I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5085 

To reform the screening and eviction policies for Federal housing assistance 

in order to provide fair access to housing, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 27, 2016 

Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To reform the screening and eviction policies for Federal 

housing assistance in order to provide fair access to 

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 ‘‘Fair Chance at Hous5 ing Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF COVERED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY. 

7 Section 579(a) of the Quality Housing and Work Re8 sponsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13664(a)) is amended 

9 by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following new 

10 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(1) COVERED CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.—The term 

2 ‘covered criminal activity’ means, with respect to 

3 federally assisted housing— 

4 ‘‘(A) any criminal activity that threatens 

5 the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoy6 ment of the premises by other tenants, the em7 ployees, or the owner or public housing agency, 

8 including any violent criminal activity on such 

9 premises, engaged in by a tenant, any member 

10 of the tenant’s household, or any guest or other 

11 person under the tenant’s control and acting 

12 with the tenant’s knowledge; or 

13 ‘‘(B) any violent criminal activity off such 

14 premises engaged in by a tenant or any member 

15 of the tenant’s household that poses risk of fu16 ture harm to other tenants, employees, or the 

17 public housing agency or owner. 

18 Such term includes criminal activity that has re19 sulted in a lifetime registration requirement specified 

20 in section 578(a) (42 U.S.C. 13663(a)) and criminal 

21 activity described in section 16(f)(1) of the United 

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

23 1437n(f)(1)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. SCREENING OF APPLICANTS FOR FEDERALLY AS2 SISTED HOUSING. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 576 of the Quality Hous4 ing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 

5 13661) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 576. SCREENING OF APPLICANTS FOR FEDERALLY 

7 ASSISTED HOUSING. 

8 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO DENY ADMISSION FOR CERTAIN

9 CRIMINAL ACTIVITY.—Except as otherwise provided by 

10 this section and in addition to any other authority to 

11 screen applicants, in selecting among applicants for admis12 sion to federally assisted housing or to the program, only 

13 if the public housing agency or owner of such housing (as 

14 applicable) determines that an applicant or any member 

15 of the applicant’s household was, during a reasonable time 

16 preceding the date when the applicant household would 

17 otherwise be admitted to the federally assisted housing or 

18 the program, engaged in covered criminal activity, the 

19 public housing agency or owner shall conduct an individ20 ualized review of the totality of the circumstances before 

21 denying such applicant admission to the program or to 

22 federally assisted housing. 

23 ‘‘(b) TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES REVIEW.— 

24 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Before denying admis25 sion to an applicant pursuant to subsection (a), a 

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1 dividualized review of the totality of the cir2 cumstances regarding the criminal background at 

3 issue, taking into consideration the applicant’s need 

4 for housing and the health and safety of the commu5 nity. 

6 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE; MITIGATING FACTORS.—The 

7 Secretary shall issue guidance for public housing 

8 agencies and owners regarding reviews required 

9 under paragraph (1), which shall provide for appli10 cants to submit mitigating evidence and shall include 

11 consideration of all mitigating factors presented, in12 cluding the following factors: 

13 ‘‘(A) SEVERITY.—The severity of the of14 fense or offenses committed. 

15 ‘‘(B) FREQUENCY.—The frequency of the 

16 offense or offenses committed and the amount 

17 of time since such offense or offenses. 

18 ‘‘(C) NATURE OF OFFENSE.— 

19 ‘‘(i) DISABILITY-RELATED OF20 FENSES.—Whether the offense or of21 fenses— 

22 ‘‘(I) were committed by a mem23 ber of the household who is an indi24 vidual with disabilities who is entitled 

25 to a reasonable accommodation under 


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1 the Fair Housing Act or section 504 

2 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974; or 

3 ‘‘(II) are related to a symptom of 

4 a disability of the member of the 

5 household who committed the offense 

6 or offenses. 

7 ‘‘(ii) PROXIMITY TO ASSISTED HOUS8 ING.—Whether the offense or offenses oc9 curred on or near the federally assisted 

10 housing to which the applicant’s applica11 tion relates (if applicable). 

12 ‘‘(iii) EMPLOYMENT; EDUCATION; VO13 CATION.—The employment, educational, or 

14 vocational status of the member of the 

15 household who committed the offense or 

16 offenses. 

17 ‘‘(iv) COMMUNITY AND FAMILIES

18 TIES.—The nature and extent of commu19 nity and family ties of the member of the 

20 household who committed the offense or 

21 offenses. 

