian tribes. Tribally designated housing entity — either an existing Indian housing authority that met the law’s conditions as of October 26, 1996, or another entity a tribe creates or authorizes under tribal or state law to manage housing on the tribe’s behalf; one entity can serve more than one tribe.