Disaster Assistance Fairness Act

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3777 To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide assistance for common interest communities, condomin- iums, and housing cooperatives damaged by a major disaster, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 31, 2023 Mr. ROUZER (for himself and Mr. NADLER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure A BILL To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- gency Assistance Act to provide assistance for common interest communities, condominiums, and housing co- operatives damaged by a major disaster, 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 ‘‘Disaster Assistance 4 Fairness Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3777.IH H3777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3777 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 Section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 2 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122) is 3 amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(13) RESIDENTIAL COMMON INTEREST COM- 5 MUNITY.—The term ‘residential common interest 6 community’ means any nonprofit mandatory mem- 7 bership organization comprising owners of real es- 8 tate described in a declaration or created pursuant 9 to a covenant or other applicable law with respect to 10 which a person, by virtue of the person’s ownership 11 of a unit, is obligated to pay for a share of real es- 12 tate taxes, insurance premiums, maintenance, or im- 13 provement of, or services or other expenses related 14 to, common elements, other units, or any other real 15 estate other than that unit described in the declara- 16 tion. 17 ‘‘(14) CONDOMINIUM.—The term ‘condo- 18 minium’ means a multi-unit housing project in which 19 each dwelling unit is separately owned, and the re- 20 maining portions of the real estate are designated 21 for common ownership solely by the owners of those 22 units, each owner having an undivided interest in 23 the common elements, and which is represented by 24 a condominium association consisting exclusively of 25 all the unit owners in the project, which is, or will 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3777.IH H3777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3777 IH be responsible for the operation, administration, and 1 management of the project. 2 ‘‘(15) HOUSING COOPERATIVE.—The term 3 ‘housing cooperative’ means a multi-unit housing en- 4 tity in which each dwelling unit is subject to sepa- 5 rate use and possession by 1 or more cooperative 6 members whose interest in such unit, and in any un- 7 divided assets of the cooperative association that are 8 appurtenant to such unit, is evidenced by a member- 9 ship or share interest in a cooperative association 10 and a lease or other document of title or possession 11 granted by such cooperative as the owner of all coop- 12 erative property.’’. 13 SEC. 3. REMOVAL OF DEBRIS RESULTING FROM A MAJOR 14 DISASTER IN RESIDENTIAL COMMON INTER- 15 EST COMMUNITIES. 16 Section 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 17 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5173) is 18 amended— 19 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 20 subsections (e) and (f); and 21 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 22 lowing: 23 ‘‘(d) RULES RELATING TO RESIDENTIAL COMMON 24 INTEREST COMMUNITIES.—The President shall issue 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3777.IH H3777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3777 IH rules which provide that removal of debris or wreckage 1 from real estate owned by a residential common interest 2 community resulting from a major disaster is in the public 3 interest when a State or local government determines in 4 writing such debris or wreckage constitutes a threat to 5 life, to public health or safety, or to the economic recovery 6 of the residential common interest community.’’. 7 SEC. 4. CONDOMINIUMS AND HOUSING COOPERATIVES 8 DAMAGED BY A MAJOR DISASTER. 9 Section 408(c)(2)(A) of the Robert T. Stafford Dis- 10 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11 5174(c)(2)(A)) is amended— 12 (1) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 13 (2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 14 and 15 (3) by adding after clause (i) the following: 16 ‘‘(ii) the repair of essential common 17 elements of a condominium or housing co- 18 operative (such as a roof, exterior wall, 19 heating and cooling equipment, elevator, 20 stairwell, utility access, plumbing, and elec- 21 tricity) provided an individual’s or house- 22 hold’s pro rata share of essential common 23 element repair costs are satisfactorily doc- 24 umented; and’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3777.IH H3777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3777 IH SEC. 5. APPLICABILITY. 1 The amendments made by this Act shall apply to a 2 major disaster or emergency declared by the President 3 under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 4 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) on or after 5 the date of enactment of this Act. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:59 Jun 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3777.IH H3777 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS