24 C.F.R. Subpart B—FOIA Disclosure of Information
Title 24 - Housing and Urban Development
Source: 66 FR 6968, Jan. 22, 2001, unless otherwise noted.
HUD will fully and responsibly disclose its identifiable records and information consistent with competing public interests concerning the national security, personal privacy, agency deliberative process, and obligations of confidentiality as are recognized by FOIA. HUD will make a record available in the form or format requested, if the record is readily reproducible in that format. (a) You may inspect and copy hardcopy records, including indices of the records, that section 552(a)(2) of FOIA requires HUD make available to the public at HUD's reading rooms. HUD has reading rooms in Headquarters in Washington, DC and in each of the Secretary's Representative's offices. These reading rooms are open during the business hours for the HUD office in which they are located. (b) For records created on or after November 1, 1996, this information is also available to you through HUD's Internet web site at http://www.hud.gov/ogc/bshelf2a.php. (a) Generally. You may submit a written request for copies of records in person or by mail. (b) Records located in a HUD field office. If you are submitting a request for records located in a HUD field office, you should deliver or mail your request to the FOIA Liaison in the appropriate HUD Field Office. (c) Records located in HUD headquarters. If you are submitting a request for records located in HUD Headquarters, you should deliver or mail your request to the FOIA Division, Office of the General Counsel. You may also use the FOIA electronic request form on HUD's Internet web site at http://www.hud.gov/ogc/foiafree.php. (d) What should I include in my FOIA request? In your FOIA request you should: (1) Clearly state that you are making a FOIA request. Although Federal agencies are required to process all requests for documents as Freedom of Information Act requests, whether or not specifically designated as FOIA requests, failure to clearly state that you are making a FOIA request could unduly delay the initial handling of your correspondence through HUD's FOIA processing; (2) Reasonably describe the records you seek. Include information that you may know about the documents you are requesting; (3) Indicate the form or format in which you would like the record made available; (4) State your agreement to pay the fee. You may specify a dollar amount above which you want HUD to consult with you before you will agree to pay the fee; (5) Indicate the fee category that you believe applies to you (see §15.110); (6) If you are making a request on behalf of another person for information about that person, include a document signed by that person authorizing you to request the information on his or her behalf; and (7) If you are requesting expedited processing, your request should set out the facts you believe show that there is a compelling need (see §15.104(d)) to expedite processing of your request. (a) What time limits generally apply? If you have met the fee requirements of §15.110, HUD, in general, will respond within 20 working days after the correct office receives your request. If you have sent your request to the wrong office, that office will send it to the correct office within 10 working days and will send you an acknowledgment letter. (b) What time limits apply to requests made on behalf of another person? The time limits described in paragraph (a) of this section also apply to requests you make on behalf of another person for information about that person. However, the time limits will not commence to run until HUD's receipt of the document signed by that person authorizing you to request information on his or her behalf. If you make your request on behalf of another person without including such signed authorization, HUD will inform you of the authorization needed. (c) What time limits apply in unusual circumstances? If you have requested an especially large number of records, the records are not located in the office handling the request, or HUD needs to consult with another government office, HUD will notify you that extra time is required and provide an estimate of that time. If the extra time needed is more than 10 working days beyond the general time limit set out in paragraph (a) of this section, HUD will offer you any opportunity to limit the scope of your request so that HUD may process it within the extra 10 working day period. (d) What time limits apply to my request for expedited processing? If you requested expedited processing, HUD will notify you within 10 working days after it receives your request whether it will grant expediting processing. (a) Multitracking. (1) HUD places each request in one of two tracks. HUD places requests in its simple or complex track based on the amount of work and time involved in processing the request. Factors HUD will consider in assigning a request in the simple or complex track will include whether the request involves the processing of voluminous documents and/or whether the request involves responsive documents from three or more organizational units. Within each track, HUD processes requests in the order in which they are received. (2) For requests that have been sent to the wrong office, HUD will assign the request within each track using the earlier of either: (i) The date on which the request was referred to the appropriate office; or, (ii) The end of the 10 working day period in which the request should have been referred to the appropriate office under §15.104(a). (b) Expedited processing. HUD may take your request or appeal out of normal order if HUD determines that you have a compelling need for the records or in other