(a) Applicability. Administrative process for scoring and ranking the physical condition of HUD housing properties under this section does not apply to the HCV, PBV or Moderate Rehabilitation programs. PHAs administering HCV and PBV programs will be assessed under the Section 8 Management Assessment Program (“SEMAP”) or the small rural PHA assessment in accordance with 24 CFR part 985, and PHAs administering the Moderate Rehabilitation programs are subject to HUD review in accordance with 24 CFR 882.517.

(b) Scoring and ranking of HUD housing—(1) General. HUD's Real Estate Assessment Center (REAC), or the appropriate entity either as described in § 5.705(b), or as identified in the regulator agreement or contract for the property as described in § 5.705(b)(1), will score and rank the physical condition of HUD housing properties in accordance with the procedures set out by the Secretary in § 5.709.

(2) Public housing programs. PHAs operating public housing will be scored and ranked under the Public Housing Assessment System (“PHAS”) outlined in part 902 of this title.

(c) Inspection report requirements. (1) Life-Threatening deficiencies and Severe deficiencies. Upon completion of an inspection, or at the end of each day on a multiple-day inspection, REAC, or the appropriate party as described in § 5.705(b), will provide the owner or PHA or owner's representative, a notice of any items classified as Life-Threatening or Severe deficiencies. All Life-Threatening items must be corrected within 24 hours of receipt of notice of these items, unless HUD approves a variation. All Severe items must be corrected within 24 hours of receipt of notice, unless indicated otherwise within the individual inspection standards published in the Federal Register with notice and the opportunity for comment, or HUD approves a variation. The owner or PHA or owner's representative must electronically certify and provide supporting evidence within 2 business days after the deadline to correct the Life-Threatening and Severe items that the items have been resolved or sufficiently corrected such that they no longer pose a severe health or safety risk to residents of the property, or that the hazard is blocked until permanent repairs can be completed. If permanent repair will take longer than the allowable time in the relevant standard for the deficiency, the owner or PHA must provide HUD a timeframe for completing permanent repairs for HUD approval.

(2) Post-report inspection. The owner or PHA must carefully review the inspection report and is responsible for conducting its own survey of the total property. Moderate deficiencies must be corrected within thirty days and Low deficiencies must be corrected within sixty days, unless indicated otherwise within the individual inspection standards published in the Federal Register with notice and the opportunity for comment or within such other reasonable time prescribed by a HUD notice to the owner or PHA. For properties that scored at or above 60, the survey may be limited to inspecting for deficiencies based on the inspecting entity's inspection findings. For properties that scored below 60, the owner or PHA must conduct a survey of the entire project, including all units, inside areas, and outside areas, for any deficiency, and must electronically submit a copy of the results of the survey to HUD.

(d) Technical review of inspection results—(1) Timing. A request for a technical review of inspection results must be submitted electronically and must be received by the inspecting entity no later than the 45th calendar day following the day the inspection report is provided to the owner or PHA.

(2) Request for technical review. The request must be accompanied by the owner's or PHA's relevant evidence that an objectively verifiable and material error occurred or adverse conditions beyond the owner or PHA's control occurred, which if corrected will result in a significant improvement in the overall score of the property. A technical review of the inspection results will not be conducted based on conditions that were corrected subsequent to the inspection. Upon receipt of this request from the owner or PHA, the REAC will review the inspection and the evidence. If the REAC review determines that an objectively verifiable and material error (or errors) or adverse condition(s) beyond the owner's or PHA's control has been documented and that it is likely to result in a significant improvement in the property's overall score, the REAC will take one or a combination of the following actions:

(i) Undertake a new inspection;

(ii) Correct the original inspection; or

(iii) Issue a new physical condition score.

(3) Burden of proof that error or adverse conditions occurred rests with owner or PHA. The burden of proof rests with the owner or PHA to demonstrate that an objectively verifiable and material error (or errors) or adverse conditions occurred in the REAC's inspection through submission of evidence, which if corrected will result in a significant improvement in the property's overall score. The REAC will apply a rebuttable presumption that the inspection was conducted accurately. To support its request for a technical review of the physical inspection results, the owner or PHA may submit photographic evidence, written material from an objective source with subject matter expertise that pertains to the item being reviewed such as a local fire marshal, building code official, registered architect, or professional engineer, or other similar evidence.

