SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL PROVISIONS

§1441. Congressional declaration of national housing policy

The Congress declares that the general welfare and security of the Nation and the health and living standards of its people require housing production and related community development sufficient to remedy the serious housing shortage, the elimination of substandard and other inadequate housing through the clearance of slums and blighted areas, and the realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family, thus contributing to the development and redevelopment of communities and to the advancement of the growth, wealth, and security of the Nation. The Congress further declares that such production is necessary to enable the housing industry to make its full contribution toward an economy of maximum employment, production, and purchasing power. The policy to be followed in attaining the national housing objective established shall be: (1) private enterprise shall be encouraged to serve as large a part of the total need as it can; (2) governmental assistance shall be utilized where feasible to enable private enterprise to serve more of the total need; (3) appropriate local public bodies shall be encouraged and assisted to undertake positive programs of encouraging and assisting the development of well-planned, integrated residential neighborhoods, the development and redevelopment of communities, and the production, at lower costs, of housing of sound standards of design, construction, livability, and size for adequate family life; (4) governmental assistance to eliminate substandard and other inadequate housing through the clearance of slums and blighted areas, to facilitate community development and redevelopment, and to provide adequate housing for urban and rural nonfarm families with incomes so low that they are not being decently housed in new or existing housing shall be extended to those localities which estimate their own needs and demonstrate that these needs are not being met through reliance solely upon private enterprise, and without such aid; and (5) governmental assistance for decent, safe, and sanitary farm dwellings and related facilities shall be extended where the farm owner demonstrates that he lacks sufficient resources to provide such housing on his own account and is unable to secure necessary credit for such housing from other sources on terms and conditions which he could reasonably be expected to fulfill. The Department of Housing and Urban Development, and any other departments or agencies of the Federal Government having powers, functions, or duties with respect to housing, shall exercise their powers, functions, and duties under this or any other law, consistently with the national housing policy declared by this Act and in such manner as will facilitate sustained progress in attaining the national housing objective hereby established, and in such manner as will encourage and assist (1) the production of housing of sound standards of design, construction, livability, and size for adequate family life; (2) the reduction of the costs of housing without sacrifice of such sound standards; (3) the use of new designs, materials, techniques, and methods in residential construction, the use of standardized dimensions and methods of assembly of home-building materials and equipment, and the increase of efficiency in residential construction and maintenance; (4) the development of well-planned, integrated, residential neighborhoods and the development and redevelopment of communities; and (5) the stabilization of the housing industry at a high annual volume of residential construction.

(July 15, 1949, ch. 338, §2, 63 Stat. 413; Pub. L. 90–19, §6(a), May 25, 1967, 81 Stat. 21.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in text, is act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, 63 Stat. 413, known as the Housing Act of 1949, which is classified principally to this chapter (§1441 et seq.). For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out below and Tables.

Amendments

1967—Pub. L. 90–19 substituted "The Department of Housing and Urban Development" for "The Housing and Home Finance Agency and its constituent agencies".

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title of 2004 Amendment

Pub. L. 108–285, §1, Aug. 2, 2004, 118 Stat. 917, provided that: "This Act [amending section 1472 of this title, enacting provisions set out as a note under section 1472 of this title, and amending provisions set out as a note under section 12805 of this title] may be cited as the 'Helping Hands for Homeownership Act of 2004'."

Short Title of 1983 Amendment

Pub. L. 98–181, title I [title V, §501], Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1240, provided that: "This title [enacting sections 1490k to 1490o of this title, amending sections 1471, 1472, 1474, 1476, 1479 to 1481, 1483 to 1487, 1490, 1490a, 1490c, 1490e, 1490f, and 1490j of this title, repealing sections 1482, 1490g, and 1490i of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 1472 and 1490a of this title] may be cited as the 'Rural Housing Amendments of 1983'."

Short Title

Act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, §1, 63 Stat. 413, provided: "That this Act [enacting this chapter, sections 1421a and 1433 of this title, and sections 1701d–1, 1701f–1, 1701h, and 1701i of Title 12, Banks and Banking, amending sections 1401, 1402, 1406, 1409 to 1411, 1413 to 1416, and 1422 to 1430 of this title and sections 1701e, 1701f, 1703, 1709, and 1738 of Title 12, and amending provisions set out as a note under section 1701e of Title 12] may be cited as the 'Housing Act of 1949'."

