II 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2574 

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

rural housing projects, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2018 

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 provide rental assistance to low-income tenants of certain 

multifamily rural housing projects, 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 ‘‘Rural Housing Preser5 vation Act of 2018’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. AVAILABILITY OF RURAL HOUSING VOUCHERS FOR 

2 TENANTS IN PROJECTS WITH MATURING 

3 LOANS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 542 of the Housing Act 

5 of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r) is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following: 

7 ‘‘(c) RURAL VOUCHERS FOR TENANTS OF PROJECTS

8 WITH PREPAID OR MATURING LOANS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—Subject to the availability of 

10 amounts provided in appropriation Acts and to para11 graph (3), the Secretary shall provide rural housing 

12 vouchers under this section, in the amount provided 

13 under this section, to any low-income household (in14 cluding those not receiving rental assistance) resid15 ing in a property that is— 

16 ‘‘(A) financed with a loan made or insured 

17 under section 514 or 515 that has been prepaid 

18 or has matured after September 30, 2005; or 

19 ‘‘(B) assisted under section 514 or 516 

20 that is owned by a nonprofit organization or 

21 public agency. 

22 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION AND SUBSIDIES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 

24 to the maximum extent practicable, administer 

25 and operate rural housing vouchers under this 

26 section according to regulations and administraVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Apr 03, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2574.IS S2574

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1 tive guidance that is applicable to enhanced 

2 vouchers under section 8(t) of the United 

3 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

4 1437f(t)) administered by the Secretary of 

5 Housing and Urban Development. 

6 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.—The 

7 amount of rental assistance provided on behalf 

8 of holders of rural housing vouchers under this 

9 section shall be the same as the rental assist10 ance provided on behalf of holders of enhanced 

11 vouchers under section 8(t) of the United 

12 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

13 1437f(t)). 

14 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Sec15 retary shall terminate the provision of voucher as16 sistance pursuant to this subsection, with respect to 

17 a property, if— 

18 ‘‘(A) at any time, a new loan is made or 

19 insured under section 514 or 515 for the prop20 erty; and 

21 ‘‘(B) as a result of a loan described in sub22 paragraph (A), rental assistance is provided on 

23 behalf of the voucher holder in an amount com24 parable to the rental assistance provided on beVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Apr 03, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2574.IS S2574

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1 half of the voucher holder under the voucher 

2 program. 

3 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION RELATING TO PROJECTS WITH

4 PREPAID LOANS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not 

6 issue rural housing vouchers under this section to 

7 residents who remain in properties that— 

8 ‘‘(A) were financed with a loan made or in9 sured under section 514 or 515 that has been 

10 prepaid; and 

11 ‘‘(B) are subject to any restrictive use 

12 agreements entered into pursuant to section 

13 502(c)(5)(G). 

14 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.—The Secretary 

15 shall review and approve all proposed rent increases 

16 for residents of properties described in paragraph 

17 (1) that are protected by the use agreements de18 scribed in that paragraph and issue, to those resi19 dents, limited voucher assistance that covers the cost 

20 of all approved future rent increases that are not re21 lated to the cost of prepaying the loan or refinancing 

22 the property.’’. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENT FOR SECTION 515 PROJECTS TO

24 ACCEPT VOUCHERS.—Section 515 of the Housing Act of 


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1 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485) is amended by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(bb) REQUIREMENT TO ACCEPT RURAL HOUSING

4 VOUCHERS.—No owner of a property financed with a loan 

5 made or insured under this section, whether the loan is 

6 outstanding or fully paid, may refuse to lease an available 

7 dwelling unit in the property to a household on behalf of 

8 whom voucher assistance is provided under section 542, 

9 and to enter into a voucher contract respecting the unit, 

10 a proximate cause of which is the status of the current 

11 or prospective tenant as a holder of that voucher.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. DECOUPLING RENTAL ASSISTANCE FROM MATUR13 ING RURAL HOUSING LOANS. 

14 Section 521(a)(2) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 

15 U.S.C. 1490a(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(F) RENTAL ASSISTANCE FOR PROJECTS WITH

18 MATURED LOANS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY.—To continue to make 

20 decent, safe and sanitary housing available to 

21 low-income occupants of projects originally fi22 nanced with a loan made or insured under sec23 tion 514 or 515 that has matured on or after 

24 the date of enactment of this subparagraph or 

25 with a grant provided under section 516, and at 


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1 rental rates commensurate to income as speci2 fied in subparagraph (A), the Secretary may, 

3 subject to the availability of amounts provided 

4 in appropriation Acts, contract to make and 

5 renew annual assistance payments pursuant to 

6 this subparagraph to the owners of those 

7 projects. 

8 ‘‘(ii) OFFER.—The Secretary shall ensure 

9 that an offer to provide a contract for assist10 ance payments pursuant to this subparagraph 

11 shall be extended to all owners of projects de12 scribed in clause (i) not later than 24 months 

13 before the maturation of the loan (except in the 

14 case of loans maturing after the date that is 24 

15 months before the date of enactment of this 

16 subparagraph). 

