I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3700 

To provide housing opportunities in the United States through modernization 

of various housing programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 7, 2015 

Mr. LUETKEMEYER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide housing opportunities in the United States 

through modernization of various housing programs, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act of 

6 2015’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

TITLE I—SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE AND PUBLIC HOUSING 


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Sec. 101. Inspection of dwelling units. 

Sec. 102. Income reviews. 

Sec. 103. Limitation on public housing tenancy for over-income families. 

Sec. 104. Limitation on eligibility for assistance based on assets. 

Sec. 105. Units owned by public housing agencies. 

Sec. 106. PHA project-based assistance. 

Sec. 107. Establishment of fair market rent. 

Sec. 108. Prohibition on utility reimbursements; collection of utility data. 

Sec. 109. Public housing Capital and Operating Funds. 

Sec. 110. Expansion of family unification program. 

TITLE II—RURAL HOUSING 

Sec. 201. Delegation of guaranteed rural housing loan approval. 

Sec. 202. Rural multifamily housing revitalization program. 

TITLE III—FHA MORTGAGE INSURANCE FOR CONDOMINIUMS 

Sec. 301. Modification of FHA requirements for mortgage insurance for condominiums. 

TITLE IV—HOUSING REFORMS FOR THE HOMELESS AND FOR 

VETERANS 

Sec. 401. Continuum of Care Program. 

Sec. 402. Inclusion of public housing agencies and local redevelopment authorities in emergency solutions grants. 

Sec. 403. Special assistant for Veterans Affairs in the Department of Housing 

and Urban Development. 

Sec. 404. Annual supplemental report on veterans homelessness. 

TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 501. Inclusion of Disaster Housing Assistance Program in certain fraud 

and abuse prevention measures. 

Sec. 502. Amendments to Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident 

Homeownership Act of 1990. 

Sec. 503. Budget-neutral demonstration program for energy and water conservation improvements at multifamily residential units. 

Sec. 504. Energy efficiency requirements under Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity program. 

Sec. 505. Data exchange standardization for improved interoperability. 

1 TITLE I—SECTION 8 RENTAL AS2 SISTANCE AND PUBLIC HOUS3 ING 

4 SEC. 101. INSPECTION OF DWELLING UNITS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8(o)(8) of the United 

6 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)) is 

7 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting 

2 the following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(A) INITIAL INSPECTION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each dwelling 

5 unit for which a housing assistance pay6 ment contract is established under this 

7 subsection, the public housing agency (or 

8 other entity pursuant to paragraph (11)) 

9 shall inspect the unit before any assistance 

10 payment is made to determine whether the 

11 dwelling unit meets the housing quality 

12 standards under subparagraph (B), except 

13 as provided in clause (ii) or (iii) of this 

14 subparagraph. 

15 ‘‘(ii) CORRECTION OF NON-LIFE16 THREATENING CONDITIONS.—In the case 

17 of any dwelling unit that is determined, 

18 pursuant to an inspection under clause (i), 

19 not to meet the housing quality standards 

20 under subparagraph (B), assistance pay21 ments may be made for the unit notwith22 standing subparagraph (C) if failure to 

23 meet such standards is a result only of 

24 non-life-threatening conditions, as such 

25 conditions are established by the Secretary. 


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1 A public housing agency making assistance 

2 payments pursuant to this clause for a 

3 dwelling unit shall, 30 days after the be4 ginning of the period for which such pay5 ments are made, withhold any assistance 

6 payments for the unit if any deficiency re7 sulting in noncompliance with the housing 

8 quality standards has not been corrected 

9 by such time. The public housing agency 

10 shall recommence assistance payments 

11 when such deficiency has been corrected, 

12 and may use any payments withheld to 

13 make assistance payments relating to the 

14 period during which payments were with15 held. 

16 ‘‘(iii) USE OF ALTERNATIVE INSPEC17 TION METHOD FOR INTERIM PERIOD.—In 

18 the case of any property that within the 

19 previous 24 months has met the require20 ments of an inspection that qualifies as an 

21 alternative inspection method pursuant to 

22 subparagraph (E), a public housing agency 

23 may authorize occupancy before the inspec24 tion under clause (i) has been completed, 

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1 active to the beginning of the lease term 

2 after the unit has been determined pursu3 ant to an inspection under clause (i) to 

4 meet the housing quality standards under 

5 subparagraph (B).’’; 

6 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as sub7 paragraph (H); and 

8 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (F) the fol9 lowing new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(G) ENFORCEMENT OF HOUSING QUALITY

11 STANDARDS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) DETERMINATION OF NONCOMPLI13 ANCE.—A dwelling unit that is covered by 

14 a housing assistance payments contract 

15 under this subsection shall be considered, 

16 for purposes of subparagraphs (D) and 

17 (F), to be in noncompliance with the hous18 ing quality standards under subparagraph 

19 (B) if— 

20 ‘‘(I) the public housing agency or 

21 an inspector authorized by the State 

22 or unit of local government deter23 mines upon inspection of the unit that 

24 the unit fails to comply with such 

25 standards; 


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1 ‘‘(II) the agency or inspector no2 tifies the owner of the unit in writing 

3 of such failure to comply; and 

4 ‘‘(III) the failure to comply is not 

5 corrected— 

6 ‘‘(aa) in the case of any 

7 such failure that is a result of 

8 life-threatening conditions, within 

9 24 hours after such notice has 

10 been provided; and 

11 ‘‘(bb) in the case of any 

12 such failure that is a result of 

13 non-life-threatening conditions, 

14 within 30 days after such notice 

15 has been provided or such other 

16 reasonable longer period as the 

17 public housing agency may estab18 lish. 

19 ‘‘(ii) WITHHOLDING OF ASSISTANCE

20 AMOUNTS DURING CORRECTION.—The 

21 public housing agency may withhold assist22 ance amounts under this subsection with 

23 respect to a dwelling unit for which a no24 tice pursuant to clause (i)(II), of failure to 

25 comply with housing quality standards 


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1 under subparagraph (B) as determined 

2 pursuant to an inspection conducted under 

3 subparagraph (D) or (F), has been pro4 vided. If the unit is brought into compli5 ance with such housing quality standards 

6 during the periods referred to in clause 

7 (i)(III), the public housing agency shall re8 commence assistance payments and may 

9 use any amounts withheld during the cor10 rection period to make assistance payments 

11 relating to the period during which pay12 ments were withheld. 

13 ‘‘(iii) ABATEMENT OF ASSISTANCE

14 AMOUNTS.—The public housing agency 

15 shall abate all of the assistance amounts 

16 under this subsection with respect to a 

17 dwelling unit that is determined, pursuant 

18 to clause (i) of this subparagraph, to be in 

19 noncompliance with housing quality stand20 ards under subparagraph (B). Upon com21 pletion of repairs by the public housing 

22 agency or the owner sufficient so that the 

23 dwelling unit complies with such housing 

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1 ance payments contract to the owner of the 

2 dwelling unit. 

3 ‘‘(iv) NOTIFICATION.—If a public 

4 housing agency providing assistance under 

5 this subsection abates rental assistance 

6 payments pursuant to clause (iii) with re7 spect to a dwelling unit, the agency shall, 

8 upon commencement of such abatement— 

9 ‘‘(I) notify the tenant and the 

10 owner of the dwelling unit that— 

11 ‘‘(aa) such abatement has 

12 commenced; and 

13 ‘‘(bb) if the dwelling unit is 

14 not brought into compliance with 

15 housing quality standards within 

16 60 days after the effective date of 

17 the determination of noncompli18 ance under clause (i) or such rea19 sonable longer period as the 

20 agency may establish, the tenant 

21 will have to move; and 

22 ‘‘(II) issue the tenant the nec23 essary forms to allow the tenant to 

24 move to another dwelling unit and 


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1 transfer the rental assistance to that 

2 unit. 

3 ‘‘(v) PROTECTION OF TENANTS.—An 

4 owner of a dwelling unit may not terminate 

5 the tenancy of any tenant because of the 

6 withholding or abatement of assistance 

7 pursuant to this subparagraph. During the 

8 period that assistance is abated pursuant 

9 to this subparagraph, the tenant may ter10 minate the tenancy by notifying the owner. 

11 ‘‘(vi) TERMINATION OF LEASE OR AS12 SISTANCE PAYMENTS CONTRACT.—If as13 sistance amounts under this section for a 

14 dwelling unit are abated pursuant to clause 

15 (iii) and the owner does not correct the 

16 noncompliance within 60 days after the ef17 fective date of the determination of non18 compliance under clause (i), or such other 

19 reasonable longer period as the public 

20 housing agency may establish, the agency 

21 shall terminate the housing assistance pay22 ments contract for the dwelling unit. 

23 ‘‘(vii) RELOCATION.— 

24 ‘‘(I) LEASE OF NEW UNIT.—The 

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1 ing in such a dwelling unit a period of 

2 90 days or such longer period as the 

3 public housing agency determines is 

4 reasonably necessary to lease a new 

5 unit, beginning upon termination of 

6 the contract, to lease a new residence 

7 with tenant-based rental assistance 

8 under this section. 

9 ‘‘(II) AVAILABILITY OF PUBLIC

10 HOUSING UNITS.—If the family is un11 able to lease such a new residence 

12 during such period, the public housing 

13 agency shall, at the option of the fam14 ily, provide such family a preference 

15 for occupancy in a dwelling unit of 

16 public housing that is owned or oper17 ated by the agency that first becomes 

18 available for occupancy after the expi19 ration of such period. 

20 ‘‘(III) ASSISTANCE IN FINDING

21 UNIT.—The public housing agency 

22 may provide assistance to the family 

23 in finding a new residence, including 

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1 suant to clause (ii) or (iii), respec2 tively, for costs directly associated 

3 with relocation of the family to a new 

4 residence, which shall include security 

5 deposits as necessary and may include 

6 reimbursements for reasonable moving 

7 expenses incurred by the household, 

8 as established by the Secretary. The 

9 agency may require that a family re10 ceiving assistance for a security de11 posit shall remit, to the extent of such 

12 assistance, the amount of any security 

13 deposit refunds made by the owner of 

14 the dwelling unit for which the lease 

15 was terminated. 

