Seiwert, 060812 INAGO, AGO 2012-2

• Case Date: June 08, 2012
• Court: Indiana

Ms. Sherry Seiwert AGO 2012-2 Official Opinion No. 2012-2 State of Indiana Office of the Attorney General June 8, 2012          Ms. Sherry Seiwert          Executive Director          Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority          30 S. Meridian St., Suite 1000          Indianapolis, IN 46204          RE: Contract Administrator for Project-Based Section Housing Assistance Payments Contracts          Dear Director Seiwert,          You have requested an opinion as to whether the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority (“IHCDA”) is the only housing agency authorized under Indiana law to serve as Contract Administrator for the Project-Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments (“PBCA”) Program in Indiana.          BRIEF ANSWER          Yes. IHCDA is the only public housing agency authorized by Indiana law to operate throughout the entire State. In turn, IHCDA is the only public housing agency in the state of Indiana with the requisite authority to carry-out the functions of a PBCA contract administrator.          ANALYSIS          The Project-Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program was created by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and is administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). The program offers housing assistance to eligible low- income families. Qualified entities in each state may apply to HUD to assist with the distribution of housing assistance payments in their jurisdiction. These entities are referred to as Contract Administrators for the Project-Based Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments Program. To serve as contract administrator for the PBCA program an applicant must be a “public housing agency” (“PHA”) within the meaning of Section 3(b)(6)(A) of Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, 42 U.S.C. §1437f; and must have been “created under a statute that explicitly authorizes the entity to operate throughout the entire State in which the entity proposes to serve as PBCA or that evidences a legislative intent for such entity to...