22 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION OF DENIALS ON THE BASIS OF

23 PREVIOUS EVICTIONS OR INCONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE.—A 

24 public housing agency or owner may not deny admission 


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1 to federally assisted housing or to the program based sole2 ly on— 

3 ‘‘(1) a previous eviction for criminal activity; 

4 ‘‘(2) an arrest for an offense for which the ap5 plicant was not subsequently convicted; 

6 ‘‘(3) any juvenile adjudication or conviction; 

7 ‘‘(4) a conviction that has been expunged, 

8 sealed, or subject to similar judicial relief under 

9 State law the purpose of which is to remove the col10 lateral consequences of a criminal conviction; 

11 ‘‘(5) non-criminal citations, such as traffic and 

12 municipal citations; or 

13 ‘‘(6) whether the offense or offenses committed 

14 arose from a household member’s status as a victim 

15 of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

16 or stalking, as such terms are defined in section 

17 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 

18 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)). 

19 ‘‘(d) OPPORTUNITY TO REMOVE CULPABLE HOUSE20 HOLD MEMBER.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any covered 

22 criminal activity described in subsection (a) war23 ranting denial of admission to federally assisted 

24 housing, the public housing agency or owner shall, 

25 before denying admission to the entire applicant 


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1 household, provide the applicant household with the 

2 option of removing from the household the member 

3 or members who would be cause for such denial in 

4 order for the remainder of the household to be eligi5 ble for admission, and may only deny such admis6 sion if the applicant household refuses to exercise 

7 such option. 

8 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—A public housing agency or 

9 owner shall provide the applicant household with 

10 written notice of the option required under para11 graph (1) within a reasonable time before notice of 

12 an adverse action relating to covered criminal activ13 ity described in subsection (a). 

14 ‘‘(e) PROHIBITION ON SUSPICIONLESS DRUG AND

15 ALCOHOL TESTING.—Notwithstanding any other provi16 sion of law, a public housing agency or owner of federally 

17 assisted housing may not require drug or alcohol testing, 

18 without individualized suspicion, of any applicant for ad19 mission to federally assisted housing or a program of 

20 housing assistance as a condition of such housing assist21 ance. 

22 ‘‘(f) NOTICES.—The Secretary shall require each 

23 public housing agency and owner of federally assisted 

24 housing to provide— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to each applicant for admission to federally 

2 assisted housing or to the program, at the time of 

3 application, written notice of the policy of such agen4 cy or owner pursuant to this subtitle or any other 

5 provision of law regarding denial of admission for 

6 criminal activity, which shall include— 

7 ‘‘(A) notice of the authority under sub8 section (a) to deny admission based on covered 

9 criminal activity and notice of the specific rea10 sonable time period to which such authority ap11 plies; and 

12 ‘‘(B) notice of the requirement under sub13 section (b) to consider the totality of the cir14 cumstances and the right under subsection 

15 (b)(2) to present mitigating evidence; 

16 ‘‘(2) to each applicant, upon selection from the 

17 waiting list for admission to federally assisted hous18 ing or to the program, written notice of the policy 

19 specified in paragraph (1); and 

20 ‘‘(3) to an applicant, upon denial of an applica21 tion for admission to federally assisted housing or to 

22 the program— 

23 ‘‘(A) written notice of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the reason for such denial, includ2 ing the specific criminal activity on which 

3 the denial is based; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the actions that the applicant 

5 may take to appeal such denial; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the requirement under sub7 section (b) to consider the totality of the 

8 circumstances and the right under sub9 section (b)(2) to present mitigating evi10 dence; and 

11 ‘‘(B) a copy of any documents that the 

12 public housing agency or owner used to support 

13 its determination of criminal activity. 

14 ‘‘(g) RESPONSIBILITY FOR COMPLIANCE.—A public 

15 housing agency or owner, as applicable, shall be solely re16 sponsible for compliance with the requirements of this sub17 title, notwithstanding the use of any third party for such 

18 purposes. 

19 ‘‘(h) COMPLIANCE WITH LIMITED ENGLISH PRO20 FICIENCY REQUIREMENTS.—Any notice or document re21 quired under this section to be provided to an applicant 

22 or applicant household shall be provided in multiple lan23 guages, consistent with guidance issued by the Secretary 

24 in accordance with Executive Order 13166 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 2000d–1 note; relating to access to services for persons 

2 with limited English proficiency).’’. 

3 (b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than the expiration of the 

4 180-day period beginning on the date of the enactment 

5 of this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop6 ment, after consultation with the Attorney General of the 

7 United States and an opportunity for public comment on 

8 the proposed guidance, shall issue the following guidance: 

9 (1) INDIVIDUALIZED REVIEWS REGARDING THE

10 TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES.—Guidance re11 quired under paragraph (2) of section 576(b) of the 

12 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 

13 1998, as such subsection is amended by subsection 

14 (a) of this section, regarding reviews required under 

15 paragraph (1) of such section 576(b). 

