Baggett

*385 Opinion

The Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (Housing Authority) appeals from that part of a judgment granting a writ of mandate which ordered it to discontinue its interpretation and application of a federal regulation, promulgated by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), governing the period of time in which an eligible family must find suitable private housing and a landlord willing to rent to it under the rent assistance program established by section 8 (Section 8) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. § 1437 et seq.), as amended by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974.

The regulation in question is 24 Code of Federal Regulations section 882.209(d)(1) (1986), which provides: “The Certificate of Family Participation shall expire at the end of 60 days unless within that time the Family submits a Request for Lease Approval.”

The Housing Authority had interpreted this regulation to mean that, even after a family had submitted a timely request for lease approval, the 60-day period of the certificate would continue to run its course and that, although the certificate would expire at the end of the 60-day…