Housing Accountability Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 947 To provide standards for physical condition and management of housing receiving assistance payments under section 8 of the United States Hous- ing Act of 1937. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 24, 2021 Mr. RUBIO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To provide standards for physical condition and management of housing receiving assistance payments under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. 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 ‘‘Housing Accountability 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 947 IS SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR PHYSICAL CONDITION AND MAN- 1 AGEMENT OF HOUSING RECEIVING ASSIST- 2 ANCE PAYMENTS. 3 Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 4 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended by inserting after sub- 5 section (v) the following: 6 ‘‘(w) STANDARDS FOR PHYSICAL CONDITION AND 7 MANAGEMENT OF HOUSING RECEIVING ASSISTANCE PAY- 8 MENTS.— 9 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS FOR PHYSICAL CONDITION 10 AND MANAGEMENT OF HOUSING.—Any entity receiv- 11 ing assistance payments under this section shall 12 maintain decent, safe, and sanitary conditions, as 13 determined by the Secretary, for any structure cov- 14 ered under a housing assistance payment contract. 15 ‘‘(2) SURVEY OF TENANTS.—The Secretary 16 shall develop a process by which a Performance- 17 Based Contract Administrator shall, on a semi- 18 annual basis, conduct a survey of the tenants of 19 each structure covered under a housing assistance 20 payment contract for the purpose of identifying con- 21 sistent or persistent problems with the physical con- 22 dition of the structure or performance of the man- 23 ager of the structure. 24 ‘‘(3) REMEDIATION.—A structure covered 25 under a housing assistance payment contract shall 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 947 IS be referred to the Secretary for remediation if a Per- 1 formance-Based Contract Administrator identifies a 2 consistent or persistent problem with the structure 3 or the management of the structure based on— 4 ‘‘(A) a survey conducted under paragraph 5 (2); or 6 ‘‘(B) any other observation made by the 7 Performance-Based Contract Administrator 8 during the normal course of business. 9 ‘‘(4) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO UPHOLD 10 STANDARDS.— 11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 12 impose a penalty on any owner of a structure 13 covered under a housing assistance payment 14 contract if the Secretary finds that the struc- 15 ture or manager of the structure— 16 ‘‘(i) did not satisfactorily meet the re- 17 quirements under paragraph (1); or 18 ‘‘(ii) is repeatedly referred to the Sec- 19 retary for remediation by a Performance- 20 Based Contract Administrator through the 21 process established under paragraph (3). 22 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—A penalty imposed under 23 subparagraph (A) shall be in an amount equal 24 to not less than 1 percent of the annual budget 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 947 IS authority the owner is allocated under a hous- 1 ing assistance payment contract. 2 ‘‘(C) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Any amounts 3 collected under this paragraph shall be used 4 solely for the purpose of supporting safe and 5 sanitary conditions at applicable structures or 6 for tenant relocation, as designated by the Sec- 7 retary, with priority given to the tenants of the 8 structure that led to the penalty. 9 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall not 10 apply to any property assisted under subsection 11 (o).’’. 12 SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF REPORT. 13 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 14 of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop- 15 ment shall submit to Congress a report that— 16 (1) examines the adequacy of capital reserves 17 for each structure covered under a housing assist- 18 ance payment contract under section 8 of the United 19 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); 20 (2) examines the use of funds derived from a 21 housing assistance payment contract for purposes 22 unrelated to the maintenance and capitalization of 23 the structure covered under the contract; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 947 IS (3) includes any administrative or legislative 1 recommendations to further improve the living con- 2 ditions at those structures. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:09 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S947.IS S947 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS