II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4872 

To establish a permanent rural housing preservation and revitalization 

program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 15, 2022 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself and Ms. SMITH) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a permanent rural housing preservation and 

revitalization program, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strategy and Invest5 ment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSING PRES7 ERVATION AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM. 

8 Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 

9 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following 

10 new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 545. HOUSING PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall carry 

4 out a program under this section for the preservation and 

5 revitalization of multifamily rental housing projects fi6 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516. 

7 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF MATURING LOANS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) TO OWNERS.—On an annual basis, the 

9 Secretary shall provide written notice to each owner 

10 of a property financed under section 515 or both 

11 sections 514 and 516 that will mature within the 4- 

12 year period beginning upon the provision of the no13 tice, setting forth the options and financial incen14 tives that are available to facilitate the extension of 

15 the loan term or the option to decouple a rental as16 sistance contract pursuant to subsection (f). 

17 ‘‘(2) TO TENANTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each property fi19 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 

20 and 516, not later than the date that is 2 years 

21 before the date that the loan will mature, the 

22 Secretary shall provide written notice to each 

23 household residing in the property that informs 

24 them of the date of the loan maturity, the pos25 sible actions that may happen with respect to 

26 the property upon that maturity, and how to 


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1 protect their right to reside in federally assisted 

2 housing after that maturity. 

3 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE.—Notice under this para4 graph shall be provided in plain English and 

5 shall be translated to other languages in the 

6 case of any property located in an area in which 

7 a significant number of residents speak such 

8 other languages. 

9 ‘‘(c) LOAN RESTRUCTURING.—Under the program 

10 under this section, in any circumstance in which the Sec11 retary proposes a restructuring to an owner or an owner 

12 proposes a restructuring to the Secretary, the Secretary 

13 may restructure such existing housing loans, as the Sec14 retary considers appropriate, for the purpose of ensuring 

15 that those projects have sufficient resources to preserve 

16 the projects to provide safe and affordable housing for low17 income residents and farm laborers, by— 

18 ‘‘(1) reducing or eliminating interest; 

19 ‘‘(2) deferring loan payments; 

20 ‘‘(3) subordinating, reducing, or reamortizing 

21 loan debt; and 

22 ‘‘(4) providing other financial assistance, in23 cluding advances, payments, and incentives (includ24 ing the ability of owners to obtain reasonable re25 turns on investment) required by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—When the Secretary pro3 poses to restructure a loan or agrees to the proposal 

4 of an owner to restructure a loan pursuant to sub5 section (c), the Secretary shall offer to renew the 

6 rental assistance contract under section 521(a)(2) 

7 for a 20-year term that is subject to annual appro8 priations, provided that the owner agrees to bring 

9 the property up to such standards that will ensure 

10 maintenance of the property as decent, safe, and 

11 sanitary housing for the full term of the rental as12 sistance contract. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—With 

14 respect to a project described in paragraph (1), if 

15 rental assistance is not available for all households 

16 in the project for which the loan is being restruc17 tured pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary may 

18 extend such additional rental assistance to unas19 sisted households at that project as is necessary to 

20 make the project safe and affordable to low-income 

21 households. 

22 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIVE USE AGREEMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the preserva24 tion and revitalization agreement for a project, the 

25 Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement 


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1 that obligates the owner to operate the project in ac2 cordance with this title. 

3 ‘‘(2) TERM.— 

4 ‘‘(A) NO EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSIST5 ANCE CONTRACT.—Except when the Secretary 

6 enters into a 20-year extension of the rental as7 sistance contract for a project, the term of the 

8 restrictive use agreement for the project shall 

9 be consistent with the term of the restructured 

10 loan for the project. 

11 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE

12 CONTRACT.—If the Secretary enters into a 20- 

13 year extension of the rental assistance contract 

14 for a project, the term of the restrictive use 

15 agreement for the project shall be for 20 years. 

16 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may 

17 terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agree18 ment for a project before the end of the term 

19 of the agreement if the 20-year rental assist20 ance contract for the project with the owner is 

21 terminated at any time for reasons outside the 

22 control of the owner. 

23 ‘‘(f) DECOUPLING OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

24 ‘‘(1) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE CON25 TRACT.—If the Secretary determines that a maturVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:51 Sep 19, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4872.IS S4872

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1 ing loan for a project cannot reasonably be restruc2 tured in accordance with subsection (c) because it is 

3 not financially feasible or the owner does not agree 

4 with the proposed restructuring, and the project was 

5 operating with rental assistance under section 521, 

6 the Secretary may renew the rental assistance con7 tract, notwithstanding any provision of section 521, 

8 for a term, subject to annual appropriations, of not 

9 less than 10 years but not more than 20 years. 

10 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—With 

11 respect to a project described in paragraph (1), if 

12 rental assistance is not available for all households 

13 in the project for which the loan is being restruc14 tured pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary may 

15 extend such additional rental assistance to unas16 sisted households at that project as is necessary to 

17 make the project safe and affordable to low-income 

18 households. 

