24 C.F.R. § 5.504

§ 5.504 Definitions. (24 CFR Part 5)

In Force
Verified 8/21/2026 · Next check 9/20/2026
effective 8/19/2026FederalAffordable Housing ProgramsSection 8 HCV

Operative Text

24 C.F.R. § 5.504
(a) The definitions 1937 Act, HUD, Public Housing Agency (PHA), and Section 8 are defined in subpart A of this part.

(b) As used in this subpart E:

Child means a member of the family other than the family head or spouse who is under 18 years of age.

Citizen means a citizen or national of the United States.

Evidence of citizenship or eligible status means the documents which must be submitted to evidence citizenship or eligible immigration status. (See § 5.508(b).)

Family has the same meaning as provided in the program regulations of the relevant Section 214 covered program.

Head of household means the adult member of the family who is the head of the household for purposes of determining income eligibility and rent.

Housing covered programs means the following programs administered by the Assistant Secretary for Housing:

(1) Section 235 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z) (the Section 235 Program);

(2) Section 236 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z-1) (tenants paying below market rent only) (the Section 236 Program); and

(3) Section 101 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 (12 U.S.C. 1701s) (the Rent Supplement Program).

INS means the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Mixed family means a family whose members include those with citizenship or eligible immigration status, and those without citizenship or eligible immigration status.

National means a person who owes permanent allegiance to the United States, for example, as a result of birth in a United States territory or possession.

Noncitizen means a person who is neither a citizen nor national of the United States.

Project owner means the person or entity that owns the housing project containing the assisted dwelling unit.

Public Housing covered programs means the public housing programs administered by the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing under title I of the 1937 Act. This definition does not encompass HUD's Indian Housing programs administered under title II of the 1937 Act. Further, this term does not include those programs providing assistance under section 8 of the 1937 Act. (See definition of “Section 8 Covered Programs” in this section.)

Responsible entity means the person or entity responsible for administering the restrictions on providing assistance to noncitizens with ineligible immigrations status. The entity responsible for administering the restrictions on providing assistance to noncitizens with ineligible immigration status under the various covered programs is as follows:

(1) For the Section 235 Program, the mortgagee.

(2) For Public Housing, the Section 8 tenant-based assistance, the Section 8 project-based voucher, and the Section 8 Moderate Rehabilitation programs, the PHA administering the program under an ACC with HUD.

(3) For all other Section 8 programs, the Section 236 Program, and the Rent Supplement Program, the owner.

Section 8 covered programs means all HUD programs which assist housing under Section 8 of the 1937 Act, including Section 8-assisted housing for which loans are made under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959.

Section 214 means section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1436a).

Section 214 covered programs is the collective term for the HUD programs to which the restrictions imposed by Section 214 apply. These programs are set forth in § 5.500.

Tenant means an individual or a family renting or occupying an assisted dwelling unit. For purposes of this subpart E, the term tenant will also be used to include a homebuyer, where appropriate.
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

Section 5.504 of 24 CFR Part 5 establishes a shared vocabulary for the rules governing eligibility for certain federally assisted housing programs under Section 214. The definitions set out who qualifies as a citizen, noncitizen, or national; what constitutes a mixed family; and which entities—such as a PHA or project owner—bear responsibility for administering immigration-status restrictions. These terms apply consistently across the covered programs, which span public housing, several Section 8 programs, and older HUD housing assistance programs like the Section 235, Section 236, and Rent Supplement programs.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on September 4, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Under § 5.504, project owners and mortgagees are identified as 'responsible entities' for certain covered programs, meaning they are the parties charged with administering restrictions on assistance to noncitizens with ineligible immigration status. Compliant operators familiarize themselves with which program category their property falls under—since responsibility shifts between the owner and the PHA depending on the program type—and apply the definitions in this section consistently when reviewing household composition and eligibility documentation. Operators also note that the term 'tenant' in this subpart can extend to homebuyers where applicable, broadening the scope of who must be screened under these rules.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

The definitions in § 5.504 directly shape how households are categorized for eligibility purposes in federally assisted housing, including how 'mixed families'—those with both eligible and ineligible members—are identified and treated. Tenants in Section 8, public housing, or other Section 214 covered programs have the right to understand which entity (a PHA or a project owner) is responsible for administering immigration-status determinations in their specific program. Those who believe a definition has been misapplied to their household may raise that concern with the responsible entity, consult a local tenant-rights organization, or explore complaint processes available through HUD.

General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.

Generated September 4, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

Effective Timeline

Expression #1
May 25, 2026
Expression #2
May 25, 2026
Expression #3
Aug 19, 2026
Current
Aug 19, 2026
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Related Rules

§ 1437
Declaration of policy and public housing agency organization
§ 5.100
§ 5.100 Definitions.
§ 5.107
§ 5.107 Audit requirements for non-profit organizations.

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