16 (2) MODEL NOTICE TO APPLICANTS.—Guidance 

17 setting forth model notification forms for use by 

18 public housing agencies and owners of federally as19 sisted housing in meeting the requirements of sub20 section (f) of section 576 of the Quality Housing 

21 and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, as added by 

22 the amendment made by subsection (a) of this sec23 tion. 


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1 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS FOR TERMINATION OF TENANCY 

2 AND ASSISTANCE FOR COVERED CRIMINAL 

3 ACTIVITY BY TENANTS OF FEDERALLY AS4 SISTED HOUSING. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 577 of the Quality Hous6 ing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 

7 13662) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 577. REQUIREMENTS FOR TERMINATION OF TEN9 ANCY AND ASSISTANCE FOR COVERED CRIMI10 NAL ACTIVITY BY TENANTS OF FEDERALLY 

11 ASSISTED HOUSING. 

12 ‘‘(a) TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES REVIEW.— 

13 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—In determining whether 

14 to terminate tenancy or assistance to any household 

15 based on covered criminal activity by a household 

16 member or any guest or other person under the con17 trol of a household member, a public housing agency 

18 or an owner shall conduct an individualized review of 

19 the totality of the circumstances regarding the crimi20 nal activity at issue, taking into consideration the 

21 household’s need for housing and the health and 

22 safety of the community. 

23 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE; MITIGATING FACTORS.—The 

24 Secretary shall issue guidance for public housing 

25 agencies and owners regarding reviews required 

26 under paragraph (1), which shall provide for tenants 


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1 to submit mitigating evidence and shall include con2 sideration of all mitigating factors presented, includ3 ing all of the factors specified in section 576(b)(2); 

4 except that, for purposes of this paragraph— 

5 ‘‘(A) subparagraph (B) of such section 

6 shall be applied without considering ‘the 

7 amount of time since such offense or offenses’; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) subparagraph (C)(ii) of such section 

10 shall be applied by substituting ‘in which the 

11 household resides’ for ‘to which the applicant’s 

12 application relates (if applicable)’. 

13 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION OF EVICTIONS BASED ON INCON14 CLUSIVE EVIDENCE.—A public housing agency or owner 

15 may not deny admission to federally assisted housing or 

16 to the program based solely on— 

17 ‘‘(1) an arrest for an offense for which the ap18 plicant was not subsequently convicted; 

19 ‘‘(2) any juvenile adjudication or conviction; 

20 ‘‘(3) a conviction that has been expunged, 

21 sealed, or subject to similar judicial relief under 

22 State law the purpose of which is to remove the col23 lateral consequences of a criminal conviction; 

24 ‘‘(4) non-criminal citations, such as traffic and 

25 municipal citations; or 


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1 ‘‘(5) whether the offense or offenses committed 

2 arose from a household member’s status as a victim 

3 of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, 

4 or stalking, as such terms are defined in section 

5 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 

6 (42 U.S.C. 13925(a)). 

7 ‘‘(c) OPTION TO REMOVE CULPABLE HOUSEHOLD

8 MEMBER.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any covered 

10 criminal activity warranting termination of tenancy 

11 or assistance, the public housing agency or owner 

12 shall, before proceeding with eviction or termination 

13 proceedings against the entire tenant household, pro14 vide the tenant with the option of removing from the 

15 household the member that is culpable for the activ16 ity that warrants the termination in order for the re17 mainder of the household to continue to reside in the 

18 assisted unit, and may only proceed with eviction 

19 proceedings if the tenant refuses to exercise such op20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF REMEDIES.—Paragraph 

22 (1) shall not supersede any protections or remedies 

23 available under the Violence Against Women Act of 

24 1994 (42 U.S.C. 13925 et seq.). 


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1 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION ON SUSPICIONLESS DRUG AND

2 ALCOHOL TESTING.—Notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, a public housing agency or owner of federally 

4 assisted housing may not require drug or alcohol testing, 

5 without individualized suspicion, of any tenant of federally 

6 assisted housing or member of a tenant’s household, as 

7 a condition of tenancy in such housing or continued re8 ceipt of such assistance.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 577 of the Quality 

10 Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998, as amend11 ed by subsection (a) of this section, shall take effect and 

12 apply on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle F of the Quality Housing 

15 and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13661 

16 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) by redesignating section 579, as amended 

18 by the preceding provisions of this Act, as section 

19 580; and 

20 (2) by inserting after section 578 (42 U.S.C. 

21 13663) the following new section: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 579. DATA COLLECTION. 

23 ‘‘(a) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall require 

24 each public housing agency and owner to submit a report 

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1 lowing information for the preceding 12-month reporting 

2 period: 

3 ‘‘(1) The number of applications for admission 

4 to federally assisted housing or the program re5 viewed by the public housing agency or owner. 