16 ‘‘(viii) TENANT-CAUSED DAMAGES.— 

17 If a public housing agency determines that 

18 any damage to a dwelling unit that results 

19 in a failure of the dwelling unit to comply 

20 with housing quality standards under sub21 paragraph (B), other than any damage re22 sulting from ordinary use, was caused by 

23 the tenant, any member of the tenant’s 

24 household, or any guest or other person 

25 under the tenant’s control, the agency may 


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1 waive the applicability of this subpara2 graph, except that this clause shall not ex3 onerate a tenant from any liability other4 wise existing under applicable law for dam5 ages to the premises caused by such ten6 ant. 

7 ‘‘(ix) APPLICABILITY.—This subpara8 graph shall apply to any dwelling unit for 

9 which a housing assistance payments con10 tract is entered into or renewed after the 

11 date of the effectiveness of the regulations 

12 implementing this subparagraph.’’. 

13 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Housing 

14 and Urban Development shall issue notice or regulations 

15 to implement subsection (a) of this section and such sub16 section shall take effect upon such issuance. 

17 SEC. 102. INCOME REVIEWS. 

18 (a) INCOME REVIEWS FOR PUBLIC HOUSING AND

19 SECTION 8 PROGRAMS.—Section 3 of the United States 

20 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in the second sentence of paragraph 

23 (1), by striking ‘‘at least annually’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘pursuant to paragraph (6)’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(6) REVIEWS OF FAMILY INCOME.— 

4 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—Reviews of family in5 come for purposes of this section shall be 

6 made— 

7 ‘‘(i) in the case of all families, upon 

8 the initial provision of housing assistance 

9 for the family; 

10 ‘‘(ii) annually thereafter, except as 

11 provided in subparagraph (B)(ii); 

12 ‘‘(iii) upon the request of the family, 

13 at any time the income or deductions 

14 (under subsection (b)(5)) of the family 

15 change by an amount that is estimated to 

16 result in a decrease of 10 percent (or such 

17 lower amount as the Secretary may, by no18 tice, establish, or permit the public housing 

19 agency or owner to establish) or more in 

20 annual adjusted income; and 

21 ‘‘(iv) at any time the income or deduc22 tions (under subsection (b)(5)) of the fam23 ily change by an amount that is estimated 

24 to result in an increase of 10 percent or 

25 more in annual adjusted income, or such 


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1 other amount as the Secretary may by no2 tice establish, except that any increase in 

3 the earned income of a family shall not be 

4 considered for purposes of this clause (ex5 cept that earned income may be considered 

6 if the increase corresponds to previous de7 creases under clause (iii)), except that a 

8 public housing agency or owner may elect 

9 not to conduct such review in the last three 

10 months of a certification period. 

11 ‘‘(B) FIXED-INCOME FAMILIES.— 

12 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of 

13 this subparagraph, the following definitions 

14 shall apply: 

15 ‘‘(I) ELIGIBLE FAMILY.—The 

16 term ‘eligible family’ means a family 

17 who has an income, as of the most re18 cent review conducted, of which 90 

19 percent or more consists of fixed in20 come. 

21 ‘‘(II) FIXED INCOME.—The term 

22 ‘fixed income’ means income from— 

23 ‘‘(aa) the supplemental secu24 rity income program under title 

25 XVI of the Social Security Act, 


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1 including supplementary pay2 ments pursuant to an agreement 

3 for Federal administration under 

4 section 1616(a) of the Social Se5 curity Act and payments pursu6 ant to an agreement entered into 

7 under section 212(b) of Public 

8 Law 93–66; 

9 ‘‘(bb) any payment under 

10 title II of the Social Security Act; 

11 ‘‘(cc) Federal, State, local, 

12 and private pension plans; and 

13 ‘‘(dd) other periodic pay14 ments received from annuities, 

15 insurance policies, retirement 

16 funds, disability or death bene17 fits, and other similar types of 

18 periodic receipts that are of sub19 stantially the same amounts from 

20 year to year. 

21 ‘‘(ii) SELF-CERTIFICATION AND 3- 

22 YEAR REVIEW FOR FIXED-INCOME FAMI23 LIES.—A public housing agency or owner 

24 shall not be required to conduct a review 

25 of an eligible family’s income pursuant to 


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1 subparagraph (A)(ii) for any year in which 

2 such eligible family certifies, in accordance 

3 with such requirements as the Secretary 

4 shall establish, that the sources of such in5 come have not changed since the previous 

6 year, except that the public housing agency 

7 or owner shall conduct a review of each 

8 such eligible family’s income not less fre9 quently than once every 3 years. 

10 ‘‘(iii) INFLATIONARY ADJUSTMENT

11 FOR FIXED INCOME FAMILIES.— 

12 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In any year 

13 in which a public housing agency or 

14 owner does not conduct a review of in15 come for an eligible family pursuant 

16 to the authority under clause (ii) to 

17 waive such a review, the income deter18 mination of such eligible family for 

19 the previous year shall, subject to sub20 clause (II) of this clause, be adjusted 

21 by applying an inflationary factor as 

22 the Secretary shall establish by regu23 lation or notice. 

24 ‘‘(II) EXEMPTION FROM ADJUST25 MENT.—A public housing agency or 


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1 owner may exempt from an adjust2 ment described in subclause (I) any 

3 income source for which income does 

4 not increase from year to year. 

5 ‘‘(C) IN GENERAL.—Reviews of family in6 come for purposes of this section shall be sub7 ject to the provisions of section 904 of the 

8 Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance 

9 Amendments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3544). 

10 ‘‘(7) CALCULATION OF INCOME.— 

11 ‘‘(A) USE OF CURRENT YEAR INCOME.—In 

12 determining family income for initial occupancy 

13 or provision of housing assistance pursuant to 

14 clause (i) of paragraph (6)(A) or pursuant to 

15 reviews pursuant to clause (iii) or (iv) of such 

16 paragraph, a public housing agency or owner 

17 shall use the income of the family as estimated 

18 by the agency or owner for the upcoming year. 

19 ‘‘(B) USE OF PRIOR YEAR INCOME.—In 

20 determining family income for annual reviews 

21 pursuant to paragraph (6)(A)(ii), a public hous22 ing agency or owner shall, except as otherwise 

23 provided in this paragraph and paragraph 

24 (6)(B), use the income of the family as deter25 mined by the agency or owner for the preceding 


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1 year, taking into consideration any redetermina2 tion of income during such prior year pursuant 

3 to clause (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (6)(A). 

4 ‘‘(C) OTHER INCOME.—In determining the 

5 income for any family based on the prior year’s 

6 income, with respect to prior year calculations 

7 of income not subject to subparagraph (B), a 

8 public housing agency or owner may make other 

9 adjustments as it considers appropriate to re10 flect current income. 

11 ‘‘(D) SAFE HARBOR.—A public housing 

12 agency or owner may, to the extent such infor13 mation is available to the public housing agency 

14 or owner, determine the family’s income prior 

15 to the application of any deductions based on 

16 timely income determinations made for pur17 poses of other means-tested Federal public as18 sistance programs (including the program for 

19 block grants to States for temporary assistance 

20 for needy families under part A of title IV of 

21 the Social Security Act, a program for Medicaid 

22 assistance under a State plan approved under 

23 title XIX of the Social Security Act, and the 

24 supplemental nutrition assistance program (as 

25 such term is defined in section 3 of the Food 


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1 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012)). 

2 The Secretary shall, in consultation with other 

3 appropriate Federal agencies, develop proce4 dures to enable public housing agencies and 

5 owners to have access to such income deter6 minations made by other means-tested Federal 

7 programs that the Secretary determines to have 

8 comparable reliability. Exchanges of such infor9 mation shall be subject to the same limitations 

10 and tenant protections provided under section 

11 904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless As12 sistance Act Amendments of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 

13 3544) with respect to information obtained 

14 under the requirements of section 303(i) of the 

15 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(i)). 

16 ‘‘(E) PHA AND OWNER COMPLIANCE.—A 

17 public housing agency or owner may not be con18 sidered to fail to comply with this paragraph or 

19 paragraph (6) due solely to any de minimis er20 rors made by the agency or owner in calculating 

21 family incomes.’’; 

22 (2) by striking subsections (d) and (e); and 

23 (3) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub24 section (d). 


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1 (b) CERTIFICATION REGARDING HARDSHIP EXCEP2 TION TO MINIMUM MONTHLY RENT.—Not later than the 

3 expiration of the 6-month period beginning on the date 

4 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Housing 

5 and Urban Development shall submit to the Congress a 

6 certification that the hardship and tenant protection provi7 sions in clause (i) of section 3(a)(3)(B) of the United 

8 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

9 1437a(a)(3)(B)(i)) are being enforced at such time and 

10 that the Secretary will continue to provide due consider11 ation to the hardship circumstances of persons assisted 

12 under relevant programs of this Act. 

13 (c) INCOME; ADJUSTED INCOME.—Section 3(b) of 

14 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

15 1437a(b)) is amended by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) 

16 and inserting the following new paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(4) INCOME.—The term ‘income’ means, with 

18 respect to a family, income received from all sources 

19 by each member of the household who is 18 years 

20 of age or older or is the head of household or spouse 

21 of the head of the household, plus unearned income 

22 by or on behalf of each dependent who is less than 

23 18 years of age, as determined in accordance with 

24 criteria prescribed by the Secretary, in consultation 


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1 with the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to the fol2 lowing requirements: 

3 ‘‘(A) INCLUDED AMOUNTS.—Such term in4 cludes recurring gifts and receipts, actual in5 come from assets, and profit or loss from a 

6 business. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXCLUDED AMOUNTS.—Such term 

8 does not include— 

9 ‘‘(i) any imputed return on assets, ex10 cept to the extent that net family assets 

11 exceed $50,000, except that such amount 

12 (as it may have been previously adjusted) 

13 shall be adjusted for inflation annually by 

14 the Secretary in accordance with an infla15 tionary index selected by the Secretary; 

16 ‘‘(ii) any amounts that would be eligi17 ble for exclusion under section 1613(a)(7) 

18 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 1382b(a)(7)); 

20 ‘‘(iii) deferred disability benefits from 

21 the Department of Veterans Affairs that 

22 are received in a lump sum amount or in 

23 prospective monthly amounts; 

24 ‘‘(iv) any expenses related to aid and 

25 attendance under section 1521 of title 38, 


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1 United States Code, to veterans who are in 

2 need of regular aid and attendance; and 

3 ‘‘(v) exclusions from income as estab4 lished by the Secretary by regulation or 

5 notice, or any amount required by Federal 

6 law to be excluded from consideration as 

7 income. 