19 ‘‘(3) RENTS.—Any agreement to extend the 

20 term of the rental assistance contract under section 

21 521 for a project shall obligate the owner to con22 tinue to maintain the project as decent, safe and 

23 sanitary housing and to operate the development in 

24 accordance with this title, except that rents shall be 

25 based on the lesser of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the budget-based needs of the project; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(B) the operating cost adjustment factor 

4 as a payment standard as provided under sec5 tion 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing 

6 Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 

7 U.S.C. 1437 note). 

8 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL.— 

9 ‘‘(A) PLAN.—Before the approval of a 

10 rental assistance contract authorized under this 

11 section, the Secretary shall require the owner to 

12 submit to the Secretary a plan that identifies fi13 nancing sources and a timetable for renovations 

14 and improvements determined to be necessary 

15 by the Secretary to maintain and preserve the 

16 project. 

17 ‘‘(B) AUTOMATIC APPROVAL.—If a plan 

18 submitted under subparagraph (A) is not acted 

19 upon by the Secretary within 30 days of the 

20 submission, the rental assistance contract is 

21 automatically approved for not more than a 1- 

22 year period. 

23 ‘‘(g) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING TRANSFER TECHNICAL

24 ASSISTANCE.—Under the program under this section, the 

25 Secretary may provide grants to qualified nonprofit orgaVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:51 Sep 19, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4872.IS S4872

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1 nizations and public housing agencies to provide technical 

2 assistance, including financial and legal services, to bor3 rowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing 

4 to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing 

5 properties in areas where the Secretary determines there 

6 is a risk of loss of affordable housing. 

7 ‘‘(h) TRANSFER OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—After the 

8 loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under 

9 section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured 

10 or have been prepaid and the owner has chosen not to 

11 restructure the loan pursuant to subsection (c)— 

12 ‘‘(1) a tenant residing in the project shall have 

13 18 months before loan maturation or prepayment to 

14 transfer the rental assistance assigned to the unit of 

15 the tenant to another rental project originally fi16 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 and 

17 516, and such tenants will have priority for admis18 sion over other applicants; and 

19 ‘‘(2) the owner of the initial project may rent 

20 the previous unit of the tenant to a new tenant with21 out income restrictions. 

22 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of any amounts 

23 made available for the program under this section for any 

24 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 


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1 $1,000,000 for administrative expenses for carrying out 

2 such program. 

3 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 is authorized to be appropriated for the program under 

5 this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 

6 through 2027. 

7 ‘‘(k) RULEMAKING.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

9 after the date of enactment of the Strategy and In10 vestment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 

11 2022, the Secretary shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) publish an advance notice of proposed 

13 rulemaking; and 

14 ‘‘(B) consult with appropriate stake15 holders. 

16 ‘‘(2) INTERIM FINAL RULE.—Not later than 1 

17 year after the date of enactment of the Strategy and 

18 Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 

19 2022, the Secretary shall publish an interim final 

20 rule to carry out this section.’’. 

21 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS. 

22 Section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

23 1490r) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN SECTIONS

25 514, 515, AND 516 PROJECTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide 

2 rural housing vouchers under this section for any 

3 low-income household (including those not receiving 

4 rental assistance) residing— 

5 ‘‘(A) for a term longer than the remaining 

6 term of their lease in effect just prior to pre7 payment, in a property financed with a loan 

8 made or insured under section 514 or 515 that 

9 has— 

10 ‘‘(i) been prepaid without restrictions 

11 imposed by the Secretary pursuant to sec12 tion 502(c)(5)(G)(ii)(I); 

13 ‘‘(ii) been foreclosed; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) matured after September 30, 

15 2005; or 

16 ‘‘(B) in a property assisted under section 

17 514 or 516. 

18 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 

19 the provision of rental housing vouchers under this 

20 section for projects owned by nonprofit organizations 

21 and their affiliates or public agencies.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

23 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

24 case of any rural housing voucher provided pursuant to 

25 section 542 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 1490r), the amount of the monthly assistance payment for 

2 the household on whose behalf the assistance is provided 

3 shall be determined as provided in subsection (a) of such 

4 section 542. 

5 SEC. 5. RENTAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 

6 Section 521(d) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

7 U.S.C. 1490a(d)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

10 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec11 tively; 

12 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(B) upon request of an owner of a project fi15 nanced under section 514 or 515, the Secretary is 

16 authorized to enter into renewal of such agreements 

17 for a period of 20 years or the term of the loan, 

18 whichever is shorter, subject to amounts made avail19 able in appropriations Acts;’’; and 

20 (C) in subparagraph (C), as so redesig21 nated, by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and in22 serting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’; and 

23 (D) in subparagraph (D), as so redesig24 nated, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and 


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1 (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A), (B), 

2 and (C)’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(3) In the case of any rental assistance contract au5 thority that becomes available because of the termination 

6 of assistance on behalf of an assisted family— 

7 ‘‘(A) at the option of the owner of the rental 

8 project, the Secretary shall provide the owner a pe9 riod of 6 months before unused assistance is made 

10 available pursuant to subparagraph (B) during 

11 which the owner may use such assistance authority 

12 to provide assistance of behalf of an eligible unas13 sisted family that— 

14 ‘‘(i) is residing in the same rental project 

15 that the assisted family resided before the ter16 mination; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) newly occupies a dwelling unit in the 

18 rental project during that 6-month period; and 

19 ‘‘(B) except for assistance used as provided in 

20 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use such re21 maining authority to provide assistance on behalf of 

22 eligible families residing in other rental projects 

23 originally financed under section 515 or both sec24 tions 514 and 516.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR MULTIFAMILY TECHNICAL IMPROVE2 MENTS. 

