II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5516 

To establish a new Housing and Urban Development grant program to 

provide community land trusts and other community-based housing organizations an incentive to convert vacant housing into readily available 

housing for unhoused individuals. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2024 

Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To establish a new Housing and Urban Development grant 

program to provide community land trusts and other 

community-based housing organizations an incentive to 

convert vacant housing into readily available housing for 

unhoused individuals. 

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 ‘‘Vacant Property for 

5 the Unhoused Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COMMUNITY LAND TRUST.—The term 

2 ‘‘community land trust’’ means a nonprofit organiza3 tion— 

4 (A) the primary purpose of which is the 

5 development and maintenance of housing that 

6 is permanently affordable to low- and moderate7 income persons; 

8 (B) that is not sponsored or controlled by 

9 a for-profit organization; 

10 (C) that uses a lease, covenant, agreement, 

11 or other enforceable mechanisms to require 

12 housing and related improvements on land held 

13 by the nonprofit organization to be affordable 

14 to low- and moderate-income persons for not 

15 less than 30 years; and 

16 (D) that retains a right of first refusal or 

17 preemptive right to purchase the housing and 

18 related improvements on land held by the non19 profit organization to maintain long-term af20 fordability. 

21 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti22 ty’’ means a community land trust or other commu23 nity-based housing organization, including a housing 

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1 owned community, or other model emphasizing com2 munity control, ownership, and representation. 

3 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

5 (4) SUPPORTIVE SERVICES.—The term ‘‘sup6 portive services’’ has the meaning given the term in 

7 section 401 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assist8 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360). 

9 (5) UNHOUSED INDIVIDUAL.—The term 

10 ‘‘unhoused individual’’ has the meaning given the 

11 term ‘‘homeless individual’’ in section 103(a) of the 

12 McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 

13 U.S.C. 11302). 

14 (6) VACANT HOUSING.—The term ‘‘vacant 

15 housing’’ means a vacant residential property. 

16 (b) FINDING; PURPOSE.— 

17 (1) FINDING.—Congress finds that the persist18 ence of homelessness, despite the abundance of va19 cant houses in the United States, presents an oppor20 tunity for community land trusts and other commu21 nity-based housing organizations to utilize their va22 cant housing resources to create long-term, stable 

23 housing for unhoused individuals. 

24 (2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to 

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1 nity land trusts and other community-based housing 

2 organizations to convert vacant housing into readily 

3 available housing for individuals experiencing home4 lessness. 

5 (c) VACANT PROPERTY FOR THE UNHOUSED GRANT

6 PROGRAM.— 

7 (1) GRANTS FOR FILLING VACANT HOUSING.— 

8 During the 5-fiscal-year period beginning with the 

9 first full fiscal year after the date of enactment of 

10 this Act, the Secretary shall carry out a program 

11 under which the Secretary awards grants to eligible 

12 entities to assist the eligible entities in creating pilot 

13 programs that use creative solutions to convert va14 cant housing, where safe and practicable, into long15 term, stable housing for use by unhoused individuals 

16 who seek to utilize the existing housing stock. 

17 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under para18 graph (1), the Secretary shall prioritize— 

19 (A) applicants located in jurisdictions with 

20 a high rate of homelessness, as determined by 

21 the Secretary using data from the most recent 

22 Annual Homeless Assessment Report; 

23 (B) applicants that provide or connect resi24 dents with supportive services, including job 

25 training, health care, and education; 


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1 (C) applicants that demonstrate meaning2 ful community representation, including rep3 resentation within the eligible entity, of— 

4 (i) unhoused individuals or formerly 

5 unhoused individuals; 

6 (ii) residents of the community in 

7 which the eligible entity operates; and 

8 (iii) people who work at or own busi9 nesses in the community in which the eligi10 ble entity operates; 

11 (D) applicants that operate programs with 

12 extended affordability covenants and mecha13 nisms that support long-term affordability; and 

14 (E) applicants— 

15 (i) that implement equitable tenant 

16 screening practices that limit the use of 

17 eviction history and other exclusionary cri18 teria in ways that prioritize housing access 

19 for unhoused individuals; and 

20 (ii) whose protocols remove barriers 

21 and emphasize an individual’s ability to 

22 sustain housing rather than punitive cri23 teria. 

24 (3) APPLICATION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desir2 ing a grant under paragraph (1) shall submit to 

3 the Secretary an application at such time, in 

4 such manner, and containing or accompanied 

5 by such information, as the Secretary may rea6 sonably require. 

7 (B) CONTENTS.—An application submitted 

8 under subparagraph (A) shall include an assur9 ance that the eligible entity will use the grant 

10 to convert housing for the purpose of providing 

11 long-term, stable housing to unhoused individ12 uals. 

13 (4) ELIGIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—An eligible en14 tity that receives a grant under paragraph (1) may 

15 use the grant funds to establish long-term, stable 

16 housing for use by unhoused individuals by— 

17 (A) converting vacant residential property 

18 in the possession of the eligible entity; 

19 (B) covering costs associated with up20 grades to increase the habitability of vacant 

21 housing; or 

22 (C) covering costs associated with long23 term maintenance and upkeep of housing that 

24 has been converted under subparagraph (A). 


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1 (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

2 submit an annual report to Congress regarding the 

3 use of funds under this section and the success of 

4 the grant program carried out under this section. 

5 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 

7 may be necessary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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