8 ‘‘(C) EARNED INCOME OF STUDENTS.— 

9 Such term does not include— 

10 ‘‘(i) earned income, up to an amount 

11 as the Secretary may by regulation estab12 lish, of any dependent earned during any 

13 period that such dependent is attending 

14 school or vocational training on a full-time 

15 basis; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) any grant-in-aid or scholarship 

17 amounts related to such attendance used— 

18 ‘‘(I) for the cost of tuition or 

19 books; or 

20 ‘‘(II) in such amounts as the Sec21 retary may allow, for the cost of room 

22 and board. 

23 ‘‘(D) EDUCATIONAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS.— 

24 Income shall be determined without regard to 

25 any amounts in or from, or any benefits from, 


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1 any Coverdell education savings account under 

2 section 530 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

3 1986 or any qualified tuition program under 

4 section 529 of such Code. 

5 ‘‘(E) RECORDKEEPING.—The Secretary 

6 may not require a public housing agency or 

7 owner to maintain records of any amounts ex8 cluded from income pursuant to this subpara9 graph. 

10 ‘‘(5) ADJUSTED INCOME.—The term ‘adjusted 

11 income’ means, with respect to a family, the amount 

12 (as determined by the public housing agency or 

13 owner) of the income of the members of the family 

14 residing in a dwelling unit or the persons on a lease, 

15 after any deductions from income as follows: 

16 ‘‘(A) ELDERLY AND DISABLED FAMI17 LIES.—$525 in the case of any family that is 

18 an elderly family or a disabled family, except 

19 that the amount specified in this subparagraph 

20 (as it may have been previously adjusted) shall 

21 be adjusted for inflation annually by the Sec22 retary in accordance with an inflationary index 

23 selected by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(B) DEPENDENTS.—In the case of any 

25 family, $525 for each member who— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is less than 18 years of age or at2 tending school or vocational training on a 

3 full-time basis; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) is a person who is 18 years of 

5 age or older, resides in the household, and 

6 is certified as disabled and unable to work 

7 by the public housing agency of jurisdic8 tion, 

9 except that the amount specified in this sub10 paragraph (as it may have been previously ad11 justed) shall be adjusted for inflation annually 

12 by the Secretary in accordance with an infla13 tionary index selected by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(C) CHILD CARE.—The amount, if any, 

15 that exceeds 5 percent of annual family income 

16 that is used to pay for unreimbursed child care 

17 expenses, which shall include child care for pre18 school-age children, for before- and after-care 

19 for children in school, and for other child care 

20 necessary to enable a member of the family to 

21 be employed or further his or her education. 

22 ‘‘(D) HEALTH AND MEDICAL EXPENSES.— 

23 The amount, if any, by which 10 percent of an24 nual family income is exceeded by the sum of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of any elderly or dis2 abled family, any unreimbursed health and 

3 medical care expenses; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) any unreimbursed reasonable at5 tendant care and auxiliary apparatus ex6 penses for each handicapped member of 

7 the family, if determined necessary by the 

8 public housing agency or owner to enable 

9 any member of such family to be employed. 

10 The Secretary may provide hardship exemptions 

11 for impacted families by regulation, if the Sec12 retary determines calculated rents endanger 

13 families unable to pay such amount because of 

14 financial hardship. Such regulations shall be 

15 promulgated in consultation with tenant organi16 zations, industry participants, and the Sec17 retary of Health and Human Services, with an 

18 adequate comment period provided for inter19 ested parties. 

20 ‘‘(E) PERMISSIVE DEDUCTIONS.—Such ad21 ditional deductions as a public housing agency 

22 may, at its discretion, establish, except that the 

23 Secretary shall establish procedures to ensure 

24 that such deductions do not materially increase 

25 Federal expenditures. 


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1 The Secretary shall annually calculate the amounts 

2 of the deductions under subparagraphs (A) and (B), 

3 as such amounts may have been previously cal4 culated, by applying an inflationary factor as the 

5 Secretary shall, by regulation, establish, except that 

6 the actual deduction determined for each year shall 

7 be established by rounding such amount to the next 

8 lowest multiple of $25.’’. 

9 (d) HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER PROGRAM.—Section 

10 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

11 1437f(o)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting before the 

13 period at the end the following: ‘‘, except that a pub14 lic housing agency may establish a payment stand15 ard of not more than 120 percent of the fair market 

16 rent where necessary as a reasonable accommodation 

17 for a person with a disability, without approval of 

18 the Secretary. A public housing agency may use a 

19 payment standard that is greater than 120 percent 

20 of the fair market rent as a reasonable accommoda21 tion for a person with a disability, but only with the 

22 approval of the Secretary. In connection with the use 

23 of any increased payment standard established or 

24 approved pursuant to either of the preceding two 

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1 son with a disability, the Secretary may not estab2 lish additional requirements regarding the amount of 

3 adjusted income paid by such person for rent’’; and 

4 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

5 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

6 ‘‘ANNUAL REVIEW’’ and inserting ‘‘REVIEWS’’; 

7 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘the provisions of’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘paragraphs (6) and (7) of sec10 tion 3(a) and to’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘and shall be con12 ducted upon the initial provision of hous13 ing assistance for the family and thereafter 

14 not less than annually’’; and 

15 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

16 second sentence. 

17 (e) ENHANCED VOUCHER PROGRAM.—Section 

18 8(t)(1)(D) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

19 U.S.C. 1437f(t)(1)(D)) is amended by striking ‘‘income’’ 

20 each place such term appears and inserting ‘‘annual ad21 justed income’’. 

22 (f) PROJECT-BASED HOUSING.—Paragraph (3) of 

23 section 8(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

24 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(3)) is amended by striking the last 

25 sentence. 


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1 (g) IMPACT ON PUBLIC HOUSING REVENUES.— 

2 (1) ADJUSTMENTS TO OPERATING FORMULA.— 

3 If the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

4 determines that the application of subsections (a) 

5 through (e) of this section results in a material and 

6 disproportionate reduction in the rental income of 

7 certain public housing agencies during the first year 

8 in which such subsections are implemented, the Sec9 retary may make appropriate adjustments in the for10 mula income for such year of those agencies experi11 encing such a reduction. 

12 (2) HUD REPORTS ON REVENUE AND COST IM13 PACT.—In each of the first two years after the first 

14 year in which subsections (a) through (e) are imple15 mented, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel16 opment shall submit a report to Congress identifying 

17 and calculating the impact of changes made by such 

18 subsections and section 104 of this Act on the reve19 nues and costs of operating public housing units, the 

20 voucher program for rental assistance under section 

21 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, and 

22 the program under such section 8 for project-based 

23 rental assistance. If such report identifies a material 

24 reduction in the net income of public housing agen25 cies nationwide or a material increase in the costs of 


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1 funding the voucher program or the project-based 

2 assistance program, the Secretary shall include in 

3 such report recommendations for legislative changes 

4 to reduce or eliminate such a reduction. 

5 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Housing 

6 and Urban Development shall issue notice or regulations 

7 to implement this section and this section shall take effect 

8 after such issuance, except that this section may only take 

9 effect upon the commencement of a calendar year. 

10 SEC. 103. LIMITATION ON PUBLIC HOUSING TENANCY FOR 

11 OVER-INCOME FAMILIES. 

12 Subsection (a) of section 16 of the United States 

13 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n(a)) is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(5) LIMITATIONS ON TENANCY FOR OVER-IN16 COME FAMILIES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) LIMITATIONS.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (C), in the case of any family re19 siding in a dwelling unit of public housing 

20 whose income for the most recent two consecu21 tive years has exceeded 120 percent of the me22 dian income for the area, as determined pursu23 ant to an income review conducted pursuant to 

24 section 3(a)(6), the public housing agency 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) notwithstanding any other provi2 sion of this Act, charge such family as 

3 monthly rent for the unit occupied by such 

4 family an amount equal to the sum of— 

5 ‘‘(I) the applicable fair market 

6 rental established under section 8(c) 

7 for a dwelling unit in the same mar8 ket area of the same size; and 

9 ‘‘(II) the amount of the monthly 

10 subsidy provided under this Act for 

11 the dwelling unit, which shall include 

12 any amounts from the Operating 

13 Fund and Capital Fund under section 

14 9 used for the unit, as determined by 

15 the agency in accordance with regula16 tions that the Secretary shall issue to 

17 carry out this subclause; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) terminate the tenancy of such 

19 family in public housing not later than 6 

20 months after the income determination de21 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—In the case of any family 

23 residing in a dwelling unit of public housing 

24 whose income for a year has exceeded 120 per25 cent of the median income for the area, upon 


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1 the conclusion of such year the public housing 

2 agency shall provide written notice to such fam3 ily of the requirements under subparagraph 

4 (A). 

5 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) 

6 shall not apply to a family occupying a dwelling 

7 unit in public housing pursuant to paragraph 

8 (5) of section 3(a) (42 U.S.C. 1437a(a)(5)).’’. 

9 SEC. 104. LIMITATION ON ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE 

10 BASED ON ASSETS. 

11 Section 16 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1437n) is amended by inserting after sub13 section (d) the following new subsection: 

14 ‘‘(e) ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE BASED ON AS15 SETS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON ASSETS.—Subject to para17 graph (3) and notwithstanding any other provision 

18 of this Act, a dwelling unit assisted under this Act 

19 may not be rented and assistance under this Act 

20 may not be provided, either initially or at each recer21 tification of family income, to any family— 

22 ‘‘(A) whose net family assets exceed 

23 $100,000, as such amount is adjusted annually 

24 by applying an inflationary factor as the Sec25 retary considers appropriate; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) who has a present ownership interest 

2 in, a legal right to reside in, and the effective 

3 legal authority to sell, real property that is suit4 able for occupancy by the family as a residence, 

5 except that the prohibition under this subpara6 graph shall not apply to— 

7 ‘‘(i) any property for which the family 

8 is receiving assistance under subsection (y) 

9 or (o)(12) of section 8 of this Act; 

10 ‘‘(ii) any person that is a victim of do11 mestic violence; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) any family that is offering such 

13 property for sale. 