cases as determined by the agency. If HUD grants your request for expedited processing, HUD will give your request priority and will process it as soon as practicable. HUD will consider a compelling need to exist if: (1) Your failure to obtain the requested records on an expedited basis could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual or a threatened loss of substantial due process rights; or, (2) You are primarily engaged in disseminating information and there is an urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Federal Government activity. (a) Who will respond to my request? (1) The FOIA Division of the Office of General Counsel in HUD Headquarters and the FOIA liaisons in each HUD Field Office are authorized to release copies of any HUD records unless disclosure is clearly not appropriate under FOIA. (2) The FOIA Division in HUD Headquarters and the FOIA liaisons in each HUD Field Office may deny a request for a record in accordance with the provisions of FOIA and this part. (b) What type of a response will I receive? Within the time limit described in §15.103, HUD will either: (1) Agree to give you all the records you requested; (2) Advise you that HUD will not give you some or all of the records you requested. Any denial or partial denial of a requested record must be concurred in by the FOIA Division in Headquarters, by counsel in the Field Offices, or by counsel in HUD's Departmental Enforcement Center Satellite Offices. In this case, HUD will: (i) Explain why it has decided not to comply fully with your request, citing specific exemptions where applicable; (ii) Describe the records denied or, if there are fewer than 21 records denied, list them specifically; (iii) Estimate the volume of the records denied unless doing so would harm a protected interest; and (iv) Explain how to appeal that decision, and provide the name and address of the HUD official to whom you should submit your appeal. (3) Tell you that HUD's estimate of the fee is more than you have agreed to pay and ask to confer within 10 days to see if you can reformulate your request so that HUD can meet your request at a fee that is acceptable to you; or (4) Tell you that you will not receive a response until you have either paid your fee or committed to the amount of fee you will pay, as applicable, and will provide you 10 days to pay, or commit to pay, the fee. (5) If you requested expedited processing, advise you whether your request is granted or denied and, if your request is denied, advise you of your right to appeal. (c) What action may HUD take if I fail to respond? If you fail to respond within a period specified in this subpart, HUD may consider your request for records withdrawn and may terminate processing of your request. If your request involves the release of documents that are classified under Executive Order 12958, HUD will refer your request and the pertinent documents to the originating agency for processing according to the requirements of §15.104(a). HUD may refuse to confirm or deny the existence of the requested information if the originating agency determines that the fact of its existence is itself classified. (a) HUD's general policy concerning business information which may be considered as confidential commercial or financial information. Except as provided in this section or otherwise required by law, HUD officers and employees may not disclose business information which is considered as confidential commercial or financial information to anyone other than to HUD officers or employees who are properly entitled to the information to perform their official duties. (b) How does a submitter make a claim that business information is confidential commercial or financial information? (1) If you are a submitter, you may request confidential treatment of business information at the time the information is submitted to HUD or within a reasonable time after it is submitted. (2) To obtain a designation of confidentiality, you must: (i) Support your request with an authorized statement or a certification giving the facts and the legal justification for your request and stating that the information has not been made public; and (ii) Clearly designate the information that you consider confidential. (3) Your designation of confidentiality will expire 10 years after the date the information was submitted to HUD, unless you have provided a reasonable explanation for a later expiration date. (c) How will HUD respond to a request for business information? If the information requested has been designated in good faith by the submitter as information to be protected under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) (“Exemption 4”) or if HUD has reason to believe that the information may be protected by Exemption 4, HUD shall: (1) Unless an exception in paragraph (c)(2) of this section applies, promptly notify the submitter about the request or the administrative appeal and give the submitter 10 working days to submit a written objection to disclosure. HUD will describe the requested business information or will provide copies of all or a portion of the records; (2) If any of the following circumstances apply, HUD will not notify the submitter: (i) HUD determines that the information should not be disclosed; (ii) The information has been published lawfully or has been made available officially to the public; (3) A law other than FOIA requires HUD to disclose the information; (4) A HUD regulation requires HUD to disclose the information. The regulation must: (i) Have been adopted pursuant to notice and public comment; and (ii) Specify narrow classes of records submitted to HUD that are to be released under the FOIA. (d) Notice to requester. At the same time