What special authority is there to obtain access to sex offender registration information?
24 C.F.R. § 5.905
in effectEffective: 2024-07-01(a) PHA obligation to obtain sex offender registration information. (1) A PHA that administers a Section 8 or public housing program under an Annual Contributions Contract with HUD must carry out background checks necessary to determine whether a member of a household applying for admission to any federally assisted housing program is subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement under a State sex offender registration program. This check must be carried out with respect to the State in which the housing is located and with respect to States where members of the applicant household are known to have resided.
(2) If the PHA requests such information from any State or local agency responsible for the collection or maintenance of such information, the State or local agency must promptly provide the PHA such information in its possession or control.
(3) The State or local agency may charge a reasonable fee for providing the information.
(b) Owner's request for sex offender registration information—(1) General. An owner of federally assisted housing that is located in the jurisdiction of a PHA that administers a Section 8 or public housing program under an Annual Contributions Contract with HUD may request that the PHA obtain information necessary to determine whether a household member is subject to a lifetime registration requirement under a State sex offender registration requirement.
(2) Procedure. If the request is made in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section:
(i) The PHA must request the information from a State or local agency;
(ii) The State or local agency must promptly provide the PHA such information in its possession or control;
(iii) The PHA must determine whether such information may be a basis for applicant screening, lease enforcement or eviction, based on the criteria used by the owner as specified in the owner's request, and inform the owner of the determination.
(iv) The PHA must notify the owner of its determination whether sex offender registration information received by the PHA under this section concerning a household member may be a basis for applicant screening, lease enforcement or eviction in accordance with HUD requirements and the criteria used by the owner.
(3) Contents of request. As the owner, your request must specify whether you are asking the PHA to obtain the sex offender registration information concerning the household member for applicant screening, for lease enforcement, or for eviction and include the following information:
(i) Addresses or other information about where members of the household are known to have lived.
(ii) If you intend to use the PHA determination regarding any such sex offender registration information for applicant screening, your request must include your standards in accordance with § 5.855(c) for prohibiting admission of persons subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement.
(iii) If you intend to use the PHA determination regarding any such sex offender registration information for eviction, your request must include your standards for evicting persons subject to a lifetime registration requirement in accordance with § 5.858.
(iv) If you intend to use the PHA determination regarding any such sex offender registration information for lease enforcement other than eviction, your request must include your standards for lease enforcement because of criminal activity by members of a household.
(4) PHA disclosure of records. The PHA must not disclose to the owner any sex offender registration information obtained by the PHA under this section.
(5) Fees. If an owner asks a PHA to obtain sex offender registration information concerning a household member in accordance with this section, the PHA may charge the owner reasonable fees for making the request on behalf of the owner and for taking other actions for the owner. The PHA may require the owner to reimburse costs incurred by the PHA, including reimbursement of any fees charged to the PHA by a State or local agency for releasing the information, the PHA's own related staff and administrative costs. The owner may not pass along to the applicant or tenant the costs of a sex offender registration records check.
(c) Records management. (1) The PHA must establish and implement a system of records management that ensures that any sex offender registration information record received by the PHA from a State or local agency under this section is:
(i) Maintained confidentially;
(ii) Not misused or improperly disseminated; and
(iii) Destroyed, once the purpose for which the record was requested has been accomplished, including expiration of the period for filing a challenge to the PHA action without institution of a challenge or final disposition of any such litigation.
(2) The records management requirements do not apply to information that is public information, or is obtained by a PHA other than under this section.
(d) Opportunity to dispute. If a PHA obtains sex offender registration information from a State or local agency under paragraph (a) of this section showing that a household member is subject to a lifetime sex offender registration requirement, the PHA must notify the household of the proposed action to be based on the information and must provide the subject of the record, and the applicant or tenant, with a copy of such information, and an opportunity to dispute the accuracy and relevance of the information. This opportunity must be provided before a denial of admission, eviction or lease enforcement action on the basis of such information.
Source: eCFRURL: https://www.ecfr.gov/api/versioner/v1/full/2024-07-01/title-24.xmlFetched: 7/26/2026