I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10421 

To establish a permanent rural housing preservation and revitalization 

program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2024 

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

Committee on Financial Services 

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 2023’’. 

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 or maintain the property at such 

10 standards that will ensure maintenance of the prop11 erty as decent, safe, and sanitary housing for the 

12 full term of the rental assistance contract. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL RENTAL ASSISTANCE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a 

15 project described in paragraph (1), if rental as16 sistance is not available for all households in 

17 the project for which the loan is being restruc18 tured pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary 

19 may extend such additional rental assistance to 

20 unassisted households at that project as is nec21 essary to make the project safe and affordable 

22 to low-income households. 

23 ‘‘(B) UNAVAILABLE PROPERTY.—In the 

24 event that a property is not available to provide 

25 additional rental assistance to households under 


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1 subparagraph (A), the Secretary may offer a 

2 rural housing voucher to those households. 

3 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIVE USE AGREEMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the preserva5 tion and revitalization agreement for a project, the 

6 Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement 

7 that obligates the owner to operate the project in ac8 cordance with this title. 

9 ‘‘(2) TERM.— 

10 ‘‘(A) NO EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSIST11 ANCE CONTRACT.—Except when the Secretary 

12 enters into a 20-year extension of the rental as13 sistance contract for a project, the term of the 

14 restrictive use agreement for the project shall 

15 be consistent with the term of the restructured 

16 loan for the project. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE

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

19 year extension of the rental assistance contract 

20 for a project, the term of the restrictive use 

21 agreement for the project shall be for 20 years. 

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

23 terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agree24 ment for a project before the end of the term 

25 of the agreement if the 20-year rental assistVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Jan 22, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10421.IH H10421

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1 ance contract for the project with the owner is 

2 terminated at any time for reasons outside the 

3 control of the owner. 

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

5 ‘‘(1) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE CON6 TRACT.—If the Secretary determines that a matur7 ing loan for a project cannot reasonably be restruc8 tured in accordance with subsection (c) because it is 

9 not financially feasible or the owner does not agree 

10 with the proposed restructuring, and the project was 

11 operating with rental assistance under section 521, 

12 the Secretary may renew the rental assistance con13 tract, notwithstanding any provision of section 521, 

14 for a term, subject to annual appropriations, of 20 

15 years, provided that the owner enters into a restric16 tive use agreement. 

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

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

19 rental assistance is not available for all households 

20 in the project, the Secretary may extend such addi21 tional rental assistance to unassisted households at 

22 that project as is necessary to make the project safe 

23 and affordable to low-income households. 

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

25 term of the rental assistance contract under section 


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1 521 for a project shall obligate the owner to con2 tinue to maintain the project as decent, safe and 

3 sanitary housing and to operate the development in 

4 accordance with this title, except that rents shall be 

5 based on the lesser of— 

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

7 or 

8 ‘‘(B) the operating cost adjustment factor 

9 as a payment standard as provided under sec10 tion 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing 

11 Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 

12 U.S.C. 1437 note). 

13 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR APPROVAL.— 

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

15 rental assistance contract authorized under this 

16 section, the Secretary shall require the owner to 

17 submit to the Secretary a plan that identifies fi18 nancing sources and a timetable for renovations 

19 and improvements determined to be necessary 

20 by the Secretary to maintain and preserve the 

21 project. 

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

23 submitted under subparagraph (A) is not acted 

24 upon by the Secretary within 30 days of the 

25 submission, the rental assistance contract is 


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1 automatically approved for not more than a 1- 

2 year period. 

3 ‘‘(g) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING TRANSFER TECHNICAL

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

5 Secretary may provide grants to qualified nonprofit orga6 nizations and public housing agencies to provide technical 

7 assistance, including financial and legal services, to bor8 rowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing 

9 to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing 

10 properties in areas where the Secretary determines there 

11 is a risk of loss of affordable housing. 

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

13 loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under 

14 section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured 

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

16 restructure the loan pursuant to subsection (c)— 

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

18 18 months before loan maturation or prepayment to 

19 transfer the rental assistance assigned to the unit of 

20 the tenant to another rental project originally fi21 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 and 

22 516, and such tenants will have priority for admis23 sion over other applicants; and 


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

2 the previous unit of the tenant to a new tenant with3 out income restrictions. 

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

5 made available for the program under this section for any 

6 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 

7 $1,000,000 for administrative expenses for carrying out 

8 such program. 

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

10 is authorized to be appropriated for the program under 

11 this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

12 through 2028. 

13 ‘‘(k) RULEMAKING.— 

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

15 after the date of enactment of the Strategy and In16 vestment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 

17 2023, the Secretary shall— 

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

19 rulemaking; and 

20 ‘‘(B) consult with appropriate stake21 holders. 

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

23 year after the date of enactment of the Strategy and 

24 Investment in Rural Housing Preservation Act of 


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1 2023, the Secretary shall publish an interim final 

2 rule to carry out this section.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS. 

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

5 1490r) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN SECTIONS

7 514, 515, AND 516 PROJECTS.— 

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

9 rural housing vouchers under this section for any 

10 low-income household (including those not receiving 

11 rental assistance) residing— 

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

13 term of their lease in effect just prior to pre14 payment, in a property financed with a loan 

15 made or insured under section 514 or 515 that 

16 has— 

17 ‘‘(i) been prepaid without restrictions 

18 imposed by the Secretary pursuant to sec19 tion 502(c)(5)(G)(ii)(I); 

20 ‘‘(ii) been foreclosed; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) matured after September 30, 

22 2005 and the property is not receiving 

23 rental assistance under section 545(f); or 

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

25 514 or 516. 


