Act. The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.D. 1437), as amended.

Allocation area. A municipality, county, or group of municipalities or counties identified by the HUD field office for the purpose of allocating housing assistance.

Assistant Secretary. The Assistant Secretary for Housing or the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, as appropriate to the housing assistance under consideration.

Budget authority. The maximum amount authorized by the Congress for payments over the term of assistance contracts.

Fiscal year. The official operating period of the Federal government, beginning on October 1 and ending on September 30.

Metropolitan area. See MSA.

MSA. A metropolitan statistical area established by the Office of Management and Budget. The term also includes primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs), which are the component parts of larger urbanized areas designated as consolidated metropolitan statistical areas (CMSAs). Where an MSA is divided among two or more field offices, references to an MSA mean the portion of the MSA within the State/Area Office jurisdiction.

Public housing agency (PHA). (1) Any State, county, municipality, or other governmental entity or public body which is authorized to administer a program under the 1937 Act (or an agency or instrumentality of such an entity).

In addition, for purposes of the program of Section 8 tenant-based assistance under part 982 of this title, the term PHA also includes any of the following:

A consortia of housing agencies, each of which meets the qualifications in paragraph (1) of this definition, that HUD determines has the capacity and capability to efficiently administer the program (in which case, HUD may enter into a consolidated ACC with any legal entity authorized to act as the legal representative of the consortia members);

Any other public or private non-profit entity that was administering a Section 8 tenant-based assistance program pursuant to a contract with the contract administrator of such program (HUD or a PHA) in effect on October 21, 1998; or

For any area outside the jurisdiction of a PHA that is administering a tenant-based program, or where HUD determines that such PHA is not administering the program effectively, a private non-profit entity or a governmental entity or public body that would otherwise lack jurisdiction to administer the program in such area.