National Commission on Neighborhoods

Pub. L. 95–24, title II, §§201–208, Apr. 30, 1977, 91 Stat. 56–59, as amended by Pub. L. 95–557, title III, §315, Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2099, known as the "National Neighborhood Policy Act", established the National Commission on Neighborhoods, which was to undertake a comprehensive study and investigation of the factors contributing to the decline of city neighborhoods and of the factors necessary to neighborhood survival and revitalization, and to make recommendations for modifications in Federal, State, and local laws, policies and programs necessary to facilitate neighborhood preservation and revitalization. The Commission was to submit to the Congress and the President a comprehensive report on its study and investigation not later than fifteen months after the date on which funds first became available to carry out the Act, and was to cease to exist thirty days after the submission of that report.

Limitation on Withholding or Conditioning of Assistance

Assistance provided for in Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 [42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.], National Housing Act [12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.], United States Housing Act of 1937 [42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.], Housing Act of 1949 [see Short Title note set out above], Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 [see Short Title note set out under section 3331 of this title], and Housing and Urban Development Acts of 1965, 1968, 1969, and 1970 not to be withheld or made subject to conditions by reason of tax-exempt status of obligations issued or to be issued for financing of assistance, except as otherwise provided by law, see section 817 of Pub. L. 93–383, set out as a note under section 5301 of this title.

Executive Documents

Equal Opportunity in Housing

Executive order relating to equal opportunity in housing, see Ex. Ord. No. 11063, Nov. 20, 1962, 27 F.R. 11527, as amended, set out as a note under section 1982 of this title.

§1441a. National housing goals

(a) Congressional findings and reaffirmation of goals

The Congress finds that the supply of the Nation's housing is not increasing rapidly enough to meet the national housing goal, established in the Housing Act of 1949 [42 U.S.C. 1441 et seq.], of the "realization as soon as feasible of the goal of a decent home and a suitable living environment for every American family". The Congress reaffirms this national housing goal and determines that it can be substantially achieved within the next decade by the construction or rehabilitation of twenty-six million housing units, six million of these for low and moderate income families.

(b) Additional Congressional findings

The Congress further finds that policies designed to contribute to the achievement of the national housing goal have not directed sufficient attention and resources to the preservation of existing housing and neighborhoods, that the deterioration and abandonment of housing for the Nation's lower income families has accelerated over the last decade, and that this acceleration has contributed to neighborhood disintegration and has partially negated the progress toward achieving the national housing goal which has been made primarily through new housing construction.

(c) Congressional declaration of purposes

The Congress declares that if the national housing goal is to be achieved, a greater effort must be made to encourage the preservation of existing housing and neighborhoods through such measures as housing preservation, moderate rehabilitation, and improvements in housing management and maintenance, in conjunction with the provision of adequate municipal services. Such an effort should concentrate, to a greater extent than it has in the past, on housing and neighborhoods where deterioration is evident but has not yet become acute.

(Pub. L. 90–448, title XVI, §1601, Aug. 1, 1968, 82 Stat. 601; Pub. L. 93–383, title VIII, §801(1), (2), Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 721.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Housing Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (a), is act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, 63 Stat. 413, which is classified principally to this chapter (§1441 et seq.). For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1441 of this title and Tables.

Codification

Section was not enacted as part of the Housing Act of 1949 which comprises this chapter.

Amendments

1974—Pub. L. 93–383 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and added subsecs. (b) and (c).

