Glossary of HUD Terms

CBSA: See CORE-BASED STATISICAL AREA.

CDBG: See COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT.

CENSUS TRACT: A small, relatively permanent statistical subdivision of a county or statistically equivalent entity, delineated for data presentation purposes by a local group of census data users or the geographic staff of a regional census center in accordance with Census Bureau guidelines.

CENSUS TRACT NUMBER: A four-digit basic number, followed by an optional two-digit decimal suffix, used to uniquely identify a census tract within a county or statistically equivalent entity.

CMSA: See CONSOLIDATED METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.

COMBINED STATISTICAL AREA (CSA): May comprise two or more metropolitan statistical areas, a metropolitan statistical area and a micropolitan statistical area, two or more micropolitan statistical areas, or multiple metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas that have social and economic ties as measured by commuting, but at lower levels than are found among counties within metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas.

COMMERCIAL BUILDING : Any building other than a residential or government building, including any building constructed for industrial, retail, business, or public purposes.

COMMITMENT: As used in the HOME program, commitment means one of three things. The Participating Jurisdiction (PJ) has:

1. Executed a legally binding agreement with a state recipient, subrecipient, or contractor to use a specific amount of HOME funds to produce affordable housing or provide tenant-based rental assistance;

2. Executed a written agreement reserving a specific amount of funds for a Community Housing Development Organization; or

3. Met requirements to commit to a specific local project as defined below.

For tenant-based rental assistance, commitment means that a rental assistance contract between the PJ (or other entity) and the tenant or owner has been executed. HUD recognizes a commitment when the project is set up in the Integrated Disbursement and Information System.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM (CDBG): Created under the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, this program provides grant funds to local and state governments to develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing with a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities to assist low- and moderate-income residents. CDBG replaced several categorical grant programs, such as the Model Cities program, the Urban Renewal program, and the Housing Rehabilitation Loan and Grant program.

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT (CPD): HUD's Office of Community Planning and Development seeks to develop viable communities by promoting integrated approaches that provide decent housing, a suitable living environment, and expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income persons. The primary means toward this end is the development of partnerships among all levels of government and the private sector, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations.

CONDOMINIUM: A form of ownership in which the separate owners of the individual units jointly own the development’s common areas and facilities.

CONSOLIDATED METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA (CMSA): An area that has a census population of one million or more, has component parts that qualify as primary metropolitan statistical areas (PMSAs) based on official standards, and local opinion favors the designation. CMSAs consist of whole counties, except for the New England states, where they consist of county subdivisions (primarily cities and towns).

CONSOLIDATED PLAN: A document written by a state or local government describing the housing needs of the low- and moderate-income residents, outlining strategies to meet these needs, and listing all resources available to implement the strategies. This document is required in order to receive HUD Community Planning and Development funds.

CO-OP: See COOPERATIVE.

COOPERATIVE (Co-op): Housing in which each member shares in the ownership of the whole project with the exclusive right to occupy a specific unit and to participate in project operations through the purchase of stock.

CORE-BASED STATISTICAL AREA: Refers collectively to metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas.

CPD: See COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT.

CSA: See COMBINED STATISTICAL AREA.

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