HUD notifies the submitter, HUD will also notify the requester that the request is subject to the provisions of this section and that the submitter is being afforded an opportunity to object to disclosure of the information. (e) Opportunity to object to disclosure. If the submitter timely objects to disclosure, HUD will consider the submitter's objections, but will not be bound by them. HUD generally will not consider conclusory statements that particular information would be useful to competitors or would impair sales, or other similar statements, sufficient to justify confidential treatment. Information provided by a submitter or its designee may itself be subject to disclosure under the FOIA. (f) Notice of intent to disclose. If after considering the submitter's objections, HUD decides to disclose business information over the objection of a submitter, HUD will send a written notice of intent to disclose to both the submitter and the requester. HUD will send these notices at least 10 working days before the specified disclosure date. The notices will include: (1) A statement of the reasons why HUD rejected the submitter's disclosure objections; (2) A description of the business information to be disclosed; and (3) A disclosure date. (g) What other policies apply to a submitter?—(1) HUD notice of FOIA lawsuit. HUD will promptly notify the submitter of any suit to compel HUD to disclose business information. (2) Determination of confidentiality. HUD will not determine the validity of any request for confidentiality until HUD receives a request for disclosure of the information. (3) Current mailing address for the submitter. Each submitter must give HUD a mailing address for receipt of any notices under this section, and must notify HUD of any change of address. (a) To whom will HUD disclose the information? HUD will release information from Form HUD–92410 (or a HUD approved substitute form that the mortgagor may have submitted) only to eligible potential purchasers and only during the period specified by HUD for the mortgage sale. (b) Under what conditions will HUD release such information? HUD will release the information only if all of the following three conditions are met: (1) The information concerns a project that is subject to a HUD-held mortgage which HUD is selling under the authority of sections 207 (k) and (l) of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1713 (k) and (l)) or section 7(i)(3) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3535(i)(3)). (2) The eligible potential purchasers have agreed to: (i) Keep the information confidential; (ii) Disclose the information only to potential investors in the mortgage and only for the period specified by HUD for the mortgage sale and to notify those potential purchasers of their obligations under this section; (iii) Use the information only to evaluate the mortgage in connection with the mortgage sale; and (iv) To follow disclosure procedures for that sale that have been established by the Secretary. (3) The potential investors in the mortgage have agreed to keep the information confidential and to use the information only to evaluate the mortgage in connection with their investment decision. (c) To whom may potential investors disclose such information? Potential investors in the mortgage may disclose the information to other entities only if the disclosure is: (1) Necessary for the investor's evaluation of the mortgage; (2) Made in accordance with disclosure procedures for the specific sale that have been established by HUD; and (3) Limited to the period specified by HUD for the mortgage sale. (d) What sanctions are available for improper disclosure of such information? An eligible potential purchaser or a potential investor (who has received the information from a potential purchaser and has been notified by that entity of its obligations under paragraph (b) of this section), who discloses information from Form HUD–92410 in violation of this section, may be subject to sanctions under part 24 of this title. (a) How will HUD determine your fee? HUD will determine your fee based on which category of requester you are in and on the other provisions of this section. With your request, you should submit information to help HUD determine the proper category. If HUD cannot tell from your request, or if HUD has reason to doubt the use to which the records will be put, HUD will ask you to provide additional information before assigning the request to a specific category. (b) What are the categories of requesters?—(1) Commercial use requester. You are a commercial use requester if you request information for a use or purpose that furthers your commercial, trade, or profit interests or those interests of the person on whose behalf you have made the request. In determining whether your request properly belongs in this category, HUD determines the use to which you will put the documents requested. (2) Educational requester. You are an educational requester if your request is on behalf of an educational institution and you do not seek the records for a commercial use, but to further scholarly research. (3) Non-commercial scientific requester. You are a non-commercial scientific requester if you are not a commercial use requester and your request is on behalf of an organization that is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry. (4) Representative of the news media requester. (i) You are a representative of the news media requester if you actively gather news for an entity that is primarily organized and operated to publish or broadcast news to the public. (ii) Examples of news media entities include television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large, and publishers of