(4) Basis for technical review. An objectively verifiable material error must be present, or an adjustment to the score must be necessary, to allow for a technical review of inspection results. The basis for a technical review must not be due to the fault of the owner or PHA and must exhibit specific characteristics and meet specific thresholds. The applicable types of material errors and bases for adjustment are as follows.

(i) Building data error. A building data error occurs if the inspector inspected the wrong building or a building that was not owned by the property, including common or site areas that were not a part of the property. Incorrect data due to the failure of an owner or PHA to ensure HUD's systems of records are updated cannot form the basis of a review. Incorrect building data that does not affect the score, such as the address and building name would not be considered material.

(ii) Unit count error. A unit count error occurs if the total number of units considered in scoring is incorrect due to the fault of HUD. Since scoring uses total units, REAC will examine instances where the participant can provide evidence that the total units used was incorrect and that the results were not representative of the condition of the property.

(iii) A non-existent deficiency error. A non-existent deficiency error occurs if the inspection records an observed deficiency that does not satisfy or does not meet a reasonable interpretation of the definition of that deficiency as defined by inspection procedures.

(iv) Adjustments for factors not reflected or inappropriately reflected in physical condition score. HUD may determine it is appropriate to review the results of a property's physical inspection if facts and circumstances affecting the owner's or PHA's property are not reflected in the inspection or are reflected inappropriately in the inspection. The circumstances addressed in this may include inconsistencies between local code requirements and the HUD physical inspection protocol; conditions that are permitted by local variance or license or which are preexisting physical features that do not conform to, or are inconsistent with, HUD's physical condition protocol; or the project or PHA having been scored for elements (e.g., roads, sidewalks, mail boxes, resident-owned appliances, etc.) that it does not own and is not responsible for maintaining.

(v) Adjustments for adverse conditions beyond the control of the owner or PHA. HUD may determine that certain deficiencies that adversely and significantly affect the physical condition score of the project were caused by circumstances beyond the control of the owner or PHA. The correction of these conditions, however, remains the responsibility of the owner or PHA. The circumstances addressed by this paragraph may include, but are not limited to, damage caused by third parties (such as a private entity or public entity undertaking work near a Public Housing project that results in damage to the project) or natural disasters.

(vi) Adjustments for modernization work in progress. HUD may determine that occupied dwelling units or other areas of a property, which are subject to physical inspection, and which are undergoing modernization work, require an adjustment to the physical condition score. An occupied dwelling unit or other areas of an owner's or PHA's property undergoing modernization are subject to physical inspection; the unit(s) and other areas of the property are not exempt from physical inspection. All elements of the unit or of the other areas of the owner or PHA's project that are subject to inspection and are not undergoing modernization at the time of the inspection (even if modernization is planned) will be subject to HUD's physical inspection protocol without adjustment. For those elements of the unit or of the property that are undergoing modernization, deficiencies will be noted in accordance with HUD's physical inspection protocol, but the owner or PHA may request adjustment of the physical condition score as a result of current modernization or rehab work in progress.

(5) Significant improvement. Significant improvement in the project's overall score refers to an increase in a score for the owner or PHA such that the new score crosses an administratively significant threshold.

(6) Reinspection. If HUD determines that a reinspection is appropriate, it will arrange for a complete reinspection of the project(s) in question, not just the deficiencies previously identified. The reinspection will constitute the final inspection for the project, and HUD will issue a new inspection report (the final inspection report).

(e) Independent HUD review. Under certain circumstances, HUD may find it appropriate absent an owner or PHA request for technical review to review the results of an inspection which are anomalous or have an incorrect result due to facts and circumstances affecting the inspected property which are not reflected in the inspection or reflected inappropriately in the inspection.

(f) Responsibility for the cost of a new inspection. If a new inspection is undertaken by the inspecting party and the new inspection score results in a significant improvement in the property's overall score, then the entity responsible for the inspection shall bear the expense of the new inspection. If no significant improvement occurs, then the owner or PHA responsible for the property must bear the expense of the new inspection. The inspection cost of a new inspection, if paid by the owner or PHA, is not an eligible project operating expense. The new inspection score will be considered the final score.

