Senior Citizens Housing Safety Act

Summary: Senior Citizens Housing Safety Act - Amends the United States Housing Act of 1937 to prohibit persons with drug or alcohol problems from occupying dwelling units in assisted housing designated for elderly families.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Senior Citizens Housing Safety 
Act''.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON OCCUPANCY IN PUBLIC HOUSING DESIGNATED FOR 
              ELDERLY FAMILIES.

    Section 7(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437e(a)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``Notwithstanding any 
        other provision of law'' and inserting ``Subject only to the 
        provisions of this subsection'';
            (2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``, except as provided 
        in paragraph (5)'' before the period at the end; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(5) Limitation on occupancy in projects for elderly 
        families.--
                    ``(A) Occupancy limitation.--Notwithstanding any 
                other provision of law, a dwelling unit in a project 
                (or portion of a project) that is designated under 
                paragraph (1) for occupancy by only elderly families or 
                by only elderly and disabled families shall not be 
                occupied by--
                            ``(i) any person with disabilities who is 
                        not an elderly person and whose use (or history 
                        of use) of drugs or alcohol constitutes a 
                        disability; or
                            ``(ii) any person who is not an elderly 
                        person whose use of drugs or alcohol (or 
                        history of such use) provides reasonable cause 
                        for the agency to believe that the occupancy by 
                        such person may interfere with the health, 
                        safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the 
                        premises by other tenants.
                    ``(B) Required statement.--A public housing agency 
                may not make a dwelling unit in such a project 
                available for occupancy to any person or family who is 
                not an elderly family, unless the agency acquires from 
                the person or family a signed statement that no person 
                who will be occupying the unit uses (or has a history 
                of use) of drugs or alcohol that would interfere with 
                the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of 
                the premises by other tenants.''.

SEC. 3. LEASE PROVISIONS.

    Section 6(l) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437d(l)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (7); and
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) following new 
        paragraph:
            ``(6) provide that any violation of the provisions of 
        section 7(a)(5)(A) or the furnishing of any false or misleading 
        information pursuant to section 7(a)(5)(B) shall be cause for 
        termination of tenancy; and''.

SEC. 4. PROVISION OF SECTION 8 ASSISTANCE TO MOVE NONELDERLY TENANTS 
              HAVING DRUG OR ALCOHOL USE PROBLEMS FROM PUBLIC HOUSING 
              DESIGNATED FOR ELDERLY FAMILIES.

    (a) In General.--Section 7(c) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 is amended to read as follows:
    ``(c) Limitations on Evictions.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), any 
        tenant who is lawfully residing in a dwelling unit in a public 
        housing project may not be evicted or otherwise required to 
        vacate such unit because of the designation of the project (or 
        a portion of the project) pursuant to this section or because 
        of any action taken by the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
        Development or any public housing agency pursuant to this 
        section.
            ``(2) Eviction of nonelderly tenants having drug or alcohol 
        use problems in housing designated for elderly families.--A 
        tenant in a project (or portion of a project) that is 
        designated under subsection (a)(1) for occupancy by only 
        elderly families or by only elderly and disabled families shall 
        be evicted under this paragraph if--
                    ``(A) the tenant's household includes a person 
                described in clause (i) or (ii) of subsection 
                (a)(5)(A); and
                    ``(B) upon termination of the tenant's tenancy in 
                the project, the public housing agency provides rental 
                assistance under section 8 on behalf of the tenant.''.
    (b) Preference for Section 8 Assistance.--
            (1) Certificates.--Section 8(d)(1)(A)(i) of the United 
        States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(d)(1)(A)(i)) is 
        amended by inserting after ``income for rent,'' the following: 
        ``are required to be evicted under section 7(c)(2) if 
        assistance under this section is provided on behalf of the 
        family,''.
            (2) Vouchers.--The first sentence of section 8(o)(3)(B) of 
        the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
        1437f(o)(3)(B)) is amended by inserting after ``displaced,'' 
        the following: ``are required to be evicted under section 
        7(c)(2) if assistance under this section is provided on behalf 
        of the family,''.