3 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

4 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri5 culture $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 for improving the 

6 technology of the Department of Agriculture used to proc7 ess loans for multifamily housing and otherwise managing 

8 that housing. 

9 (b) TIMELINE.—The improvements required under 

10 subsection (a) shall be made within the 5-year period be11 ginning upon the appropriation of amounts under sub12 section (a), and those amounts shall remain available until 

13 the expiration of that 5-year period. 

14 SEC. 7. PLAN FOR PRESERVING AFFORDABILITY OF RENT15 AL PROJECTS. 

16 (a) PLAN.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture (in 

18 this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall submit 

19 to Congress a written for preserving the affordability for 

20 low-income families of rental projects for which loans were 

21 made under section 514 or 515 of the Housing Act of 

22 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485) and avoiding the displace23 ment of tenant households, which shall— 

24 (1) set forth specific performance goals and 

25 measures; 


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1 (2) set forth the specific actions and mecha2 nisms by which those goals will be achieved; 

3 (3) set forth specific measurements by which 

4 progress towards achievement of each goal can be 

5 measured; 

6 (4) provide for detailed reporting on outcomes; 

7 and 

8 (5) include any legislative recommendations to 

9 assist in achievement of the goals under the plan. 

10 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—The Sec12 retary shall establish an advisory committee (in this 

13 section referred to as the ‘‘advisory committee’’) to 

14 assist the Secretary in— 

15 (A) preserving properties assisted under 

16 section 514 or 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 

17 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485) through the multi18 family housing preservation and revitalization 

19 program under section 545 of such Act, as 

20 added by section 2 of this Act; and 

21 (B) implementing the plan required under 

22 subsection (a). 

23 (2) MEMBER.—The advisory committee shall 

24 consist of 16 members, appointed by the Secretary, 

25 as follows: 


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1 (A) A State Director of Rural Develop2 ment for the Department of Agriculture. 

3 (B) The Administrator for Rural Housing 

4 Service of the Department of Agriculture. 

5 (C) Two representatives of for-profit devel6 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

7 housing. 

8 (D) Two representatives of nonprofit devel9 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

10 housing. 

11 (E) Two representatives of State housing 

12 finance agencies. 

13 (F) Two representatives of tenants of mul14 tifamily rural rental housing. 

15 (G) One representative of a community de16 velopment financial institution that is involved 

17 in preserving the affordability of housing as18 sisted under sections 514, 515, and 516 of the 

19 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485, 

20 1486). 

21 (H) One representative of a nonprofit or22 ganization that operates nationally and has ac23 tively participated in the preservation of hous24 ing assisted by the Rural Housing Service by 

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1 nancing and technical assistance for, preserving 

2 the affordability of that housing. 

3 (I) One representative of low-income hous4 ing tax credit investors. 

5 (J) One representative of regulated finan6 cial institutions that finance affordable multi7 family rural rental housing developments. 

8 (K) Two representatives from nonprofit or9 ganizations representing farmworkers, including 

10 1 organization representing farmworker women. 

11 (3) MEETINGS.—The advisory committee shall 

12 meet not less often than once each calendar quarter. 

13 (4) FUNCTIONS.—In providing assistance to the 

14 Secretary to carry out the purpose of the advisory 

15 committee, the advisory committee shall carry out 

16 the following functions: 

17 (A) Assisting the Rural Housing Service of 

18 the Department of Agriculture to improve esti19 mates of the size, scope, and condition of rental 

20 housing portfolio of the Rural Housing Service, 

21 including the time frames for maturity of mort22 gages and costs for preserving the portfolio as 

23 affordable housing. 

24 (B) Reviewing policies and procedures of 

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1 tion of affordable rental housing financed under 

2 sections 514, 515, 516, and 538 of the Housing 

3 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485, 1486, 

4 1490p–2), the Multifamily Preservation and 

5 Revitalization Demonstration program, and the 

6 rental assistance program and making rec7 ommendations regarding improvements and 

8 modifications to those policies and procedures. 

9 (C) Providing ongoing review of Rural 

10 Housing Service program results. 

11 (D) Providing reports to Congress and the 

12 public on meetings, recommendations, and other 

13 findings of the advisory committee. 

14 (5) TRAVEL COSTS.—Any amounts made avail15 able for administrative costs of the Department of 

16 Agriculture may be used for costs of travel by mem17 bers of the advisory committee to meetings of the 

18 advisory committee. 

Æ 


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