14 ‘‘(2) NET FAMILY ASSETS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

16 subsection, the term ‘net family assets’ means, 

17 for all members of the household, the net cash 

18 value of all assets after deducting reasonable 

19 costs that would be incurred in disposing of real 

20 property, savings, stocks, bonds, and other 

21 forms of capital investment. Such term does not 

22 include interests in Indian trust land, equity in 

23 property for which the family is receiving assist24 ance under subsection (y) or (o)(12) of section 

25 8, equity accounts in homeownership programs 


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1 of the Department of Housing and Urban De2 velopment, or Family Self Sufficiency accounts. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term does not 

4 include— 

5 ‘‘(i) the value of personal property, ex6 cept for items of personal property of sig7 nificant value, as the Secretary may estab8 lish or the public housing agency may de9 termine; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the value of any retirement ac11 count; 

12 ‘‘(iii) real property for which the fam13 ily does not have the effective legal author14 ity necessary to sell such property; 

15 ‘‘(iv) any amounts recovered in any 

16 civil action or settlement based on a claim 

17 of malpractice, negligence, or other breach 

18 of duty owed to a member of the family 

19 and arising out of law, that resulted in a 

20 member of the family being disabled; 

21 ‘‘(v) the value of any Coverdell edu22 cation savings account under section 530 

23 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or 

24 any qualified tuition program under sec25 tion 529 of such Code; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) such other exclusions as the Sec2 retary may establish. 

3 ‘‘(C) TRUST FUNDS.—In cases in which a 

4 trust fund has been established and the trust is 

5 not revocable by, or under the control of, any 

6 member of the family or household, the value of 

7 the trust fund shall not be considered an asset 

8 of a family if the fund continues to be held in 

9 trust. Any income distributed from the trust 

10 fund shall be considered income for purposes of 

11 section 3(b) and any calculations of annual 

12 family income, except in the case of medical ex13 penses for a minor. 

14 ‘‘(3) SELF-CERTIFICATION.— 

15 ‘‘(A) NET FAMILY ASSETS.—A public 

16 housing agency or owner may determine the net 

17 assets of a family, for purposes of this section, 

18 based on a certification by the family that the 

19 net assets of such family do not exceed 

20 $50,000, as such amount is adjusted annually 

21 by applying an inflationary factor as the Sec22 retary considers appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(B) NO CURRENT REAL PROPERTY OWN24 ERSHIP.—A public housing agency or owner 

25 may determine compliance with paragraph 


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1 (1)(B) based on a certification by the family 

2 that such family does not have any current 

3 ownership interest in any real property at the 

4 time the agency or owner reviews the family’s 

5 income. 

6 ‘‘(C) STANDARDIZED FORMS.—The Sec7 retary may develop standardized forms for the 

8 certifications referred to in subparagraphs (A) 

9 and (B). 

10 ‘‘(4) COMPLIANCE FOR PUBLIC HOUSING

11 DWELLING UNITS.—When recertifying family income 

12 with respect to families residing in public housing 

13 dwelling units, a public housing agency may, in the 

14 discretion of the agency and only pursuant to a pol15 icy that is set forth in the public housing agency 

16 plan under section 5A for the agency, choose not to 

17 enforce the limitation under paragraph (1). 

18 ‘‘(5) ENFORCEMENT.—When recertifying the 

19 income of a family residing in a dwelling unit as20 sisted under this Act, a public housing agency or 

21 owner may choose not to enforce the limitation 

22 under paragraph (1) or may establish exceptions to 

23 such limitation based on eligibility criteria, but only 

24 pursuant to a policy that is set forth in the public 

25 housing agency plan under section 5A for the agency 


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1 or under a policy adopted by the owner. Eligibility 

2 criteria for establishing exceptions may provide for 

3 separate treatment based on family type and may be 

4 based on different factors, such as age, disability, in5 come, the ability of the family to find suitable alter6 native housing, and whether supportive services are 

7 being provided. 

8 ‘‘(6) AUTHORITY TO DELAY EVICTIONS.—In the 

9 case of a family residing in a dwelling unit assisted 

10 under this Act who does not comply with the limita11 tion under paragraph (1), the public housing agency 

12 or project owner may delay eviction or termination 

13 of the family based on such noncompliance for a pe14 riod of not more than 6 months.’’. 

15 SEC. 105. UNITS OWNED BY PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES. 

16 Paragraph (11) of section 8(o) of the United States 

17 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(11)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘(11) LEASING OF UNITS

20 OWNED BY PHA.—If’’ and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(11) LEASING OF UNITS OWNED BY PHA.— 

22 ‘‘(A) INSPECTIONS AND RENT DETERMINA23 TIONS.—If’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub25 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(B) UNITS OWNED BY PHA.—For pur2 poses of this subsection, the term ‘owned by a 

3 public housing agency’ means, with respect to a 

4 dwelling unit, that the dwelling unit is in a 

5 project that is owned by such agency, by an en6 tity wholly controlled by such agency, or by a 

7 limited liability company or limited partnership 

8 in which such agency (or an entity wholly con9 trolled by such agency) holds a controlling in10 terest in the managing member or general part11 ner. A dwelling unit shall not be deemed to be 

12 owned by a public housing agency for purposes 

13 of this subsection because the agency holds a 

14 fee interest as ground lessor in the property on 

15 which the unit is situated, holds a security in16 terest under a mortgage or deed of trust on the 

17 unit, or holds a non-controlling interest in an 

18 entity which owns the unit or in the managing 

19 member or general partner of an entity which 

20 owns the unit.’’. 

21 SEC. 106. PHA PROJECT-BASED ASSISTANCE. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (13) of section 8(o) of 

23 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

24 1437f(o)(13)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘structure’’ each place such 

2 term appears and inserting ‘‘project’’; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘structures’’ each place such 

4 term appears and inserting ‘‘projects’’; 

5 (3) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

6 the following new subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(B) PERCENTAGE LIMITATION.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

9 (ii), a public housing agency may use for 

10 project-based assistance under this para11 graph not more than 20 percent of the au12 thorized units for the agency. 

13 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—A public housing 

14 agency may use up to an additional 10 

15 percent of the authorized units for the 

16 agency for project-based assistance under 

17 this paragraph, to provide units that house 

18 individuals and families that meet the defi19 nition of homeless under section 103 of the 

20 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act 

21 (42 U.S.C. 11302), that house families 

22 with veterans, that provide supportive 

23 housing to persons with disabilities or el24 derly persons, or that are located in areas 

25 where vouchers under this subsection are 


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1 difficult to use, as specified in subpara2 graph (D)(ii)(II). Any units of project3 based assistance that are attached to units 

4 previously subject to federally required 

5 rent restrictions or receiving another type 

6 of long-term housing subsidy provided by 

7 the Secretary shall not count toward the 

8 percentage limitation under clause (i) of 

9 this subparagraph. The Secretary may, by 

10 regulation, establish additional categories 

11 for the exception under this clause.’’; 

12 (4) by striking subparagraph (D) and inserting 

13 the following new subparagraph: 

14 ‘‘(D) INCOME-MIXING REQUIREMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro16 vided in clause (ii), not more than the 

17 greater of 25 dwelling units or 25 percent 

18 of the dwelling units in any project may be 

19 assisted under a housing assistance pay20 ment contract for project-based assistance 

21 pursuant to this paragraph. For purposes 

22 of this subparagraph, the term ‘project’ 

23 means a single building, multiple contig24 uous buildings, or multiple buildings on 

25 contiguous parcels of land. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(I) CERTAIN FAMILIES.—The 

3 limitation under clause (i) shall not 

4 apply to dwelling units assisted under 

5 a contract that are exclusively made 

6 available to elderly families or to 

7 households eligible for supportive serv8 ices that are made available to the as9 sisted residents of the project, accord10 ing to standards for such services the 

11 Secretary may establish. 

12 ‘‘(II) CERTAIN AREAS.—With re13 spect to areas in which tenant-based 

14 vouchers for assistance under this 

15 subsection are difficult to use, as de16 termined by the Secretary, and with 

17 respect to census tracts with a poverty 

18 rate of 20 percent or less, clause (i) 

19 shall be applied by substituting ‘40 

20 percent’ for ‘25 percent’, and the Sec21 retary may, by regulation, establish 

22 additional conditions. 

23 ‘‘(III) CERTAIN CONTRACTS.— 

24 The limitation under clause (i) shall 

25 not apply with respect to contracts or 


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1 renewal of contracts under which a 

2 greater percentage of the dwelling 

3 units in a project were assisted under 

4 a housing assistance payment contract 

5 for project-based assistance pursuant 

6 to this paragraph on the date of the 

7 enactment of the Housing Oppor8 tunity Through Modernization Act of 

9 2015. 

10 ‘‘(IV) CERTAIN PROPERTIES.— 

11 Any units of project-based assistance 

12 under this paragraph that are at13 tached to units previously subject to 

14 federally required rent restrictions or 

15 receiving other project-based assist16 ance provided by the Secretary shall 

17 not count toward the percentage limi18 tation imposed by this subparagraph 

19 (D). 

20 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL MONITORING AND

21 OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec22 retary may establish additional require23 ments for monitoring and oversight of 

24 projects in which more than 40 percent of 

25 the dwelling units are assisted under a 


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1 housing assistance payment contract for 

2 project-based assistance pursuant to this 

3 paragraph.’’; 

4 (5) by striking subparagraph (F) and inserting 

5 the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(F) CONTRACT TERM.— 

7 ‘‘(i) TERM.—A housing assistance 

8 payment contract pursuant to this para9 graph between a public housing agency 

10 and the owner of a project may have a 

11 term of up to 20 years, subject to— 

12 ‘‘(I) the availability of sufficient 

13 appropriated funds for the purpose of 

14 renewing expiring contracts for assist15 ance payments, as provided in appro16 priation Acts and in the agency’s an17 nual contributions contract with the 

18 Secretary, provided that in the event 

19 of insufficient appropriated funds, 

20 payments due under contracts under 

21 this paragraph shall take priority if 

22 other cost-saving measures that do 

23 not require the termination of an ex24 isting contract are available to the 

25 agency; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) compliance with the inspec2 tion requirements under paragraph 

3 (8), except that the agency shall not 

4 be required to make biennial inspec5 tions of each assisted unit in the de6 velopment. 

