Landlord Accountability Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 232 To amend the Fair Housing Act, to prohibit discrimination based on use of section 8 vouchers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 3, 2019 Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To amend the Fair Housing Act, to prohibit discrimination based on use of section 8 vouchers, 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 ‘‘Landlord Account- 4 ability Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 6 The Congress finds that— 7 (1) the United States is in the midst of a hous- 8 ing crisis, as the homeownership rate has declined to 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 232 IH 64.4 percent, which is lower than it was 20 years 1 ago, while rental demand has increased and pushed 2 vacancy rates down to 7.1 percent; 3 (2) the median rental asking price is $1,003, up 4 from $708 ten years ago; 5 (3) in June 2018, United States housing rents 6 hit an all-time high of $1,405 per month; of the 250 7 largest U.S. cities 88 percent experienced increases 8 in housing rents over the previous year; 9 (4) families and individuals that pay more than 10 30 percent of their income for housing are consid- 11 ered cost-burdened and have difficultly affording 12 other necessities like food, clothing, transportation, 13 and medical care; 14 (5) almost half of all renters in the United 15 States, approximately 19.9 million households, are 16 cost-burdened; 17 (6) 9.7 million extremely low-income renters 18 spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent; 19 of those renters, 8 million are considered severely 20 cost-burdened and forced to spend more than half of 21 their income on rent; 22 (7) the current rental environment makes rental 23 assistance under the Section 8 Housing Choice 24 Voucher Program of the Department of Housing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 232 IH and Urban Development vital to finding affordable 1 housing for many families; 2 (8) the Section 8 Program helps approximately 3 4.5 million low-income families, the elderly, and the 4 disabled afford respectable housing in the private 5 market; 6 (9) the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Pro- 7 gram assists our Nation’s most economically vulner- 8 able families—the average annual income for all 9 voucher-funded recipients is only $14,444; 10 (10) many of the individuals and families as- 11 sisted by the Section 8 Program would be at risk of 12 homelessness without the program; 13 (11) the Section 8 program caps the rental cost 14 for eligible families and individuals at 30 percent of 15 their incomes, which frees up their limited resources 16 to pay for life’s other necessities; 17 (12) although families and individuals assisted 18 under the program are free to choose any available 19 housing in their community, that has not prevented 20 landlords from discriminating against low-income 21 tenants; 22 (13) public housing authorities are experiencing 23 historically low ‘‘success rates’’ as measured by the 24 percentage of families who are receiving housing 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 232 IH vouchers that are actually able to use them in the 1 private market; 2 (14) given the strong connection between the 3 classes currently protected under the Fair Housing 4 Act, including race, gender, those with disabilities, 5 familial status, and economic status, establishing a 6 ban on income discrimination would further the 7 goals of the Fair Housing Act and better protect 8 these families and individuals; 9 (15) for many years, landlords have relied on 10 the Section 8 housing program to provide affordable 11 housing to tenants in low-income areas, but as more 12 urban areas have undergone rapid revitalization, 13 property values have risen dramatically; 14 (16) as a result of rising property values, there 15 have been serious allegations that landlords are in- 16 tentionally allowing their federally subsidized units 17 to deteriorate in an effort to drive voucher-users out 18 and convert units to higher, market-rate apartments; 19 (17) in addition, landlords are failing to meet 20 the housing quality standards of the Department of 21 Housing and Urban Development and improperly 22 demanding rent in excess of 30 percent of voucher- 23 holders’ incomes; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 232 IH (18) therefore, it is necessary to ban discrimi- 1 nation against source of income, discourage inten- 2 tional acts to disqualify dwelling units from Federal 3 housing programs, and encourage proper mainte- 4 nance of multifamily housing in order to revive the 5 Section 8 rental assistance program, affirmatively 6 further fair housing policies, and address our na- 7 tional housing affordability crisis. 8 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION ON ACCOUNT OF 9 USE OF SECTION 8 VOUCHERS. 10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 804 of the Fair Housing 11 Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) is amended by inserting after para- 12 graph (f) the following new paragraph: 13 ‘‘(g) To discriminate in connection with the 14 rental of a dwelling because the tenant or prospec- 15 tive tenant is the holder of a housing voucher.’’. 16 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 802 of the Fair Housing 17 Act (42 U.S.C. 3602) is amended by adding at the end 18 the following new paragraph: 19 ‘‘(p) ‘Holder of a housing voucher’ means a 20 holder of a voucher for rental assistance under sub- 21 section (o) or (t) of section 8 of the United States 22 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f).’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 232 IH SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR INTENTIONAL ACTS TO DIS- 1 QUALIFY DWELLING UNITS FROM ELIGI- 2 BILITY FOR FEDERAL HOUSING PROGRAMS. 3 (a) VIOLATION.—An owner of a dwelling unit that 4 is available for rental may not take any action, or fail to 5 take any action, with the intent to make the dwelling unit 6 insufficiently decent, safe, sanitary, or inhabitable, or 7 cause such other physical condition, so that the dwelling 8 does not qualify for assistance within the jurisdiction of 9 the Department (as such term is defined in section 102(m) 10 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 11 Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545(m))). 12 (b) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.—Any person who is 13 found by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop- 14 ment, after notice and opportunity for a hearing in accord- 15 ance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, to 16 have violated subsection (a) shall be assessed a civil money 17 penalty by the Secretary in the amount of $100,000 for 18 each such action or failure to act. 19 (c) LIABILITY TO TENANTS.