I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1728 

To provide rental assistance to low-income tenants in certain multifamily 

rural housing projects financed by the Rural Housing Service of the 

Department of Agriculture, and to develop and implement a plan for 

preserving the affordability of rural rental housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 10, 2021 

Mrs. AXNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To provide rental assistance to low-income tenants in certain 

multifamily rural housing projects financed by the Rural 

Housing Service of the Department of Agriculture, and 

to develop and implement a plan for preserving the affordability of rural rental housing, 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 2021’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT OF HOUSING PRES2 ERVATION AND REVITALIZATION PROGRAM. 

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

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

5 new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 545. HOUSING PRESERVATION AND REVITALIZATION 

7 PROGRAM. 

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

9 out a program under this section for the preservation and 

10 revitalization of multifamily rental housing projects fi11 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516. 

12 ‘‘(b) NOTICE OF MATURING LOANS.— 

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

14 Secretary shall provide written notice to each owner 

15 of a property financed under section 515 or both 

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

17 year period beginning upon the provision of such no18 tice, setting forth the options and financial incen19 tives that are available to facilitate the extension of 

20 the loan term or the option to decouple a rental as21 sistance contract pursuant to subsection (f). 

22 ‘‘(2) TO TENANTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each property fi24 nanced under section 515 or both sections 514 

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

26 before the date that such loan will mature, the 


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1 Secretary shall provide written notice to each 

2 household residing in such property that in3 forms them of the date of the loan maturity, 

4 the possible actions that may happen with re5 spect to the property upon such maturity, and 

6 how to protect their right to reside in federally 

7 assisted housing after such maturity. 

8 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE.—Notice under this para9 graph shall be provided in plain English and 

10 shall be translated to other languages in the 

11 case of any property located in an area in which 

12 a significant number of residents speak such 

13 other languages. 

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

15 under this section, the Secretary may restructure such ex16 isting housing loans, as the Secretary considers appro17 priate, for the purpose of ensuring that such projects have 

18 sufficient resources to preserve the projects to provide safe 

19 and affordable housing for low-income residents and farm 

20 laborers, by— 

21 ‘‘(1) reducing or eliminating interest; 

22 ‘‘(2) deferring loan payments; 

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

24 loan debt; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) providing other financial assistance, in2 cluding advances, payments, and incentives (includ3 ing the ability of owners to obtain reasonable re4 turns on investment) required by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(d) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.—When the 

6 Secretary offers to restructure a loan pursuant to sub7 section (c), the Secretary shall offer to renew the rental 

8 assistance contract under section 521(a)(2) for a 20-year 

9 term that is subject to annual appropriations, provided 

10 that the owner agrees to bring the property up to such 

11 standards that will ensure its maintenance as decent, safe, 

12 and sanitary housing for the full term of the rental assist13 ance contract. 

14 ‘‘(e) RESTRICTIVE USE AGREEMENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—As part of the preserva16 tion and revitalization agreement for a project, the 

17 Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement 

18 that obligates the owner to operate the project in ac19 cordance with this title. 

20 ‘‘(2) TERM.— 

21 ‘‘(A) NO EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSIST22 ANCE CONTRACT.—Except when the Secretary 

23 enters into a 20-year extension of the rental as24 sistance contract for the project, the term of 

25 the restrictive use agreement for the project 


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1 shall be consistent with the term of the restruc2 tured loan for the project. 

3 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE

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

5 year extension of the rental assistance contract 

6 for a project, the term of the restrictive use 

7 agreement for the project shall be for 20 years. 

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

9 terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agree10 ment for a project prior to the end of its term 

11 if the 20-year rental assistance contract for the 

12 project with the owner is terminated at any 

13 time for reasons outside the owner’s control. 