7 ‘‘(ii) ADDITION OF ELIGIBLE UNITS.— 

8 Subject to the limitations of subparagraphs 

9 (B) and (D), the agency and the owner 

10 may add eligible units within the same 

11 project to a housing assistance payments 

12 contract at any time during the term 

13 thereof without being subject to any addi14 tional competitive selection procedures. 

15 ‘‘(iii) HOUSING UNDER CONSTRUC16 TION OR RECENTLY CONSTRUCTED.—An 

17 agency may enter into a housing assistance 

18 payments contract with an owner for any 

19 unit that does not qualify as existing hous20 ing and is under construction or recently 

21 has been constructed whether or not the 

22 agency has executed an agreement to enter 

23 into a contract with the owner, provided 

24 that the owner demonstrates compliance 

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1 cution of the housing assistance payments 

2 contract. This clause shall not subject a 

3 housing assistance payments contract for 

4 existing housing under this paragraph to 

5 such requirements or otherwise limit the 

6 extent to which a unit may be assisted as 

7 existing housing. 

8 ‘‘(iv) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—The 

9 contract may specify additional conditions, 

10 including with respect to continuation, ter11 mination, or expiration, and shall specify 

12 that upon termination or expiration of the 

13 contract without extension, each assisted 

14 family may elect to use its assistance 

15 under this subsection to remain in the 

16 same project if its unit complies with the 

17 inspection requirements under paragraph 

18 (8), the rent for the unit is reasonable as 

19 required by paragraph (10)(A), and the 

20 family pays its required share of the rent 

21 and the amount, if any, by which the unit 

22 rent (including the amount allowed for ten23 ant-based utilities) exceeds the applicable 

24 payment standard.’’; 


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1 (6) in subparagraph (G), by striking ‘‘15 years’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘20 years’’; 

3 (7) by striking subparagraph (I) and inserting 

4 the following new subparagraph: 

5 ‘‘(I) RENT ADJUSTMENTS.—A housing as6 sistance payments contract pursuant to this 

7 paragraph entered into after the date of the en8 actment of the Housing Opportunity Through 

9 Modernization Act of 2015 shall provide for an10 nual rent adjustments upon the request of the 

11 owner, except that— 

12 ‘‘(i) by agreement of the parties, a 

13 contract may allow a public housing agency 

14 to adjust the rent for covered units using 

15 an operating cost adjustment factor estab16 lished by the Secretary pursuant to section 

17 524(c) of the Multifamily Assisted Housing 

18 Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 

19 (which shall not result in a negative ad20 justment), in which case the contract may 

21 require an additional adjustment, if re22 quested, up to the reasonable rent periodi23 cally during the term of the contract, and 

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1 quested, upon extension pursuant to sub2 paragraph (G); 

3 ‘‘(ii) the adjusted rent shall not ex4 ceed the maximum rent permitted under 

5 subparagraph (H); 

6 ‘‘(iii) the contract may provide that 

7 the maximum rent permitted for a dwelling 

8 unit shall not be less than the initial rent 

9 for the dwelling unit under the initial 

10 housing assistance payments contract cov11 ering the units; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) the provisions of subsection 

13 (c)(2)(C) shall not apply.’’; 

14 (8) in subparagraph (J)— 

15 (A) in the first sentence— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘may’’; and 

18 (ii) by inserting before the period the 

19 following ‘‘or may permit owners to select 

20 applicants from site-based waiting lists as 

21 specified in this subparagraph’’; 

22 (B) by striking the third sentence and in23 serting the following: ‘‘The agency or owner 

24 may establish preferences or criteria for selec25 tion for a unit assisted under this paragraph 


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1 that are consistent with the public housing 

2 agency plan for the agency approved under sec3 tion 5A and that give preference to families 

4 who qualify for voluntary services, including 

5 disability-specific services, offered in conjunc6 tion with assisted units.’’; and 

7 (C) by striking the fifth and sixth sen8 tences and inserting the following: ‘‘A public 

9 housing agency may establish and utilize proce10 dures for owner-maintained site-based waiting 

11 lists, under which applicants may apply at, or 

12 otherwise designate to the public housing agen13 cy, the project or projects in which they seek to 

14 reside, except that all eligible applicants on the 

15 waiting list of an agency for assistance under 

16 this subsection shall be permitted to place their 

17 names on such separate list, subject to policies 

18 and procedures established by the Secretary. All 

19 such procedures shall comply with title VI of 

20 the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fair Housing 

21 Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 

22 1973, and other applicable civil rights laws. The 

23 owner or manager of a project assisted under 

24 this paragraph shall not admit any family to a 

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1 ant to this paragraph other than a family re2 ferred by the public housing agency from its 

3 waiting list, or a family on a site-based waiting 

4 list that complies with the requirements of this 

5 subparagraph. A public housing agency shall 

6 disclose to each applicant all other options in 

7 the selection of a project in which to reside that 

8 are provided by the public housing agency and 

9 are available to the applicant.’’; 

10 (9) in subparagraph (M)(ii), by inserting before 

11 the period at the end the following: ‘‘relating to 

12 funding other than housing assistance payments’’; 

13 and 

14 (10) by adding at the end the following new 

15 subparagraphs: 

16 ‘‘(N) STRUCTURE OWNED BY AGENCY.—A 

17 public housing agency engaged in an initiative 

18 to improve, develop, or replace a public housing 

19 property or site may attach assistance to an ex20 isting, newly constructed, or rehabilitated struc21 ture in which the agency has an ownership in22 terest or which the agency has control of with23 out following a competitive process, provided 

24 that the agency has notified the public of its in25 tent through its public housing agency plan and 


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1 subject to the limitations and requirements of 

2 this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(O) SPECIAL PURPOSE VOUCHERS.—A 

4 public housing agency that administers vouch5 ers authorized under subsection (o)(19) or (x) 

6 of this section may provide such assistance in 

7 accordance with the limitations and require8 ments of this paragraph, without additional re9 quirements for approval by the Secretary.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Housing 

11 and Urban Development shall issue notice or regulations 

12 to implement subsection (a) of this section and such sub13 section shall take effect upon such issuance. 

14 SEC. 107. ESTABLISHMENT OF FAIR MARKET RENT. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 8(c) of 

16 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

17 1437f(c)(1)) is amended— 

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after the paragraph des19 ignation; 

20 (2) by striking the fourth, seventh, eighth, and 

21 ninth sentences; and 

22 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) Fair market rentals for an area shall be pub24 lished not less than annually by the Secretary on the site 

25 of the Department on the World Wide Web and in any 


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1 other manner specified by the Secretary. Notice that such 

2 fair market rentals are being published shall be published 

3 in the Federal Register, and such fair market rentals shall 

4 become effective no earlier than 30 days after the date 

5 of such publication. The Secretary shall establish a proce6 dure for public housing agencies and other interested par7 ties to comment on such fair market rentals and to re8 quest, within a time specified by the Secretary, reevalua9 tion of the fair market rentals in a jurisdiction before such 

10 rentals become effective. The Secretary shall cause to be 

11 published for comment in the Federal Register notices of 

12 proposed material changes in the methodology for esti13 mating fair market rentals and notices specifying the final 

14 decisions regarding such proposed substantial methodo15 logical changes and responses to public comments.’’. 

16 (b) PAYMENT STANDARD.—Subparagraph (B) of sec17 tion 8(o)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

18 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting be19 fore the period at the end the following: ‘‘, except that 

20 no public housing agency shall be required as a result of 

21 a reduction in the fair market rental to reduce the pay22 ment standard applied to a family continuing to reside in 

23 a unit for which the family was receiving assistance under 

24 this section at the time the fair market rental was reduced. 

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1 quest exception payment standards within fair market 

2 rental areas subject to criteria and procedures established 

3 by the Secretary’’. 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

5 this section shall take effect upon the date of the enact6 ment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 108. PROHIBITION ON UTILITY REIMBURSEMENTS; 

8 COLLECTION OF UTILITY DATA. 

9 (a) HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHERS.—Section 8(o) of 

10 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

11 1437f(o)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2)(D), by adding at the end 

13 the following new clause: 

14 ‘‘(iii) PROHIBITION ON PAYMENTS.— 

15 Notwithstanding any other provision of 

16 this Act, no amount may be reimbursed or 

17 paid to, or credited for, any family assisted 

18 under this subsection by reason of any ex19 cess in the utility allowance for such fam20 ily.’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(20) COLLECTION OF UTILITY DATA.— 

24 ‘‘(A) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall, 

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1 fectively, regularly publish such data regarding 

2 utility consumption and costs in local areas as 

3 the Secretary determines will be useful for the 

4 establishment of allowances for tenant-paid util5 ities for families assisted under this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(B) USE OF DATA.—The Secretary shall 

7 provide such data in a manner that— 

8 ‘‘(i) avoids unnecessary administrative 

9 burdens for public housing agencies and 

10 owners; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) protects families in various unit 

12 sizes and building types, and using various 

13 utilities, from high rent and utility cost 

14 burdens relative to income.’’. 

15 (b) PUBLIC HOUSING AND OTHER SECTION 8 PRO16 GRAMS.—Subsection (a) of section 3 of the United States 

17 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(a)), as amended 

18 by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended 

19 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(8) PROHIBITION ON UTILITY REIMBURSE21 MENTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

22 this Act, no amount may be reimbursed or paid to, 

23 or credited for, any family residing in a public hous24 ing dwelling unit or assisted under section 8 (other 


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1 than under subsection (o)) by reason of any excess 

2 in the utility allowance for such family.’’. 