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

2 the provision of rental housing vouchers under this 

3 section for projects owned by nonprofit organizations 

4 and their affiliates or public agencies.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

7 case of any rural housing voucher provided pursuant to 

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

9 1490r), the amount of the monthly assistance payment for 

10 the household on whose behalf the assistance is provided 

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

12 section 542. 

13 SEC. 5. RENTAL ASSISTANCE CONTRACT AUTHORITY. 

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

15 U.S.C. 1490a(d)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

18 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec19 tively; 

20 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) upon request of an owner of a project 

23 financed under section 514 or 515 or an owner 

24 who has entered into a restrictive use agree25 ment under section 545(e), the Secretary is auVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:41 Jan 22, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10421.IH H10421

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1 thorized to enter into a renewal of such agree2 ments for a period of 20 years or the term of 

3 the loan, whichever is shorter, subject to 

4 amounts made available in appropriations 

5 Acts;’’; 

6 (C) in subparagraph (C), as so redesig7 nated, by striking ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’ and in8 serting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and (B)’’; and 

9 (D) in subparagraph (D), as so redesig10 nated, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) and 

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

12 and (C)’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘shall’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘may’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘(other than the authority 

17 described in paragraph (1)(B))’’ after ‘‘this sec18 tion’’. 

19 SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR MULTIFAMILY TECHNICAL IMPROVE20 MENTS. 

21 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

22 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri23 culture $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 for improving the 

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1 ess loans for multifamily housing and otherwise managing 

2 that housing. 

3 (b) TIMELINE.—The improvements required under 

4 subsection (a) shall be made within the 5-year period be5 ginning upon the appropriation of amounts under sub6 section (a), and those amounts shall remain available until 

7 the expiration of that 5-year period. 

8 SEC. 7. PLAN FOR PRESERVING AFFORDABILITY OF RENT9 AL PROJECTS. 

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

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

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

13 to Congress a written plan for preserving the affordability 

14 for low-income families of rental projects for which loans 

15 were made under section 514 or 515 of the Housing Act 

16 of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485) and avoiding the displace17 ment of tenant households, which shall— 

18 (1) set forth specific performance goals and 

19 measures; 

20 (2) set forth the specific actions and mecha21 nisms by which those goals will be achieved; 

22 (3) set forth specific measurements by which 

23 progress towards achievement of each goal can be 

24 measured; 


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1 (4) provide for detailed reporting on outcomes; 

2 and 

3 (5) include any legislative recommendations to 

4 assist in achievement of the goals under the plan. 

5 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—The Sec7 retary shall establish an advisory committee (in this 

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

9 assist the Secretary in— 

10 (A) preserving properties assisted under 

11 section 514 or 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1485) through the multi13 family housing preservation and revitalization 

14 program under section 545 of such Act, as 

15 added by section 2 of this Act; and 

16 (B) implementing the plan required under 

17 subsection (a). 

18 (2) MEMBER.—The advisory committee shall 

19 consist of 16 members, appointed by the Secretary, 

20 as follows: 

21 (A) A State Director of Rural Develop22 ment for the Department of Agriculture. 

23 (B) The Administrator for Rural Housing 

24 Service of the Department of Agriculture. 


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1 (C) Two representatives of for-profit devel2 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

3 housing. 

4 (D) Two representatives of nonprofit devel5 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

6 housing. 

7 (E) Two representatives of State housing 

8 finance agencies. 

9 (F) Two representatives of tenants of mul10 tifamily rural rental housing. 

11 (G) One representative of a community de12 velopment financial institution that is involved 

13 in preserving the affordability of housing as14 sisted under sections 514, 515, and 516 of the 

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

16 1486). 

17 (H) One representative of a nonprofit or18 ganization that operates nationally and has ac19 tively participated in the preservation of hous20 ing assisted by the Rural Housing Service by 

21 conducting research regarding, and providing fi22 nancing and technical assistance for, preserving 

23 the affordability of that housing. 

24 (I) One representative of low-income hous25 ing tax credit investors. 


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1 (J) One representative of regulated finan2 cial institutions that finance affordable multi3 family rural rental housing developments. 

4 (K) Two representatives from nonprofit or5 ganizations representing farmworkers, including 

6 1 organization representing farmworker women. 

7 (3) MEETINGS.—The advisory committee shall 

8 meet not less often than once each calendar quarter. 

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

10 Secretary to carry out the purpose of the advisory 

11 committee, the advisory committee shall carry out 

12 the following functions: 

13 (A) Assisting the Rural Housing Service of 

14 the Department of Agriculture to improve esti15 mates of the size, scope, and condition of rental 

16 housing portfolio of the Rural Housing Service, 

17 including the time frames for maturity of mort18 gages and costs for preserving the portfolio as 

19 affordable housing. 

20 (B) Reviewing policies and procedures of 

21 the Rural Housing Service regarding preserva22 tion of affordable rental housing financed under 

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

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

25 1490p–2), the Multifamily Preservation and 


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1 Revitalization Demonstration program, and the 

2 rental assistance program and making rec3 ommendations regarding improvements and 

4 modifications to those policies and procedures. 

5 (C) Providing ongoing review of Rural 

6 Housing Service program results. 

7 (D) Providing reports to Congress and the 

8 public on meetings, recommendations, and other 

9 findings of the advisory committee. 

10 (5) TRAVEL COSTS.—Any amounts made avail11 able for administrative costs of the Department of 

12 Agriculture may be used for costs of travel by mem13 bers of the advisory committee to meetings of the 

14 advisory committee. 

Æ 


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