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

15 ‘‘(1) RENEWAL OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE CON16 TRACT.—If the Secretary determines that a matur17 ing loan for a project cannot reasonably be restruc18 tured in accordance with subsection (c) and the 

19 project was operating with rental assistance under 

20 section 521, the Secretary may renew the rental as21 sistance contract, notwithstanding any provision of 

22 section 521, for a term, subject to annual appropria23 tions, of at least 10 years but not more than 20 

24 years. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RENTS.—Any agreement to extend the 

2 term of the rental assistance contract under section 

3 521 for a project shall obligate the owner to con4 tinue to maintain the project as decent, safe and 

5 sanitary housing and to operate the development in 

6 accordance with this title, except that rents shall be 

7 based on the lesser of— 

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

9 or 

10 ‘‘(B) (ii) the operating cost adjustment 

11 factor as a payment standard as provided under 

12 section 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Hous13 ing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 

14 U.S.C. 1437 note). 

15 ‘‘(g) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING TRANSFER TECHNICAL

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

17 Secretary may provide grants to qualified non-profit orga18 nizations and public housing agencies to provide technical 

19 assistance, including financial and legal services, to bor20 rowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing 

21 to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing 

22 properties in areas where the Secretary determines there 

23 is a risk of loss of affordable housing. 

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

25 loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under 


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1 section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured 

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

3 restructure the loan pursuant to subsection (c), a tenant 

4 residing in such project shall have 18 months prior to loan 

5 maturation or prepayment to transfer the rental assist6 ance assigned to the tenant’s unit to another rental project 

7 originally financed under section 515 or both sections 514 

8 and 516, and the owner of the initial project may rent 

9 the tenant’s previous unit to a new tenant without income 

10 restrictions. 

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

12 made available for the program under this section for any 

13 fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than 

14 $1,000,000 for administrative expenses for carrying out 

15 such program. 

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

17 is authorized to be appropriated for the program under 

18 this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 

19 through 2026.’’. 

20 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS. 

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

22 1490r) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

23 subsection: 

24 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY OF HOUSEHOLDS IN SECTION 514, 

25 515, AND 516 PROJECTS.—The Secretary may provide 


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1 rural housing vouchers under this section for any low-in2 come household (including those not receiving rental as3 sistance) residing in a property financed with a loan made 

4 or insured under section 514 or 515 (42 U.S.C. 1484, 

5 1485) which has been prepaid, has been foreclosed, or has 

6 matured after September 30, 2005, or residing in a prop7 erty assisted under section 514 or 516 that is owned by 

8 a nonprofit organization or public agency.’’. 

9 SEC. 4. AMOUNT OF VOUCHER ASSISTANCE. 

10 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in the 

11 case of any rural housing voucher provided pursuant to 

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

13 1490r), the amount of the monthly assistance payment for 

14 the household on whose behalf such assistance is provided 

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

16 section 542. 

17 SEC. 5. USE OF AVAILABLE RENTAL ASSISTANCE. 

18 Subsection (d) of section 521 of the Housing Act of 

19 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490a(d)) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(3) In the case of any rental assistance contract au22 thority that becomes available because of the termination 

23 of assistance on behalf of an assisted family— 

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

25 project, the Secretary shall provide the owner a peVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:29 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1728.IH H1728

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1 riod of 6 months before such assistance is made 

2 available pursuant to subparagraph (B) during 

3 which the owner may use such assistance authority 

4 to provide assistance of behalf of an eligible unas5 sisted family that— 

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

7 that the assisted family resided in prior to such 

8 termination; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) newly occupies a dwelling unit in such 

10 rental project during such period; and 

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

12 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall use such re13 maining authority to provide such assistance on be14 half of eligible families residing in other rental 

15 projects originally financed under section 515 or 

16 both sections 514 and 516 of this Act.’’. 

17 SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR MULTIFAMILY TECHNICAL IMPROVE18 MENTS. 

19 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec20 retary of Agriculture $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 for 

21 improving the technology of the Department of Agri22 culture used to process loans for multifamily housing and 

23 otherwise managing such housing. Such improvements 

24 shall be made within the 5-year period beginning upon the 


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1 appropriation of such amounts and such amount shall re2 main available until the expiration of such 5-year period. 