3 SEC. 109. PUBLIC HOUSING CAPITAL AND OPERATING 

4 FUNDS. 

5 (a) CAPITAL FUND REPLACEMENT RESERVES.—Sec6 tion 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

7 U.S.C. 1437g) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (j), by adding at the end the 

9 following new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(7) TREATMENT OF REPLACEMENT RE11 SERVE.—The requirements of this subsection shall 

12 not apply to funds held in replacement reserves es13 tablished pursuant to subsection (n).’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(n) ESTABLISHMENT OF REPLACEMENT RE17 SERVES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Public housing agencies 

19 shall be permitted to establish a replacement reserve 

20 to fund any of the capital activities listed in sub21 section (d)(1). 

22 ‘‘(2) SOURCE AND AMOUNT OF FUNDS FOR RE23 PLACEMENT RESERVE.—At any time, a public hous24 ing agency may deposit funds from such agency’s 


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1 Capital Fund into a replacement reserve, subject to 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) At the discretion of the Secretary, 

4 public housing agencies may transfer and hold 

5 in a replacement reserve funds originating from 

6 additional sources. 

7 ‘‘(B) No minimum transfer of funds to a 

8 replacement reserve shall be required. 

9 ‘‘(C) At any time, a public housing agency 

10 may not hold in a replacement reserve more 

11 than the amount the public housing authority 

12 has determined necessary to satisfy the antici13 pated capital needs of properties in its portfolio 

14 assisted under this section, as outlined in its 

15 Capital Fund 5-Year Action Plan, or a com16 parable plan, as determined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(D) The Secretary may establish, by reg18 ulation, a maximum replacement reserve level 

19 or levels that are below amounts determined 

20 under subparagraph (C), which may be based 

21 upon the size of the portfolio assisted under 

22 this section or other factors. 

23 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF OPERATING FUNDS.—In 

24 first establishing a replacement reserve, the Sec25 retary may allow public housing agencies to transfer 


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1 more than 20 percent of its operating funds into its 

2 replacement reserve. 

3 ‘‘(4) EXPENDITURE.—Funds in a replacement 

4 reserve may be used for purposes authorized by sub5 section (d)(1) and contained in its Capital Fund 5- 

6 Year Action Plan. 

7 ‘‘(5) MANAGEMENT AND REPORT.—The Sec8 retary shall establish appropriate accounting and re9 porting requirements to ensure that public housing 

10 agencies are spending funds on eligible projects and 

11 that funds in the replacement reserve are connected 

12 to capital needs.’’. 

13 (b) FLEXIBILITY OF OPERATING FUND AMOUNTS.— 

14 Paragraph (1) of section 9(g) of the United States Hous15 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437g(g)(1)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and all that follows 

17 through ‘‘—Of’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) FLEXIBILITY IN USE OF FUNDS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) FLEXIBILITY FOR CAPITAL FUND

20 AMOUNTS.—Of’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(B) FLEXIBILITY FOR OPERATING FUND

24 AMOUNTS.—Of any amounts appropriated for 

25 fiscal year 2016 or any fiscal year thereafter 


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1 that are allocated for fiscal year 2016 or any 

2 fiscal year thereafter from the Operating Fund 

3 for any public housing agency, the agency may 

4 use not more than 20 percent for activities that 

5 are eligible under subsection (d) for assistance 

6 with amounts from the Capital Fund, but only 

7 if the public housing plan under section 5A for 

8 the agency provides for such use.’’. 

9 SEC. 110. EXPANSION OF FAMILY UNIFICATION PROGRAM. 

10 Section 8(x) of the United States Housing Act of 

11 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(x)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

13 (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 

14 ‘‘care and’’ and inserting ‘‘care,’’; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘18 months’’ and in17 serting ‘‘36 months’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘older.’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘older, and’’; and 

20 (C) by inserting at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(C) for a period not to exceed 36 months, 

22 otherwise eligible youths who have attained 16 

23 or 17 years of age and who have left foster 

24 care, if the service provider signs the lease for 

25 the dwelling unit for which the voucher is used 


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1 and provides on-site supportive services (as de2 fined in section 401 of the McKinney-Vento 

3 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360)) 

4 that are appropriate for the supervision of such 

5 youth within the housing community in which 

6 such dwelling unit is located.’’; and 

7 (2) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the 

8 following new subparagraph: 

9 ‘‘(C) SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term ‘serv10 ice provider’ shall have the meaning given such 

11 term by the Secretary.’’. 

12 TITLE II—RURAL HOUSING 

13 SEC. 201. DELEGATION OF GUARANTEED RURAL HOUSING 

14 LOAN APPROVAL. 

15 Subsection (h) of section 502 of the Housing Act of 

16 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472(h)) is amended by adding at the 

17 end the following new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(18) DELEGATION OF APPROVAL.—The Sec19 retary may delegate, in part or in full, the Sec20 retary’s authority to approve and execute binding 

21 Rural Housing Service loan guarantees pursuant to 

22 this subsection to certain preferred lenders, in ac23 cordance with standards established by the Sec24 retary.’’. 


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1 SEC. 202. RURAL MULTIFAMILY HOUSING REVITALIZATION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

4 1485) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

5 subsection: 

6 ‘‘(bb) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING REVITALIZATION

7 PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may estab9 lish a Multifamily Housing Revitalization Program 

10 for the preservation and revitalization of multifamily 

11 housing projects funded with loans made available 

12 pursuant to this section and sections 514 and 516 

13 to ensure that such projects have sufficient resources 

14 to provide safe and affordable housing for low-in15 come residents and farm laborers. 

16 ‘‘(2) OPTIONS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), 

17 the Secretary may— 

18 ‘‘(A) with respect such loans— 

19 ‘‘(i) reduce or eliminate interest; 

20 ‘‘(ii) defer loan payments; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) subordinate, reduce, or reamor22 tize loan debt; and 

23 ‘‘(B) provide other financial assistance, in24 cluding— 

25 ‘‘(i) advances; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) payments and incentives (includ2 ing the ability of owners to obtain reason3 able returns on investment). 

4 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In exchange for assist5 ance provided pursuant to this subsection, the Sec6 retary shall enter into with the property owner a re7 strictive use agreement to ensure that the property 

8 remains subject to low-income use restrictions for an 

9 additional period of time consistent with the terms 

10 of the restructuring. 

11 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS FOR RURAL HOUSING

12 VOUCHERS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—If the Secretary deter14 mines that additional funds for vouchers under 

15 the rural housing voucher program under sec16 tion 542 (42 U.S.C. 1490r) are needed, funds 

17 for the revitalization program under this sub18 section may be used for such vouchers for any 

19 low-income household (including those not re20 ceiving rental assistance) residing in a property 

21 financed with a loan under this section that has 

22 been prepaid after September 30, 2005. 

23 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding section 

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1 tween comparable market rent for the unit and 

2 the tenant-paid rent for such unit. 

3 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY.—Funds made avail4 able for vouchers pursuant to this paragraph 

5 shall be subject to the availability of annual ap6 propriations. 

7 ‘‘(D) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary 

8 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ad9 minister vouchers provided pursuant to this 

10 paragraph with current regulations and admin11 istrative guidance applicable to housing vouch12 ers under section 8 of the United States Hous13 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) adminis14 tered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

15 Development.’’. 

16 TITLE III—FHA MORTGAGE IN17 SURANCE FOR CONDOMIN18 IUMS 

19 SEC. 301. MODIFICATION OF FHA REQUIREMENTS FOR 

20 MORTGAGE INSURANCE FOR CONDOMIN21 IUMS. 

22 Section 203 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 

23 1709) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

24 subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(y) REQUIREMENTS FOR MORTGAGES FOR CON2 DOMINIUMS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) PROJECT RECERTIFICATION REQUIRE4 MENTS.—Notwithstanding any other law, regulation, 

5 or guideline of the Secretary, including chapter 2.4 

6 of the Condominium Project Approval and Proc7 essing Guide of the FHA, the Secretary shall 

8 streamline the project certification requirements that 

9 are applicable to the insurance under this section for 

10 mortgages for condominium projects so that recer11 tifications are substantially less burdensome than 

12 certifications. The Secretary shall consider length13 ening the time between certifications for approved 

14 properties, and allowing updating of information 

15 rather than resubmission. 

16 ‘‘(2) COMMERCIAL SPACE REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 Notwithstanding any other law, regulation, or guide18 line of the Secretary, including chapter 2.1.3 of the 

19 Condominium Project Approval and Processing 

20 Guide of the FHA, in providing for exceptions to the 

21 requirement for the insurance of a mortgage on a 

22 condominium property under this section regarding 

23 the percentage of the floor space of a condominium 

24 property that may be used for nonresidential or com25 mercial purposes, the Secretary shall provide that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) any request for such an exception and 

2 the determination of the disposition of such re3 quest may be made, at the option of the re4 quester, under the direct endorsement lender 

5 review and approval process or under the HUD 

6 review and approval process through the appli7 cable field office of the Department; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in determining whether to allow such 

9 an exception for a condominium property, fac10 tors relating to the economy for the locality in 

11 which such project is located or specific to 

12 project, including the total number of family 

13 units in the project, shall be considered. 

14 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER FEES.—Notwithstanding any 

15 other law, regulation, or guideline of the Secretary, 

16 including chapter 1.8.8 of the Condominium Project 

17 Approval and Processing Guide of the FHA and sec18 tion 203.41 of the Secretary’s regulations (24 

19 C.F.R. 203.41), existing standards of the Federal 

20 Housing Finance Agency relating to encumbrances 

21 under private transfer fee covenants shall apply to 

22 the insurance of mortgages by the Secretary under 

23 this section to the same extent and in the same 

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1 gages by the Federal National Mortgage Association 

2 and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. 

3 ‘‘(4) OWNER-OCCUPANCY REQUIREMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) REDUCTION TO 35 PERCENT.—Except 

5 as provided in subparagraph (B) of this para6 graph and notwithstanding any other law, regu7 lation, or guideline of the Secretary, in order 

8 for a condominium project to be acceptable to 

9 the Secretary for insurance under this section, 

10 at least 35 percent of all family units (including 

11 units not covered by FHA-insured mortgages) 

12 must be occupied by the owners as a principal 

13 residence or a secondary residence (as such 

14 terms are defined by the Secretary), or must 

15 have been sold to owners who intend to meet 

16 such occupancy requirement. 