—A tenant who, at the 20 time of a violation under subsection (a), occupies the 21 dwelling unit to which the violation relates may bring a 22 civil action for damages in the following amounts: 23 (1) $50,000 for each action or failure to act in 24 violation of subsection (a). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 232 IH (2) Any actual damages and costs to the tenant 1 resulting from the violation, including any costs of 2 finding a replacement dwelling unit. 3 SEC. 5. RESOURCES FOR RECEIVING AND RESOLVING COM- 4 PLAINTS REGARDING MULTIFAMILY HOUS- 5 ING PROJECTS. 6 (a) INCREASED HUD STAFFING FOR COMPLAINT 7 CALL STAFFING.— 8 (1) INCREASED STAFFING.—The Secretary 9 shall, not later than the expiration of the 180-day 10 period beginning on the date of the enactment of 11 this Act, increase the staffing level for the Multi- 12 family Housing Complaint Line established and op- 13 erated by the Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse of 14 the Department so that it is sufficient and appro- 15 priate to handle the volume of calls received without 16 unreasonable waiting periods. 17 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 18 carrying out paragraph (1), there are authorized to 19 be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may 20 be necessary for each fiscal year for carrying out 21 paragraph (1). 22 (b) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING COMPLAINT RESOLU- 23 TION PROGRAM.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 232 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 1 out a Multifamily Housing Complaint Resolution 2 Program for receiving complaints about multifamily 3 housing projects from voucher users who reside in 4 such projects and local governmental officials, under 5 which the Secretary shall provide for— 6 (A) gathering of information regarding 7 each such complaint; 8 (B) determining whether there is a likeli- 9 hood that there is any violation of the require- 10 ments under the rental assistance voucher pro- 11 gram relating to such complaint; 12 (C) informing the owner or landlord of the 13 complaint and any violations; and 14 (D) attempting to resolve the complaint 15 and violations, including through mediation. 16 (2) RESOLUTION.—The Secretary may provide 17 for carrying out the activities required under para- 18 graph (1)(D) through regional or field offices of the 19 Department or through such local or private organi- 20 zations or agencies as the Secretary determines have 21 appropriate capabilities and expertise to carry out 22 such activities. 23 (3) FUNDING.—Amounts made available for ad- 24 ministrative fees under section 8(q) of the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 232 IH States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)) 1 shall be available for carrying out the program 2 under this subsection. 3 (4) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the expira- 4 tion of the 12-month period beginning on the date 5 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 6 issue any regulations necessary to establish the Pro- 7 gram required under this subsection. 8 SEC. 6. HUD DISCLOSURE OF LANDLORD COMPLAINTS. 9 (a) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—The Secretary shall pub- 10 licly disclose, on a website of the Department and on a 11 timely basis, information regarding each complaint re- 12 ceived under the Program establish pursuant to section 13 5(b), which shall include for each such complaint— 14 (1) the nature of the complaint; 15 (2) the date on which such complaint was sub- 16 mitted to the Department; 17 (3) the disposition, as of the time of such dis- 18 closure, of such complaint; and 19 (4) information identifying the multifamily 20 housing project to which such complaint relates. 21 (b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of 22 Housing and Urban Development shall submit a report 23 annually to the Committee on Financial Services of the 24 House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 232 IH Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate summarizing 1 the complaints described in subsection (a) that were re- 2 ceived by the Department during the preceding year and 3 describing the disposition to such date of such complaints. 4 SEC. 7. TAX CREDIT INCENTIVE FOR MAINTENANCE OF 5 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING WITH VOUCHER 6 USER TENANTS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub- 8 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 9 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 10 section: 11 ‘‘SEC. 45T. LOW-INCOME HOUSING MAINTENANCE CREDIT. 12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, in 13 the case of an eligible landlord, the low-income housing 14 maintenance credit determined under this section for the 15 taxable year is an amount equal to the amount of the tax- 16 payer’s low-income housing maintenance expenses for such 17 taxable year. 18 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 19 ‘‘(1) PER UNIT LIMITATION.—The credit al- 20 lowed under subsection (a) with respect to any tax- 21 payer for any taxable year shall not exceed the prod- 22 uct of $2,500 multiplied by the number of low-in- 23 come housing units owned by the taxpayer. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 232 IH ‘‘(2) PER BUILDING LIMITATION.—The credit 1 allowed under subsection (a) with respect to any tax- 2 payer for any taxable year shall not exceed the prod- 3 uct of $100,000 multiplied by the number of eligible 4 low-income housing projects owned by the taxpayer. 5 ‘‘(3) PER TAXPAYER LIMITATION.—The credit 6 allowed under subsection (a) with respect to any tax- 7 payer for any taxable year shall not exceed 8 $500,000. 9 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE LANDLORD.—For purposes of this 10 section, the term ‘eligible landlord’ means any taxpayer 11 for any taxable year if— 12 ‘‘(1) such taxpayer owns one or more eligible 13 low-income housing projects during such taxable 14 year, and 15 ‘‘(2) either— 16 ‘‘(A) each complaint that is filed, under 17 the program under section 5(b) of the Landlord 18 Accountability Act of 2019, during such taxable 19 year with respect to a dwelling unit in an eligi- 20 ble low-income housing project owned by such 21 taxpayer has been determined by the Secretary 22 of Housing and Urban Development to have 23 been remedied not later than the date which is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H232.IH H232 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 232 IH 30 days after the date on which such complaint 1 is so filed, or 2 ‘‘(B) no such complaint has been filed with 3 respect to such a dwelling unit in such a hous- 4 ing project owned by such taxpayer during such 5 taxable year. 6 ‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of t [Text truncated for display. 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