3 SEC. 7. PLAN FOR PRESERVING AFFORDABILITY OF RENT4 AL PROJECTS. 

5 (a) PLAN.—The Secretary of Agriculture (in this sec6 tion referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall submit a written 

7 plan to the Congress, not later than the expiration of the 

8 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act, for preserving the affordability for low-income 

10 families of rental projects for which loans were made 

11 under section 515 or made to nonprofit or public agencies 

12 under section 514 and avoiding the displacement of tenant 

13 households, which shall— 

14 (1) set forth specific performance goals and 

15 measures; 

16 (2) set forth the specific actions and mecha17 nisms by which such goals will be achieved; 

18 (3) set forth specific measurements by which 

19 progress towards achievement of each goal can be 

20 measured; 

21 (4) provide for detailed reporting on outcomes; 

22 and 

23 (5) include any legislative recommendations to 

24 assist in achievement of the goals under the plan. 

25 (b) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 


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1 (1) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—The Sec2 retary shall establish an advisory committee whose 

3 purpose shall be to assist the Secretary in preserving 

4 section 515 properties and section 514 properties 

5 owned by nonprofit or public agencies through the 

6 multifamily housing preservation and revitalization 

7 program under section 545 and in implementing the 

8 plan required under subsection (a). 

9 (2) MEMBER.—The advisory committee shall 

10 consist of 14 members, appointed by the Secretary, 

11 as follows: 

12 (A) A State Director of Rural Develop13 ment for the Department of Agriculture. 

14 (B) The Administrator for Rural Housing 

15 Service of the Department of Agriculture. 

16 (C) Two representatives of for-profit devel17 opers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

18 housing. 

19 (D) Two representatives of non-profit de20 velopers or owners of multifamily rural rental 

21 housing. 

22 (E) Two representatives of State housing 

23 finance agencies. 

24 (F) Two representatives of tenants of mul25 tifamily rural rental housing. 


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1 (G) One representative of a community de2 velopment financial institution that is involved 

3 in preserving the affordability of housing as4 sisted under sections 514, 515, and 516 of the 

5 Housing Act of 1949. 

6 (H) One representative of a nonprofit or7 ganization that operates nationally and has ac8 tively participated in the preservation of hous9 ing assisted by the Rural Housing Service by 

10 conducting research regarding, and providing fi11 nancing and technical assistance for, preserving 

12 the affordability of such housing. 

13 (I) One representative of low-income hous14 ing tax credit investors. 

15 (J) One representative of regulated finan16 cial institutions that finance affordable multi17 family rural rental housing developments. 

18 (3) MEETINGS.—The advisory committee shall 

19 meet not less often than once each calendar quarter. 

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

21 Secretary to carry out its purpose, the advisory com22 mittee shall carry out the following functions: 

23 (A) Assisting the Rural Housing Service of 

24 the Department of Agriculture to improve esti25 mates of the size, scope, and condition of rental 


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1 housing portfolio of the Service, including the 

2 time frames for maturity of mortgages and 

3 costs for preserving the portfolio as affordable 

4 housing. 

5 (B) Reviewing current policies and proce6 dures of the Rural Housing Service regarding 

7 preservation of affordable rental housing fi8 nanced under sections 514, 515, 516, and 538 

9 of the Housing Act of 1949, the Multifamily 

10 Preservation and Revitalization Demonstration 

11 program (MPR), and the rental assistance pro12 gram and making recommendations regarding 

13 improvements and modifications to such policies 

14 and procedures. 

15 (C) Providing ongoing review of Rural 

16 Housing Service program results. 

17 (D) Providing reports to the Congress and 

18 the public on meetings, recommendations, and 

19 other findings of the advisory committee. 

20 (5) TRAVEL COSTS.—Any amounts made avail21 able for administrative costs of the Department of 

22 Agriculture may be used for costs of travel by mem23 bers of the advisory committee to meetings of the 

24 committee. 


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1 SEC. 8. COVERED HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

2 Paragraph (3) of section 41411(a) of the Violence 

3 Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12491(a)(3)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (J) as sub8 paragraph (K); and 

9 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (I) the fol10 lowing new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(J) rural development housing voucher 

12 assistance provided by the Secretary of Agri13 culture pursuant to section 542 of the Housing 

14 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r), without regard 

15 to subsection (b) of such section, and applicable 

16 appropriation Acts; and’’. 

Æ 


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