periodicals (but only in those instances when they can qualify as disseminators of news) who make their products available for purchase or subscription by the general public. (iii) Freelance journalists may be regarded as working for a news organization if they can demonstrate a solid basis for expecting publication through that organization, even though not actually employed by it. A publication contract would be the clearest proof, but HUD may also look to the past publication record of a requester in making this determination. (iv) If you are a representative of the news media requester, HUD will not consider you to be a commercial use requester. (5) Other requester. You are considered an “other” requester if you do not fall within the categories of requesters described in this paragraph (b). (c) FOIA Fee Schedule. The following table sets out the Fee Schedule that HUD uses to determine your fee. The rates for professional and clerical search and review includes the salary of the employee performing the work. The duplication cost includes the cost of operating duplicating machinery. The computer run time includes the cost of operating a central processing unit for that portion of the operating time attributable to searching for responsive records, as well as the costs of operator/programmer salary apportionable to the search. HUD's fee schedule does not include overhead expenses such as costs of space and heating or lighting the facility in which the records are stored. (d) How does HUD assess review charges? HUD will assess review charges only for the first time it analyzes the applicability of a specific exemption to a particular record or portion of a record. HUD will not charge for its review at the administrative appeal level of an exemption already applied. If HUD has withheld in full a record or portions of a record under an exemption which is subsequently determined not to apply, HUD will assess charges for its review to determine the applicability of other exemptions not previously considered. (e) How does HUD handle multiple requests? If you, or others acting with you, make multiple requests at or about the same time for the purpose of dividing one request into a series of requests for the purpose of evading the assessment of fees, HUD will aggregate your requests for records. In no case will HUD give you more than the first two hours of search time, or more than the first 100 pages of duplication without charge. (f) Unsuccessful searches. If HUD's search for records is unsuccessful, HUD will still bill you for the search. (g) No charge for costs under $25. HUD will not charge you a fee if the total amount calculated under this section is less than $25.00. (h) Reducing fees in the public interest. If HUD determines that disclosure of the information you seek is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, and that you are not seeking the information for your own commercial interests, HUD may waive or reduce the fee. (i) When do I pay the fee? HUD will bill you when it responds to your request. You must pay within thirty-one calendar days. If the fee is more than $250.00 or you have a history of failing to pay FOIA fees in a timely manner, HUD will ask you to remit the estimated amount and any past due charges before sending you the records. (j) What happens if I do not pay the fees? (1) If you do not pay by the thirty-first day after the billing date, HUD will charge interest at the maximum rate allowed under 31 U.S.C. 3717. (2) If you do not pay the amount due within ninety calendar days of the due date, HUD may notify consumer credit reporting agencies of your delinquency. (3) If you owe fees for previous FOIA responses, HUD will not respond to further requests unless you pay the amount due. (k) Contract services. HUD will contract with private sector sources to locate, reproduce and disseminate records in response to FOIA requests when that is the most efficient method. When doing so HUD will charge the cost to the requester that the private sector source has charged HUD for performing these tasks. In some instances, these costs may be higher than the charges HUD would ordinarily charge if the processing tasks had been done by the agency itself. In no case will HUD contract out responsibilities which the FOIA provides that HUD alone may discharge, such as determining the applicability of an exemption, or determining whether to waive or reduce fees. HUD will ensure that, when documents that would be responsive to a request are maintained for distribution by agencies operating statutory-based fee schedule programs such as the National Technical Information Service, HUD will inform requesters of the steps necessary to obtain records from those sources. Information provided routinely in the normal course of business will be provided at no charge. (a) To what address do I submit my appeals? You must submit your appeal, in writing, to the address specified in HUD's notice responding to your FOIA request (see §15.106(a)(2)(iv)). If you send your appeal to the wrong HUD office, that office will forward it to the correct office. That office will also notify you that it has so forwarded your appeal and advise you that, for processing purposes, the time of receipt will be when the appropriate office receives your appeal. (b) How much time do I have to submit an appeal? Your written appeal must be postmarked within 30 calendar days of the date of the HUD determination from which you are appealing. If your appeal is transmitted by other than the United States Postal Service (i.e., facsimile, messenger or delivery service) it must be received in the appropriate office by close of business on the 30th calendar day after the date of the HUD determination. (c) What