Affordable Housing Redevelopment Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1501 To reauthorize the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 2, 2021 Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself and Mr. THOMPSON of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To reauthorize the Neighborhood Stabilization Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Affordable Housing 4 Redevelopment Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) even before the economic hardship caused 8 by the COVID–19 pandemic, the United States 9 faced a shortage of more than 7,000,000 affordable 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1501 IH rental homes to meet the needs of extremely low-in- 1 come renters; 2 (2) due to financial burdens and loss of income 3 resulting from the pandemic, millions of people in 4 the United States are at risk of eviction or fore- 5 closure, and the need for affordable housing is ex- 6 pected to increase dramatically; 7 (3) homelessness is projected to rise by as much 8 as 45 percent across the United States as a result 9 of the pandemic and economic crisis, meaning nearly 10 1,000,000 people in the United States could be expe- 11 riencing homelessness in the very near future; 12 (4) in addition to making long-term investments 13 in the affordable housing stock in the United States, 14 it is also critically important to focus resources on 15 more immediate solutions, such as acquiring and re- 16 habilitating existing buildings and placing afford- 17 ability requirements on the housing that is produced; 18 (5) acquisition and rehabilitation provides two 19 distinct advantages by lowering per-unit construction 20 costs and making affordable housing units available 21 to low-income households much faster; 22 (6) in addition to rehabilitation of residential 23 properties, there are opportunities for adaptive reuse 24 and the conversion of non-residential office and re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1501 IH tail properties to create new affordable housing in 1 communities across the United States; and 2 (7) helping States, local governments, and non- 3 profit organizations acquire blighted, abandoned, va- 4 cant, foreclosed, or surplus properties and convert 5 them into affordable housing will allow for the rapid 6 development of new affordable units, while stimu- 7 lating local economies and creating jobs. 8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 9 In this Act: 10 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 11 ty’’ means— 12 (A) a State, a city, county, or other polit- 13 ical subdivision of a State, a consortium of po- 14 litical subdivisions of a State, a Tribal govern- 15 ment, a public housing authority, or a redevel- 16 opment agency; or 17 (B) any nonprofit entity or consortium of 18 nonprofit entities, which may submit an appli- 19 cation for a grant under this section in partner- 20 ship with a for-profit entity. 21 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1501 IH SEC. 4. REAUTHORIZATION OF NEIGHBORHOOD STABILIZA- 1 TION PROGRAM. 2 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDS.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 4 appropriated to the Secretary $1,500,000,000 for 5 fiscal year 2021, to remain available until expended, 6 for the provision of emergency assistance for the re- 7 development of abandoned and foreclosed homes, as 8 authorized under title III of division B of the Hous- 9 ing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 10 5301 note; Public Law 110–289), in addition to 11 other related uses of funds authorized under this 12 section. 13 (2) APPLICABILITY OF PROVISIONS.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 15 provided in this section, the provisions under 16 the second undesignated paragraph under the 17 heading ‘‘COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND’’ 18 under the heading ‘‘COMMUNITY PLANNING 19 AND DEVELOPMENT’’ under the heading ‘‘DE- 20 PARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN 21 DEVELOPMENT’’ in title XII of division A of 22 the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 23 of 2009 (Public Law 111–5) relating to assist- 24 ance authorized under title III of division B of 25 the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1501 IH 2008 (42 U.S.C. 5301 note; Public Law 110– 1 289) shall apply with respect to the emergency 2 assistance authorized under paragraph (1). 3 (B) CERTAIN CRITERIA NOT APPLICA- 4 BLE.—The fourth proviso in the second undes- 5 ignated paragraph described in subparagraph 6 (A) of this paragraph (relating to grantees in 7 areas with foreclosures and the ability to ex- 8 pend funding within a certain period) shall not 9 apply with respect to the emergency assistance 10 authorized under paragraph (1) of this sub- 11 section. 12 (b) GRANTS; APPLICATION.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 14 grants under this section to eligible entities through 15 a competitive process. 16 (2) CRITERIA.—Not later than 75 days after 17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 18 shall publish the criteria for awarding grants under 19 this section. 20 (3) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity desiring a 21 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec- 22 retary an application— 23 (A) in such manner and containing such 24 information as the Secretary may require; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1501 IH (B) that demonstrates a capacity to exe- 1 cute projects and leverage potential, and any 2 other additional factors as determined by the 3 Secretary; and 4 (C) not later than 200 days after the date 5 of enactment of this Act. 6 (4) PREFERENCE.