17 ‘‘(B) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—The Sec18 retary may increase the percentage applicable 

19 pursuant to subparagraph (A) to a condo20 minium project on a project-by-project basis, 

21 and in determining such percentage for a 

22 project shall consider factors relating to the 

23 economy for the locality in which such project 

24 is located or specific to project, including the 

25 total number of family units in the project.’’. 


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1 TITLE IV—HOUSING REFORMS 

2 FOR THE HOMELESS AND FOR 

3 VETERANS 

4 SEC. 401. CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM. 

5 (a) AUTHORITY PRIVATE NONPROFIT ORGANIZA6 TIONS TO ADMINISTER PERMANENT HOUSING RENTAL

7 ASSISTANCE.—Subsection (g) of section 423 of the 

8 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 11383(g)) is amended by inserting ‘‘private nonprofit or10 ganization,’’ after ‘‘unit of general local government,’’. 

11 (b) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Paragraph (1) of 

12 section 414(d) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist13 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11373(d)(1)) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘twice’’ and inserting ‘‘once’’. 

15 (c) DEFINITION OF GEOGRAPHIC AREAS.—Subtitle C 

16 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) by redesignating sections 432 and 433 (42 

19 U.S.C. 11387, 11388) as sections 433 and 434, re20 spectively; and 

21 (2) by inserting after section 431 (42 U.S.C. 

22 11386e) the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 432. GEOGRAPHIC AREAS. 

2 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENT TO DEFINE.—For purposes of 

3 this subtitle, the term ‘geographic area’ shall have such 

4 meaning as the Secretary shall by notice provide. 

5 ‘‘(b) ISSUANCE OF NOTICE.—Not later than the expi6 ration of the 90-day period beginning on the date of the 

7 enactment of the Housing Opportunity Through Mod8 ernization Act of 2015, the Secretary shall issue a notice 

9 setting forth the definition required by subsection (a).’’. 

10 SEC. 402. INCLUSION OF PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES AND 

11 LOCAL REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITIES IN 

12 EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANTS. 

13 Section 414(c) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless As14 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11373(c)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the subsection heading, by inserting ‘‘, 

16 PUBLIC HOUSING AGENCIES, AND LOCAL REDEVEL17 OPMENT AUTHORITIES’’ after ‘‘ORGANIZATIONS’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) in the first sentence, by inserting before the 

20 period at the end the following: ‘‘, to public housing 

21 agencies (as defined under section 3(b)(6) of the 

22 United States Housing Act of 1937), or to local re23 development authorities (as defined under State 

24 law)’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AFFAIRS IN 

2 THE DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN 

3 DEVELOPMENT. 

4 (a) TRANSFER OF POSITION TO OFFICE OF THE SEC5 RETARY.—Section 4 of the Department of Housing and 

6 Urban Development Act (42 U.S.C. 3533) is amended by 

7 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(h) SPECIAL ASSISTANT FOR VETERANS AF9 FAIRS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) POSITION.—There shall be in the Office of 

11 the Secretary a Special Assistant for Veterans Af12 fairs, who shall report directly to the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Special Assistant for 

14 Veterans Affairs shall be appointed based solely on 

15 merit and shall be covered under the provisions of 

16 title 5, United States Code, governing appointments 

17 in the competitive service. 

18 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special Assist19 ant for Veterans Affairs shall be responsible for— 

20 ‘‘(A) ensuring veterans have fair access to 

21 housing and homeless assistance under each 

22 program of the Department providing either 

23 such assistance; 

24 ‘‘(B) coordinating all programs and activi25 ties of the Department relating to veterans; 


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1 ‘‘(C) serving as a liaison for the Depart2 ment with the Department of Veterans Affairs, 

3 including establishing and maintaining relation4 ships with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; 

5 ‘‘(D) serving as a liaison for the Depart6 ment, and establishing and maintaining rela7 tionships with the United States Interagency 

8 Council on Homelessness and officials of State, 

9 local, regional, and nongovernmental organiza10 tions concerned with veterans; 

11 ‘‘(E) providing information and advice re12 garding— 

13 ‘‘(i) sponsoring housing projects for 

14 veterans assisted under programs adminis15 tered by the Department; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) assisting veterans in obtaining 

17 housing or homeless assistance under pro18 grams administered by the Department; 

19 ‘‘(F) coordinating with the Secretary of 

20 Housing and Urban Development and the Sec21 retary of Veterans Affairs in carrying out sec22 tion 404 of the Housing Opportunity Through 

23 Modernization Act of 2015; and 


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1 ‘‘(G) carrying out such other duties as may 

2 be assigned to the Special Assistant by the Sec3 retary or by law.’’. 

4 (b) TRANSFER OF POSITION IN OFFICE OF DEPUTY

5 ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR SPECIAL NEEDS.—On the 

6 date that the initial Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs 

7 is appointed pursuant to section 4(h)(2) of the Depart8 ment of Housing and Urban Development Act, as added 

9 by subsection (a) of this section, the position of Special 

10 Assistant for Veterans Programs in the Office of the Dep11 uty Assistant Secretary for Special Needs of the Depart12 ment of Housing and Urban Development shall be termi13 nated. 

14 SEC. 404. ANNUAL SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT ON VETERANS 

15 HOMELESSNESS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Housing and 

17 Urban Development and the Secretary of Veterans Af18 fairs, in coordination with the United States Interagency 

19 Council on Homelessness, shall submit annually to the 

20 Committees of the Congress specified in subsection (b), 

21 together with the annual reports required by such Secre22 taries under section 203(c)(1) of the McKinney-Vento 

23 Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11313(c)(1)), a sup24 plemental report that includes the following information 

25 with respect to the preceding year: 


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1 (1) The same information, for such preceding 

2 year, that was included with respect to 2010 in the 

3 report by the Secretary of Housing and Urban De4 velopment and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs en5 titled ‘‘Veterans Homelessness: A Supplemental Re6 port to the 2010 Annual Homeless Assessment Re7 port to Congress’’. 

8 (2) Information regarding the activities of the 

9 Department of Housing and Urban Development re10 lating to veterans during such preceding year, as fol11 lows: 

12 (A) The number of veterans provided as13 sistance under the housing choice voucher pro14 gram for Veterans Affairs supported housing 

15 under section 8(o)(19) of the United States 

16 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(19)), 

17 the socioeconomic characteristics of such home18 less veterans, and the number, types, and loca19 tions of entities contracted under such section 

20 to administer the vouchers. 

21 (B) A summary description of the special 

22 considerations made for veterans under public 

23 housing agency plans submitted pursuant to 

24 section 5A of the United States Housing Act of 

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1 prehensive housing affordability strategies sub2 mitted pursuant to section 105 of the Cranston3 Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

4 U.S.C. 12705). 

5 (C) A description of the activities of the 

6 Special Assistant for Veterans Affairs of the 

7 Department of Housing and Urban Develop8 ment. 

9 (D) A description of the efforts of the De10 partment of Housing and Urban Development 

11 and the other members of the United States 

12 Interagency Council on Homelessness to coordi13 nate the delivery of housing and services to vet14 erans. 

15 (E) The cost to the Department of Hous16 ing and Urban Development of administering 

17 the programs and activities relating to veterans. 

18 (F) Any other information that the Sec19 retary of Housing and Urban Development and 

20 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs consider rel21 evant in assessing the programs and activities 

22 of the Department of Housing and Urban De23 velopment relating to veterans. 

24 (b) COMMITTEES.—The Committees of the Congress 

25 specified in this subsection are as follows: 


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1 (1) The Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

2 Urban Affairs of the Senate. 

3 (2) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

4 Senate. 

5 (3) The Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 Senate. 

7 (4) The Committee on Financial Services of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 (5) The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

10 House of Representatives. 

11 (6) The Committee on Appropriations of the 

12 House of Representatives. 

13 TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS 

14 SEC. 501. INCLUSION OF DISASTER HOUSING ASSISTANCE 

15 PROGRAM IN CERTAIN FRAUD AND ABUSE 

16 PREVENTION MEASURES. 

17 The Disaster Housing Assistance Program adminis18 tered by the Department of Housing and Urban Develop19 ment shall be considered a ‘‘program of the Department 

20 of Housing and Urban Development’’ under section 904 

21 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amend22 ments Act of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3544) for the purpose of 

23 income verifications. 


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1 SEC. 502. AMENDMENTS TO LOW-INCOME HOUSING PRES2 ERVATION AND RESIDENT HOMEOWNERSHIP 

3 ACT OF 1990. 

4 (a) DISTRIBUTIONS AND RESIDUAL RECEIPTS.—Sec5 tion 222 of the Low-Income Housing Preservation and 

6 Resident Homeownership Act of 1990 (12 U.S.C. 4112) 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

9 ‘‘(e) DISTRIBUTION AND RESIDUAL RECEIPTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—After the date of the enact11 ment of the Housing Opportunity Through Mod12 ernization Act of 2015, the owner of a property sub13 ject to a plan of action or use agreement pursuant 

14 to this section shall be entitled to distribute— 

15 ‘‘(A) annually, all surplus cash generated 

16 by the property, but only if the owner is in ma17 terial compliance with such use agreement in18 cluding compliance with prevailing physical con19 dition standards established by the Secretary; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) notwithstanding any conflicting provi22 sion in such use agreement, any funds accumu23 lated in a residual receipts account, but only if 

24 the owner is in material compliance with such 

25 use agreement and has completed, or set aside 

26 sufficient funds for completion of, any capital 


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1 repairs identified by the most recent third party 

2 capital needs assessment. 

3 ‘‘(2) OPERATION OF PROPERTY.—An owner 

4 that distributes any amounts pursuant to paragraph 

5 (1) shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) continue to operate the property in 

7 accordance with the affordability provisions of 

8 the use agreement for the property for the re9 maining useful life of the property; 

10 ‘‘(B) as required by the plan of action for 

11 the property, continue to renew or extend any 

12 project-based rental assistance contract for a 

13 term of not less than 20 years; and 

14 ‘‘(C) if the owner has an existing multi15 year project-based rental assistance contract for 

16 less than 20 years, have the option to extend 

17 the contract to a 20-year term.’’. 