information must I provide if I am appealing a denial of request for information? If you are appealing a denial of your request for information, the appeal must contain the following information: (1) A copy of your original request; (2) A copy of the written denial of your request; and (3) Your statement of the facts and legal arguments supporting disclosure. (d) What information must I provide if I am appealing a fee determination? If you are appealing a fee determination, including a denial of your request for HUD to waive the fee, the appeal must contain the following information: (1) The address of the office which made the fee determination from which you are appealing; (2) The fee that office charged; (3) The fee, if any, you believe should have been charged; (4) The reasons you believe that your fee should be lower than the fee which the Agency charged or should have been waived; and (5) A copy of the initial fee determination and copies of any correspondence concerning the fee. (e) What information must I provide if I am appealing a denial of expedited processing? If you are appealing a denial of your request for expedited processing, your appeal must contain the following information: (1) A copy of your original request; (2) A copy of the written denial of your request; and (3) Your statement of the facts and legal arguments supporting expedited processing. (a) How much time does HUD have to decide my appeal? HUD will decide your appeal of a denial of expedited processing within 10 working days after its receipt. For any other type of appeal, HUD will decide your appeal within 20 working days after its receipt. HUD may have an additional 10 working days if unusual circumstances require. (b) What action will HUD take if it grants my appeal?—(1) Appeal of a denial of request for information. If you are appealing a decision to deny your request for records, HUD will either: (i) Give you the records you requested or advise you that the records will be provided by the originating office; (ii) Give you some of the records you requested while declining to give you other records you requested, tell you why HUD has concluded that the documents were exempt from disclosure under FOIA, and tell you how to obtain judicial review of HUD's decision; or (iii) Decline to give you the records you requested, tell you why HUD has concluded that the records were exempt from disclosure under FOIA, and tell you how to obtain judicial review of HUD's decision. (2) Appeal of a fee determination. If you are appealing a fee determination, HUD will either: (i) Waive the fee or charge the fee that you have requested; (ii) Modify the original fee charged, and explain why it has determined that the modified fee is appropriate; or (iii) Advise you that the original fee charged was appropriate, and explain why it has determined that the fee is appropriate. (3) Appeal of a denial of expedited processing. If you are appealing a denial of your request for expedited processing, HUD will either: (i) Agree to expedited processing of your request; or (ii) Advise you that the decision to deny expedited processing has been affirmed, and tell you how to obtain judicial review of HUD's decision.
Title 24: Housing and Urban Development
PART 15—PUBLIC ACCESS TO HUD RECORDS UNDER THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT AND TESTIMONY AND PRODUCTION OF INFORMATION BY HUD EMPLOYEES
Subpart B—FOIA Disclosure of Information
§ 15.101 What is HUD's overall policy concerning disclosing identifiable records?
§ 15.102 Where and when may I inspect and copy records that FOIA requires HUD to make regularly available to the public?
§ 15.103 How can I get other records from HUD?
§ 15.104 What are the time periods for HUD to respond to my request for records?
§ 15.105 How will HUD process my request?
§ 15.106 How will HUD respond to my request?
§ 15.107 How does HUD handle requests that involve classified records?
§ 15.108 What are HUD's policies concerning designating confidential commercial or financial information under Exemption 4 of the FOIA and responding to requests for business information?
§ 15.109 How will HUD respond to a request for information from Form HUD–92410 (Statement of Profit and Loss)?
§ 15.110 What fees will HUD charge?
FOIA Fee Schedule---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- News media, educational Activity Rate Commercial use research, or Other requester requester scientific research requester----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(1) Professional search......... $37.00 per hour... Applies........... Does not apply.... Applies. No charge for first two hours of cumulative search time.(2) Professional review......... $37.00 per hour... Applies........... Does not apply.... Does not apply.(3) Clerical search............. $16.35 per hour... Applies........... Does not apply.... Applies. No charge for first two hours of cumulative search time.(4) Clerical review............. $16.35 per hour... Applies........... Does not apply.... Does not apply.(5) Programming services........ $35.00 per hour... Applies........... Does not apply.... Applies.(6) Computer run time (includes The direct cost of Applies........... Does not apply.... Applies. only mainframe search time not conducting the printing). search.(7) Duplication costs........... $0.15 per page.... Applies........... Applies. No charge Applies. No charge for first 100 for first 100 pages. pages.(8) Duplication costs_tape, CD Actual Cost....... Applies........... Applies........... Applies. ROM or diskette.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
§ 15.111 How do I appeal a denial of my request for records or a fee determination?
§ 15.112 How will HUD respond to my appeal?