—The Secretary shall award 7 preference to an application for a grant under this 8 section to applicants that submit proposals— 9 (A) to provide assistance in areas with 10 high levels of cost-burdened households; 11 (B) to provide assistance in rural areas; 12 (C) to provide assistance in communities 13 that have adopted local land-use policies, build- 14 ing codes, or related regulations that favor 15 greater housing production, such as— 16 (i) allowing greater density near pub- 17 lic transportation lines; 18 (ii) establishing by-right development; 19 (iii) eliminating off-street parking re- 20 quirements; 21 (iv) granting density bonuses; 22 (v) employing inclusionary zoning; 23 (vi) relaxing minimum lot sizes; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1501 IH (vii) authorizing conversion of com- 1 mercial properties into mixed-use and resi- 2 dential properties; or 3 (viii) other local land-use policies, 4 building codes, or related regulations that 5 favor greater housing production; 6 (D) to provide assistance in areas that are 7 in close proximity to high-frequency public 8 transportation; or 9 (E) that have a higher proportion of af- 10 fordable units for households with incomes that 11 are less than 50 percent of the area median in- 12 come. 13 (5) DIVERSITY.—In awarding grants under this 14 section, the Secretary shall ensure a geographic di- 15 versity of grantees from across the United States. 16 (c) USE OF FUNDS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant under 18 this section— 19 (A) shall use grant funds to purchase 20 blighted, abandoned, vacant, foreclosed, or sur- 21 plus property and convert the property into af- 22 fordable housing, which shall serve individuals 23 and families with a household income that does 24 not exceed the area median income; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1501 IH (B) may use grant funds for mixed-use de- 1 velopment projects, conversion of non-residen- 2 tial office and retail properties, and other rede- 3 velopment requiring changes to land use restric- 4 tions; and 5 (C) shall, to the maximum extent fea- 6 sible— 7 (i) provide for the hiring of employees 8 who reside in the vicinity, as such term is 9 defined by the Secretary, of projects fund- 10 ed under this section; or 11 (ii) contract with small business con- 12 cerns owned and controlled by socially and 13 economically disadvantaged individuals (as 14 defined in section 8(d)(3)(C) of the Small 15 Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(d)(3)(C)) re- 16 siding in the vicinity of projects funded 17 under this section. 18 (2) SET ASIDE FOR EXTREMELY LOW-INCOME 19 AND VERY LOW-INCOME FAMILIES.—Not less than 20 25 percent of the affordable housing described in 21 paragraph (1) shall service individuals and families 22 with a household income that does not exceed 50 23 percent of the area median income. 24 (3) AFFORDABILITY PERIODS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1501 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—The affordability period 1 for housing assisted under this section— 2 (i) with respect to rental housing or 3 housing with resale restrictions, shall be 4 not less than 30 years, beginning on 5 project completion; and 6 (ii) with respect to housing with re- 7 capture restrictions, shall be not less than 8 10, 20, or 30 years in accordance with the 9 affordability period requirements under 10 section 93.305 of title 24, Code of Federal 11 Regulations, or any successor regulation. 12 (B) LONGER PERIODS PERMITTED.—Noth- 13 ing in subparagraph (A) shall be construed to 14 prohibit a recipient of a grant under this sec- 15 tion from establishing a longer affordability pe- 16 riod than is required under that subparagraph. 17 (4) DEADLINE FOR EXPENDING FUNDS.—A re- 18 cipient of a grant under this section shall expend— 19 (A) not less than 50 percent of allocated 20 funds under this section not later than 3 years 21 after the date on which the funds become avail- 22 able to the grantee for obligation; and 23 (B) 100 percent of allocated funds under 24 this section not later than 6 years after the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1501 IH date on which the funds become available to the 1 grantee for obligation. 2 (d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use not 4 more than 2 percent of the funds made available 5 under this section to provide technical assistance to 6 grantees under this section. 7 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 8 Congress that, to the extent practicable, the Sec- 9 retary shall provide technical assistance directly to 10 grantees under this section. 11 (e) DEADLINE FOR AWARDING FUNDS.—The Sec- 12 retary shall award all grant funds authorized under this 13 section not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 14 of this Act. 15 (f) EXISTING REGULATIONS.—Except to the extent 16 that a regulation is in conflict with the provisions of this 17 Act, the regulations applicable to the provision of emer- 18 gency assistance for the redevelopment of abandoned and 19 foreclosed homes, as authorized under title III of division 20 B of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 21 (42 U.S.C. 5301 note; Public Law 110–289) and subse- 22 quent Acts, as in effect on the day before the date of en- 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1501 IH actment of this Act, shall apply to the provision of assist- 1 ance under this Act. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:59 Apr 16, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1501.IH H1501 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS