A bill to expedite the transfer of ownership of rural multifamily housing projects with loans made or insured under section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 so that such projects are rehabilitated and preserved for use for affordable housing.

Summary: Section 515 Rural Housing Property Transfer Improvement Act of 2008 - Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) implement administrative and procedural changes to expedite the application approval process for transferring ownership of Section 515 rural multifamily housing projects for which a loan is either made or insured for a project's preservation, continued use restriction, and rehabilitation; and (2) actively facilitate such transfers.

Grants final regulatory authority over such property transfers to the Office of Rental Housing Preservation of the Rural Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture.

Sets forth deadlines for the processing of transfer applications.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Section 515 Rural Housing Property 
Transfer Improvement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) providing rural housing for poor families in the United 
        States has been an important goal, and the primary reason for 
        enactment, of the Housing Act of 1949;
            (2) rural multifamily housing financed under the section 
        515 of the Housing Act of 1949 has been an essential resource 
        for providing affordable housing for some of the Nation's 
        poorest families;
            (3) the majority of the approximately 16,000 projects 
        financed under section 515 that currently have loans 
        outstanding were constructed more than 25 years ago and need 
        new financing in order to continue to provide decent, 
        affordable housing for families eligible to reside in such 
        housing;
            (4) many owners of such projects are working to transfer 
        the properties, which often involves leveraging Federal 
        resources with private and commercial resources; and
            (5) the Secretary of Agriculture should protect the 
        portfolio of section 515 projects by making administrative and 
        procedural changes to process ownership transfers in a 
        commercially reasonable time and manner when such transfers 
        will further the preservation of such projects for use as 
        affordable housing for families eligible to reside in such 
        housing.

SEC. 3. TRANSFERS OF SECTION 515 RURAL MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROJECTS.

    Section 515(h) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485) is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1) Condition.--'' after ``(h)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) Transfers for Preservation and Rehabilitation of Projects.--
            ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make such 
        administrative and procedural changes as may be necessary to 
        expedite the approval of applications to transfer ownership of 
        projects for which a loan is made or insured under this section 
        for the preservation, continued use restriction, and 
        rehabilitation of such projects. Such changes may include 
        changing approval procedures, increasing staff and resources, 
        improving outreach to project sponsors regarding information 
        that is required to be submitted for such approvals, changing 
        approval authority between national offices and the State and 
        local offices, simplifying approval requirements, establishing 
        uniformity of transfer requirements among State offices, and 
        any other actions which would expedite approvals.
            ``(B) Consultation.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
        consult with the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service 
        and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and take 
        such actions as are appropriate in conjunction with such 
        consultation, to simplify the coordination of rules, 
        regulations, forms (including applications for transfers of 
        project ownership), and approval requirements for housing 
        projects for which assistance is provided by the Secretary of 
        Agriculture and under any low-income housing tax credits under 
        section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or tax-exempt 
        housing bonds. The Secretary of Agriculture shall involve the 
        State Rural Development offices of Department of Agriculture 
        and the Administrator of the Rural Housing Service in the 
        consultations under this subparagraph as the Secretary 
        considers appropriate.
            ``(C) Preservation and rehabilitation.--The Secretary shall 
        actively facilitate transfers of the ownership of projects that 
        will result in the preservation, continued use restriction, and 
        rehabilitation of such projects.
            ``(D) Final authority over transfers.--The Office of Rental 
        Housing Preservation of the Rural Housing Service, established 
        under section 537, shall have final regulatory authority over 
        all transfers of properties for which a loan is made or insured 
        under this section, and such Office may, with respect to such 
        transfers, work with and seek recommendations from the State 
        Rural Development offices of the Department of Agriculture.
            ``(E) Deadlines for processing of transfer applications.--
                    ``(i) Procedure.--If a complete application, as 
                determined by the Secretary, for a transfer of 
                ownership of a project or projects is not processed, 
                and approved or denied, by the State Rural Development 
                office to which it is submitted before the applicable 
                deadline under clause (ii)--
                            ``(I) such State or local office shall not 
                        have any further authority to approve or deny 
                        the application;
                            ``(II) such State or local office shall 
                        transfer the application in accordance with 
                        subclause (III); and
                            ``(III) such application shall be 
                        processed, and approved or denied, in 
                        accordance with clause (iii) and only by the 
                        Office of Rental Housing Preservation, which 
                        may make the final determination with the 
                        assistance of other Rural Development 
                        employees.
                    ``(ii) Deadline for state and local offices.--The 
                applicable deadline under this clause for processing, 
                and approval or denial, of a complete application for 
                transfer of ownership of a project, or projects, shall 
                be the period that begins upon receipt of the complete 
                application by the State Rural Development office to 
                which it is submitted and consists of--
                            ``(I) in the case of an application for 
                        transfer of ownership of a single project, 45 
                        days;
                            ``(II) in the case of an application for 
                        transfer of ownership of multiple projects, but 
                        not exceeding 10 projects, 90 days; and
                            ``(III) in the case of an application for 
                        transfer of ownership of 11 or more projects, 
                        120 days.
                    ``(iii) Deadline for office of rental housing 
                preservation.--In the case of any complete application 
                for a transfer of ownership of a project, or projects, 
                that is transferred pursuant to clause (i), shall be 
                processed, and approved or denied, before the 
                expiration of the period that begins upon receipt of 
                the complete application and consists of--
                            ``(I) in the case of an application for 
                        transfer of ownership of a single project, 30 
                        days;
                            ``(II) in the case of an application for 
                        transfer of ownership of multiple projects, but 
                        not exceeding 10 projects, 60 days; and
                            ``(III) in the case of an application for 
                        transfer of ownership of 11 or more projects, 
                        120 days.
                    ``(iv) Appeals.--Only decisions regarding complete 
                applications shall be appealable to the National 
                Appeals Division of the Department of Agriculture.''.

SEC. 4. REPORT.

    Not later than July 1, 2008, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 
of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of 
Representatives that--
            (1) identifies the actions that the Secretary has taken to 
        coordinate with other Federal agencies, including the 
        Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Internal 
        Revenue Service, and, in particular, with the program for 
        rental assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing 
        Act of 1937, the multifamily mortgage insurance programs under 
        title II of the National Housing Act, the program under section 
        42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for low-income housing 
        tax credits, and the program for tax-exempt bonds under section 
        142 of such Code;
            (2) identifies and describes any resulting improvements 
        within Rural Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture 
        in expediting the transfer of ownership of projects with loans 
        made or insured under section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949; 
        and
            (3) makes recommendations for any legislative changes that 
        are needed for the prompt processing of applications for such 
        ownership transfers and for the transfer of such projects.