18 (b) FUTURE FINANCING.—Section 214 of the Low19 Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeowner20 ship Act of 1990 (12 U.S.C. 4104) is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(c) FUTURE FINANCING.—Neither this section, nor 

23 any plan of action or use agreement implementing this 

24 section, shall restrict an owner from obtaining a new loan 

25 or refinancing an existing loan secured by the project, or 


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1 from distributing the proceeds of such a loan; except that, 

2 in conjunction with such refinancing— 

3 ‘‘(1) the owner shall provide for adequate reha4 bilitation pursuant to a capital needs assessment to 

5 ensure long-term sustainability of the property satis6 factory to the lender or bond issuance agency; 

7 ‘‘(2) any resulting budget-based rent increase 

8 shall include debt service on the new financing, com9 mercially reasonable debt service coverage, and re10 placement reserves as required by the lender; and 

11 ‘‘(3) for tenants of dwelling units not covered 

12 by a project- or tenant-based rental subsidy, any 

13 rent increases resulting from the refinancing trans14 action may not exceed 10 percent per year, except 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(A) any tenant occupying a dwelling unit 

17 as of time of the refinancing may not be re18 quired to pay for rent and utilities, for the du19 ration of such tenancy, an amount that exceeds 

20 the greater of— 

21 ‘‘(i) 30 percent of the tenant’s income; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the amount paid by the tenant 

24 for rent and utilities immediately before 

25 such refinancing; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) this paragraph shall not apply to any 

2 tenant who does not provide the owner with 

3 proof of income. 

4 Paragraph (3) may not be construed to limit any rent in5 creases resulting from increased operating costs for a 

6 project.’’. 

7 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary of Housing 

8 and Urban Development shall issue any guidance that the 

9 Secretary considers necessary to carry out the provisions 

10 added by the amendments made by subsections (a) and 

11 (b) not later than the expiration of the 120-day period 

12 beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 503. BUDGET-NEUTRAL DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM 

14 FOR ENERGY AND WATER CONSERVATION IM15 PROVEMENTS AT MULTIFAMILY RESIDEN16 TIAL UNITS. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Housing 

18 and Urban Development (in this section referred to as the 

19 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall establish a demonstration program 

20 under which the Secretary may execute budget-neutral, 

21 performance-based agreements in fiscal years 2016 

22 through 2019 that result in a reduction in energy or water 

23 costs with such entities as the Secretary determines to be 

24 appropriate under which the entities shall carry out 

25 projects for energy or water conservation improvements at 


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1 not more than 20,000 residential units in multifamily 

2 buildings participating in— 

3 (1) the project-based rental assistance program 

4 under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 

5 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), other than assistance pro6 vided under section 8(o) of that Act; 

7 (2) the supportive housing for the elderly pro8 gram under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959 

9 (12 U.S.C. 1701q); or 

10 (3) the supportive housing for persons with dis11 abilities program under section 811(d)(2) of the 

12 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 8013(d)(2)). 

14 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

15 (1) PAYMENTS CONTINGENT ON SAVINGS.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

17 provide to an entity a payment under an agree18 ment under this section only during applicable 

19 years for which an energy or water cost savings 

20 is achieved with respect to the applicable multi21 family portfolio of properties, as determined by 

22 the Secretary, in accordance with subparagraph 

23 (B). 

24 (B) PAYMENT METHODOLOGY.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Each agreement 

2 under this section shall include a pay-for3 success provision that— 

4 (I) shall serve as a payment 

5 threshold for the term of the agree6 ment; and 

7 (II) requires that payments shall 

8 be contingent on realized cost savings 

9 associated with reduced utility con10 sumption in the participating prop11 erties. 

12 (ii) LIMITATIONS.—A payment made 

13 by the Secretary under an agreement 

14 under this section— 

15 (I) shall be contingent on docu16 mented utility savings; and 

17 (II) shall not exceed the utility 

18 savings achieved by the date of the 

19 payment, and not previously paid, as 

20 a result of the improvements made 

21 under the agreement. 

22 (C) THIRD-PARTY VERIFICATION.—Savings 

23 payments made by the Secretary under this sec24 tion shall be based on a measurement and 

25 verification protocol that includes at least— 


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1 (i) establishment of a weather-normal2 ized and occupancy-normalized utility con3 sumption baseline established pre-retrofit; 

4 (ii) annual third-party confirmation of 

5 actual utility consumption and cost for 

6 utilities; 

7 (iii) annual third-party validation of 

8 the tenant utility allowances in effect dur9 ing the applicable year and vacancy rates 

10 for each unit type; and 

11 (iv) annual third-party determination 

12 of savings to the Secretary. 

13 An agreement under this section with an entity 

14 shall provide that the entity shall cover costs 

15 associated with third-party verification under 

16 this subparagraph. 

17 (2) TERMS OF PERFORMANCE-BASED AGREE18 MENTS.—A performance-based agreement under this 

19 section shall include— 

20 (A) the period that the agreement will be 

21 in effect and during which payments may be 

22 made, which may not be longer than 12 years; 

23 (B) the performance measures that will 

24 serve as payment thresholds during the term of 

25 the agreement; 


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1 (C) an audit protocol for the properties 

2 covered by the agreement; 

3 (D) a requirement that payments shall be 

4 contingent on realized cost savings associated 

5 with reduced utility consumption in the partici6 pating properties; and 

7 (E) such other requirements and terms as 

8 determined to be appropriate by the Secretary. 

9 (3) ENTITY ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary 

10 shall— 

11 (A) establish a competitive process for en12 tering into agreements under this section; and 

13 (B) enter into such agreements only with 

14 entities that, either jointly or individually, dem15 onstrate significant experience relating to— 

16 (i) financing or operating properties 

17 receiving assistance under a program iden18 tified in subsection (a); 

19 (ii) oversight of energy or water con20 servation programs, including oversight of 

21 contractors; and 

22 (iii) raising capital for energy or 

23 water conservation improvements from 

24 charitable organizations or private inves25 tors. 


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1 (4) GEOGRAPHICAL DIVERSITY.—Each agree2 ment entered into under this section shall provide 

3 for the inclusion of properties with the greatest fea4 sible regional and State variance. 

5 (5) PROPERTIES.—A property may only be in6 cluded in the demonstration under this section only 

7 if the property is subject to affordability restrictions 

8 for at least 15 years after the date of the completion 

9 of any conservation improvements made to the prop10 erty under the demonstration program. Such restric11 tions may be made through an extended affordability 

12 agreement for the property under a new housing as13 sistance payments contract with the Secretary of 

14 Housing and Urban Development or through an en15 forceable covenant with the owner of the property. 

16 (c) PLAN AND REPORTS.— 

17 (1) PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

19 submit to the Committees on Appropriations and Fi20 nancial Services of the House of Representatives and 

21 the Committees on Appropriations and Banking, 

22 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate a detailed 

23 plan for the implementation of this section. 


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1 (2) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, and annually there3 after, the Secretary shall— 

4 (A) conduct an evaluation of the program 

5 under this section; and 

6 (B) submit to Congress a report describing 

7 each evaluation conducted under subparagraph 

8 (A). 

9 (d) FUNDING.—For each fiscal year during which an 

10 agreement under this section is in effect, the Secretary 

11 may use to carry out this section any funds appropriated 

12 to the Secretary for the renewal of contracts under a pro13 gram described in subsection (a). 

14 SEC. 504. ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS UNDER 

15 SELF-HELP HOMEOWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 Section 11 of the Housing Opportunity Program Ex18 tension Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 12805 note) is amended 

19 by inserting after subsection (f) the following new sub20 section: 

21 ‘‘(g) ENERGY EFFICIENCY REQUIREMENTS.—The 

22 Secretary may not require any dwelling developed using 

23 amounts from a grant made under this section to meet 

24 any energy efficiency standards other than the standards 

25 applicable at such time pursuant to section 109 of the 


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1 Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 12709) to housing specified in subsection (a) of 

3 such section.’’. 

4 SEC. 505. DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDIZATION FOR IM5 PROVED INTEROPERABILITY. 

6 (a) DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDIZATION.—Title I of 

7 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 

8 et seq.), as amended by the preceding provisions of this 

9 Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 38. DATA EXCHANGE STANDARDS FOR IMPROVED 

12 INTEROPERABILITY. 

13 ‘‘(a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary shall, in con14 sultation with an interagency work group established by 

15 the Office of Management and Budget, and considering 

16 State government perspectives, designate data exchange 

17 standards to govern, under this Act— 

18 ‘‘(1) necessary categories of information that 

19 State agencies operating related programs are re20 quired under applicable law to electronically ex21 change with another State agency; and 

22 ‘‘(2) Federal reporting and data exchange re23 quired under applicable law. 


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1 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—The data exchange standards 

2 required by subsection (a) shall, to the maximum extent 

3 practicable— 

4 ‘‘(1) incorporate a widely accepted, nonpropri5 etary, searchable, computer-readable format, such as 

6 the eXtensible Markup Language; 

7 ‘‘(2) contain interoperable standards developed 

8 and maintained by intergovernmental partnerships, 

9 such as the National Information Exchange Model; 

10 ‘‘(3) incorporate interoperable standards devel11 oped and maintained by Federal entities with au12 thority over contracting and financial assistance; 

13 ‘‘(4) be consistent with and implement applica14 ble accounting principles; 

15 ‘‘(5) be implemented in a manner that is cost16 effective and improves program efficiency and effec17 tiveness; and 

18 ‘‘(6) be capable of being continually upgraded 

19 as necessary. 

20 ‘‘(c) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

21 section requires a change to existing data exchange stand22 ards for Federal reporting found to be effective and effi23 cient.’’. 

24 (b) APPLICABILITY.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 of Housing and Urban Development shall issue a 

4 proposed rule to carry out the amendments made by 

5 subsection (a). 

6 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The rule shall— 

7 (A) identify federally required data ex8 changes; 

9 (B) include specification and timing of ex10 changes to be standardized; 

11 (C) address the factors used in deter12 mining whether and when to standardize data 

13 exchanges; 

14 (D) specify State implementation options; 

15 and 

16 (E) describe future milestones. 

Æ 


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