§1441b. Plan for elimination of all substandard housing and realization of national housing goal; report by President to Congress

Not later than January 15, 1969, the President shall make a report to the Congress setting forth a plan, to be carried out over a period of ten years (June 30, 1968, to June 30, 1978), for the elimination of all substandard housing and the realization of the goal referred to in section 1441a of this title. Such plan shall—

(1) indicate the number of new or rehabilitated housing units which it is anticipated will have to be provided, with or without Government assistance, during each fiscal year of the ten-year period, in order to achieve the objectives of the plan, showing the number of such units which it is anticipated will have to be provided under each of the various Federal programs designed to assist in the provision of housing;

(2) indicate the reduction in the number of occupied substandard housing units which it is anticipated will have to occur during each fiscal year of the ten-year period in order to achieve the objectives of the plan;

(3) provide an estimate of the cost of carrying out the plan for each of the various Federal programs and for each fiscal year during the ten-year period to the extent that such costs will be reflected in the Federal budget;

(4) make recommendations with respect to the legislative and administrative actions necessary or desirable to achieve the objectives of the plan; and

(5) provide such other pertinent data, estimates, and recommendations as the President deems advisable.

Such report shall, in addition, contain a projection of the residential mortgage market needs and prospects during the coming year, including an estimate of the requirements with respect to the availability, need, and flow of mortgage funds (particularly in declining urban and rural areas) during such year, together with such recommendations as may be deemed appropriate for encouraging the availability of such funds.

(Pub. L. 90–448, title XVI, §1602, Aug. 1, 1968, 82 Stat. 601.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section was not enacted as part of the Housing Act of 1949 which comprises this chapter.

§1441c. Omitted

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section, Pub. L. 90–448, title XVI, §1603, Aug. 1, 1968, 82 Stat. 602; Pub. L. 91–152, title IV, §412(a), Dec. 24, 1969, 83 Stat. 398; Pub. L. 93–383, title VIII, §801(3), Aug. 22, 1974, 88 Stat. 722; Pub. L. 95–557, title IX, §906, Oct. 31, 1978, 92 Stat. 2127; Pub. L. 96–399, title III, §312, Oct. 8, 1980, 94 Stat. 1644, which required the President to transmit to Congress an annual report on housing needs, conservation, production, and rehabilitation, terminated, effective May 15, 2000, pursuant to section 3003 of Pub. L. 104–66, as amended, set out as a note under section 1113 of Title 31, Money and Finance. See, also, item 13 on page 31 of House Document No. 103–7.

§1442. Repealed. Aug. 31, 1954, ch. 1158, §7, 68 Stat. 1026

Section, act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, title VI, §607, 63 Stat. 441, related to housing census. See section 141 of Title 13, Census.

§1443. Provisions as controlling over other laws

Insofar as the provisions of any other law are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, the provisions of this Act shall be controlling.

(July 15, 1949, ch. 338, title VI, §610, 63 Stat. 443.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in text, is act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, 63 Stat. 413, known as the Housing Act of 1949, which is classified principally to this chapter (§1441 et seq.). For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1441 of this title and Tables.

§1444. Separability

Except as may be otherwise expressly provided in this Act, all powers and authorities conferred by this Act shall be cumulative and additional to and not in derogation of any powers and authorities otherwise existing. Notwithstanding any other evidences of the intention of Congress, it is declared to be the controlling intent of Congress that if any provisions of this Act, or the application thereof to any persons or circumstances, shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder of this Act or its applications to other persons and circumstances, but shall be confined in its operation to the provision of this Act, or the application thereof to the persons and circumstances directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been rendered.

(July 15, 1949, ch. 338, title VI, §611, 63 Stat. 443.)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This Act, referred to in text, is act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, 63 Stat. 413, known as the Housing Act of 1949, which is classified principally to this chapter (§1441 et seq.). For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1441 of this title and Tables.

§1445. Repealed. Aug. 9, 1955, ch. 690, §4(1), 69 Stat. 625

Section, act July 15, 1949, ch. 338, title VI, §612, 63 Stat. 444, related to striking or subversive employees of the Housing and Home Finance Agency and the Department of Agriculture, withholding of their wages, and penalties. See sections 3333 and 7311 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and section 1918 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure.

§1446. Transferred

Editorial Notes

Codification

Section, act Aug. 2, 1954, ch. 649, title VIII, §814, 68 Stat. 647, as amended, which related to keeping of records, provided for their contents, and authorized examination and audit thereof, was transferred to section 1434 of this title.