I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1281 

To provide standards for physical condition and management of housing 

receiving assistance payments under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 1, 2023 

Mr. COHEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide standards for physical condition and management 

of housing receiving assistance payments under section 

8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937. 

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 ‘‘Housing Accountability 

5 Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR PHYSICAL CONDITION AND MAN2 AGEMENT OF HOUSING RECEIVING ASSIST3 ANCE PAYMENTS. 

4 Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

5 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) is amended by inserting after sub6 section (v) the following: 

7 ‘‘(w) STANDARDS FOR PHYSICAL CONDITION AND

8 MANAGEMENT OF HOUSING RECEIVING ASSISTANCE PAY9 MENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) STANDARDS FOR PHYSICAL CONDITION

11 AND MANAGEMENT OF HOUSING.—Any entity receiv12 ing assistance payments under this section shall 

13 maintain decent, safe, and sanitary conditions, as 

14 determined by the Secretary, for any structure cov15 ered under a housing assistance payment contract. 

16 ‘‘(2) SURVEY OF TENANTS.—The Secretary 

17 shall develop a process by which a Performance18 Based Contract Administrator shall, on a semi19 annual basis, conduct a survey of the tenants of 

20 each structure covered under a housing assistance 

21 payment contract for the purpose of identifying con22 sistent or persistent problems with the physical con23 dition of the structure or performance of the man24 ager of the structure. 

25 ‘‘(3) REMEDIATION.—A structure covered 

26 under a housing assistance payment contract shall 


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1 be referred to the Secretary for remediation if a Per2 formance-Based Contract Administrator identifies a 

3 consistent or persistent problem with the structure 

4 or the management of the structure based on— 

5 ‘‘(A) a survey conducted under paragraph 

6 (2); or 

7 ‘‘(B) any other observation made by the 

8 Performance-Based Contract Administrator 

9 during the normal course of business. 

10 ‘‘(4) PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO UPHOLD

11 STANDARDS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

13 impose a penalty on any owner of a structure 

14 covered under a housing assistance payment 

15 contract if the Secretary finds that the struc16 ture or manager of the structure— 

17 ‘‘(i) did not satisfactorily meet the re18 quirements under paragraph (1); or 

19 ‘‘(ii) is repeatedly referred to the Sec20 retary for remediation by a Performance21 Based Contract Administrator through the 

22 process established under paragraph (3). 

23 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—A penalty imposed under 

24 subparagraph (A) shall be in an amount equal 

25 to not less than 1 percent of the annual budget 


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1 authority the owner is allocated under a hous2 ing assistance payment contract. 

3 ‘‘(C) USE OF AMOUNTS.—Any amounts 

4 collected under this paragraph shall be used 

5 solely for the purpose of supporting safe and 

6 sanitary conditions at applicable structures or 

7 for tenant relocation, as designated by the Sec8 retary, with priority given to the tenants of the 

9 structure that led to the penalty. 

10 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection shall not 

11 apply to any property assisted under subsection 

12 (o).’’. 

13 SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF REPORT. 

14 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

15 of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop16 ment shall submit to Congress a report that— 

17 (1) examines the adequacy of capital reserves 

18 for each structure covered under a housing assist19 ance payment contract under section 8 of the United 

20 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); 

21 (2) examines the use of funds derived from a 

22 housing assistance payment contract for purposes 

23 unrelated to the maintenance and capitalization of 

24 the structure covered under the contract; and 


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1 (3) includes any administrative or legislative 

2 recommendations to further improve the living con3 ditions at those structures. 

Æ 


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