(g) Issuance of final score and publication of score. (1) The score of the property is the final score if the owner or PHA files no request for technical review, as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, or for other adjustment of the physical condition score, as provided in paragraph (e) of this section. If the owner or PHA files a request for technical review or score adjustments in accordance with paragraphs (d), or there is a HUD review under paragraph (e) of this section, the final inspection score is the score issued by HUD after any adjustments are determined necessary and made by HUD at the conclusion of these processes.

(2) HUD will make public the final scores of the properties of the owners and PHAs through posting on HUD's internet site, or other appropriate means.

(h) Responsibility to notify residents of inspection; and availability of documents to residents—(1) Notification to residents. An owner or PHA must notify its residents of any planned inspections of their units or the housing development generally.

(2) Availability of documents for review. (i) Once a final score has been issued the owner or PHA must make the physical inspection report and all related documents available to residents during regular business hours upon reasonable request for review and copying. Related documents include the owner's or PHA's survey plan, plan of correction, certification, and related correspondence.

(ii) Once the owner's final inspection score is issued and published, the owner or PHA must make any additional information, such as the results of any reinspection or appeal requests, available for review and copying by its residents upon reasonable request during regular business hours.

(iii) The owner or PHA must maintain the documents related to the inspection of the property, as described in paragraphs (h)(2)(i) and (ii) of this section, for review by residents for a period of 60 days from the date HUD provides the inspection score for the property in which the residents reside.

(3) Posting on the availability of materials. The owner or PHA must post a notice to the residents in the owner's or PHA's management office and on any bulletin boards in all common areas on the date of submission to the owner of the inspection score for the property in which the resident resides that advises residents of the availability of the materials described in this section. The notice must be translated into other languages if necessary to provide meaningful access for limited English proficient (LEP) individuals. The notice should include, where applicable, the name, address, and telephone number of the HUD field office contact.

(4) Residents are encouraged to comment on this information provided by the owner or PHA and submit any comments directly to the applicable HUD field office or responsible entity. Should residents discover the owner or PHA provided HUD with a false certification during the review, they are encouraged to notify the applicable HUD field office where appropriate inquiry and action will be taken.

(i) Administrative review of properties. The file of a property that receives a score of 30 points or less, or two successive scores under 60, on its inspection will be subject to additional administrative review. Properties that receive two successive scores under 60 may be referred to HUD's Departmental Enforcement Center (DEC) for evaluation. Properties that receive a score of 30 points or less shall be automatically referred to the DEC for evaluation.

(1) Notification to owner of submission of property file to the DEC. Upon referral to the DEC, the Department will provide for notification to the PHA or owner that the file on the owner's property is being submitted to the DEC for evaluation. The notification will be provided at the time the REAC issues the inspection report to the owner or at such other time as a referral occurs.

(2) Evaluation of the property. During the DEC's evaluation period, the DEC will perform an analysis of the property, which may include input from tenants, HUD officials, elected officials, maintenance staff and others as may be appropriate. Although program offices will assist with the evaluation, the DEC will have primary responsibility for the conclusion of the evaluation of the property after taking into consideration the input of interested parties as described in this paragraph. The DEC's evaluation may include a site visit to the PHA's or owner's property.

(3) Continuing responsibilities of HUD program offices and mortgagee. During the period of DEC evaluation, HUD's program offices continue to be responsible for routine business, oversight, and monitoring. In addition, during this period of evaluation, the mortgagee, as applicable, shall continue to carry out its duties and responsibilities with respect to the mortgage.

(4) Enforcement action. Except as otherwise provided by statute, if, based on the DEC's evaluation and in consultation with HUD program offices, the DEC determines that enforcement actions are appropriate, it may take those actions for which the DEC has delegated authority and/or make recommendations to HUD program office with respect to resolving identified physical deficiencies and owner or PHA noncompliance.

(j) No limitation on existing enforcement authority. The administrative process provided in this section does not prohibit HUD from taking whatever action may be necessary (notwithstanding the commencement of this process), as authorized under existing statutes, regulations, contracts, grant agreements or other documents, to protect HUD's interests in HUD housing properties and to protect the residents of these properties.