17 ‘‘(iii) TERMS.—Each contract for assist18 ance payments pursuant to this subparagraph 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(I) have a term of 20 years and be 

21 subject to availability of amounts provided 

22 in annual appropriations Acts; 

23 ‘‘(II) cover all new and existing house24 holds residing in the project, regardless of 

25 whether or not the households were preVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:04 Apr 03, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2574.IS S2574

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1 viously assisted under the rental assistance 

2 program authorized under subparagraph 

3 (A); 

4 ‘‘(III) be recorded at such local real 

5 property recording office as is prescribed 

6 by the State in which the project is lo7 cated; 

8 ‘‘(IV) bind the owner of the project 

9 and successors of the owner to continue to 

10 operate the project in accordance with such 

11 agreements; 

12 ‘‘(V) require the owner and successors 

13 of the owner to agree to continue to oper14 ate the project as if the project were sub15 ject to an existing loan under section 514 

16 or 515 or a grant under section 516, as 

17 applicable; 

18 ‘‘(VI) extend to residents of the 

19 project all the rights that at the time the 

20 contract is entered into are extended to 

21 residents of projects subject to an existing 

22 loan under section 514 or 515 or a grant 

23 under section 516, as applicable; 


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1 ‘‘(VII) require the owner successors of 

2 the owner to maintain the assisted housing 

3 as decent, safe, and sanitary housing; and 

4 ‘‘(VIII) provide that the Secretary 

5 may renew the contract for additional 5- 

6 year terms if the assisted housing is main7 tained in a decent, safe, and sanitary con8 dition, as determined by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(iv) ACTUAL MARKET RENTALS.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A contract for as11 sistance provided pursuant to this subpara12 graph for a project shall provide assistance 

13 to the owner based on an initial reasonable 

14 operating budget the rents for which do 

15 not exceed such actual market rental rates 

16 for the area in which the project is located, 

17 as are established by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(II) ADJUSTMENT; RENEWAL.—The 

19 Secretary shall annually adjust the actual 

20 market rental rates used for purposes of 

21 this clause. 

22 ‘‘(v) RENEWAL; ADJUSTMENT.—In pro23 viding assistance pursuant to this subpara24 graph, the Secretary shall require the owner of 

25 the project to renew the assistance provided to 


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1 each household not less frequently than annu2 ally, in accordance with the provisions of sub3 paragraph (A), and shall adjust the amount of 

4 assistance provided to a household at any other 

5 time upon a decrease in the monthly income of 

6 the household of $100 or more. 

7 ‘‘(vi) ADMINISTRATION.—Except as other8 wise provided in this subparagraph, rental as9 sistance contracts authorized by this subpara10 graph shall be administered by the Secretary in 

11 the same manner as rental assistance contracts 

12 for projects having existing loans made or in13 sured under section 515 or existing loans and 

14 grants made under sections 514 and 516.’’. 

15 SEC. 4. UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR TRANSFERS OF SEC16 TION 515 PROPERTIES USING LOW-INCOME 

17 TAX CREDITS. 

18 Section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

19 1485), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at 

20 the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(cc) REQUIREMENTS FOR TRANSFERS OF PROP22 ERTIES INVOLVING LOW-INCOME HOUSING TAX CRED23 ITS.—The Secretary shall establish, without exception, 

24 uniform requirements, terms, and conditions for any sale 

25 or transfer of a property financed with a loan under this 


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1 section to any entity, including a nonprofit organization, 

2 that is seeking to acquire that property with amounts au3 thorized under this section and any low-income housing 

4 tax credit under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code 

5 of 1986.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. RURAL MULTIFAMILY HOUSING REVITALIZATION 

7 PROGRAM. 

8 Section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

9 1485), as amended by this Act, is amended by adding at 

10 the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(cc) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING REVITALIZATION PRO12 GRAM.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may estab14 lish a Multifamily Housing Revitalization Program 

15 for the preservation and revitalization of multifamily 

16 housing projects funded with loans made available 

17 pursuant to this section and sections 514 and 516 

18 to ensure that those projects have sufficient re19 sources to provide safe and affordable housing for 

20 low-income residents and farm laborers. 

21 ‘‘(2) OPTIONS.—In carrying out paragraph (1), 

22 the Secretary may— 

23 ‘‘(A) with respect to the loans— 

24 ‘‘(i) reduce or eliminate interest; 

25 ‘‘(ii) defer loan payments; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) subordinate, reduce, or reamor2 tize loan debt; and 

3 ‘‘(B) provide other financial assistance, in4 cluding— 

5 ‘‘(i) advances; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) payments and incentives (includ7 ing the ability of owners to obtain reason8 able returns on investment). 

9 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—In exchange for assist10 ance provided pursuant to this subsection, the Sec11 retary shall enter into a restrictive use agreement 

12 with the property owner to ensure that the property 

13 remains subject to low-income use restrictions for an 

14 additional period of time consistent with the terms 

15 of the restructuring. 

16 ‘‘(4) USE OF FUNDS FOR RURAL HOUSING

17 VOUCHERS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—If the Secretary deter19 mines that additional voucher funds under sec20 tion 542 are needed, funds for the revitalization 

21 program under this subsection may be used for 

22 those vouchers for any low-income household 

23 (including those not receiving rental assistance) 

24 residing in a property financed with a loan 


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1 under this section that has been prepaid after 

2 September 30, 2005. 

3 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—Notwithstanding section 

4 542, the amount of a voucher provided pursu5 ant to this paragraph shall be the difference be6 tween comparable market rent for the unit and 

7 the tenant-paid rent for the unit. 

8 ‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY.—Funds made avail9 able for vouchers pursuant to this paragraph 

10 shall be subject to the availability of annual ap11 propriations. 

12 ‘‘(D) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary 

13 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ad14 minister vouchers provided pursuant to this 

15 paragraph with regulations and administrative 

16 guidance that is applicable to housing vouchers 

17 under section 8 of the United States Housing 

18 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) administered by 

19 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop20 ment. 

21 ‘‘(5) USE OF VOUCHER FUNDS FOR REVITAL22 IZATION PROGRAM.—If the Secretary determines 

23 that additional funds for the revitalization program 

24 under this subsection are needed, funds for the rural 

25 housing voucher program under section 542 may be 


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1 used for the revitalization program under this sub2 section.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS. 

4 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue regula6 tions necessary to carry out the amendments made by this 

7 Act. 

Æ 


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