6 ‘‘(2) The number of applications for admission 

7 to federally assisted housing or the program re8 viewed by the public housing agency or owner for 

9 covered criminal activity. 

10 ‘‘(3) For each applicant for which the public 

11 housing agency or owner reviewed covered criminal 

12 activity, the specific type or types of covered crimi13 nal activity reviewed by the public housing agency or 

14 owner, including the disposition of any criminal 

15 charges against the applicant. 

16 ‘‘(4) The number of denials of applications for 

17 admission to federally assisted housing or the pro18 gram rendered by the public housing agency or 

19 owner on the basis of covered criminal activity. 

20 ‘‘(5) The number of such denials pursuant to 

21 which the applicant filed a request for informal re22 view. 

23 ‘‘(6) The number of such denials that were 

24 overturned following informal review. 


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1 ‘‘(7) The information required under para2 graphs (1) through (5) disaggregated by the race of 

3 the applicant, the ethnicity of the applicant, and 

4 whether the applicant had a disability as defined by 

5 section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

6 U.S.C. 794). 

7 ‘‘(b) TERMINATIONS.—The Secretary shall require 

8 each public housing agency and owner to submit a report 

9 to the Secretary on an annual basis that contains the fol10 lowing information for the preceding 12-month reporting 

11 period: 

12 ‘‘(1) The number of terminations of tenancy 

13 and terminations of assistance initiated by the public 

14 housing agency or owner. 

15 ‘‘(2) For each termination of tenancy or assist16 ance based on covered criminal activity, the specific 

17 type or types of covered criminal activity involved, 

18 including the disposition of any criminal charges 

19 against the tenant or participant. 

20 ‘‘(3) The number of terminations of tenancy 

21 and terminations of assistance rendered by the pub22 lic housing agency or owner on the basis of covered 

23 criminal activity. 

24 ‘‘(4) The information required under para25 graphs (1) through (3) disaggregated by the race of 


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1 the applicant, the ethnicity of the applicant, and 

2 whether the applicant had a disability as defined by 

3 section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 

4 U.S.C. 794).’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subsection (c) of 

6 section 578 of the Quality Housing and Work Responsi7 bility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13663(c)) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘section 579(a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

9 580(a)(2)’’. 

10 SEC. 6. PUBLIC HOUSING EVICTION STANDARDS. 

11 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES.— 

12 Section 6(k) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 

13 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(k)) is amended, in the first sentence 

14 of the matter after and below paragraph (6)— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘violent criminal’’ before ‘‘ac16 tivity that threatens’’; and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘or drug-related’’. 

18 (b) LEASE TERMS.—Section 6(l) of the United States 

19 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(l)) is amended— 

20 (1) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 

21 following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(6) provide that any covered criminal activity 

23 (as such term is defined in section 58(a) of the 

24 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 


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1 1998) shall be cause for termination of tenancy, sub2 ject to section 577 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 13662);’’; 

3 (2) in the second paragraph designated as para4 graph (7) (relating to occupancy in violation of sec5 tion 576(b) of the Quality Housing and Work Re6 sponsibility Act of 1998; as added by section 

7 575(b)(4) of such Act (Public Law 105–276; 112 

8 Stat. 2635))— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘any occupancy in violation 

10 of section 576(b) of the Quality Housing and 

11 Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (relating to in12 eligibility of illegal drug users and alcohol abus13 ers) or’’; 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘(relating to termination of 

15 tenancy and assistance for illegal drug users 

16 and alcohol abusers)’’; and 

17 (C) by redesignating such paragraph as 

18 paragraph (8); and 

19 (3) in paragraph (9)— 

20 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

21 or’’ at the end and inserting a period; 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘if such tenant—’’ in the 

23 matter preceding subparagraph (A) and all that 

24 follows through ‘‘(A) is fleeing’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘if such tenant is fleeing’’; and 


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1 (C) by striking paragraph (2). 

2 (c) PROHIBITION ON OBTAINING INFORMATION

3 FROM DRUG ABUSE TREATMENT FACILITIES.—Section 

4 6(t) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

5 1437d(t)) is amended— 

6 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘OB7 TAINING’’ and inserting ‘‘PROHIBITION ON OBTAIN8 ING’’; 

9 (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

10 following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(1) PROHIBITION.—A public housing agency 

12 may not require a person who applies for admission 

13 to public housing to provide consent that authorizes 

14 the agency to receive information from a drug abuse 

15 treatment facility that is related to whether the ap16 plicant is currently engaging in the illegal use of a 

17 controlled substance or the applicant’s progress in 

18 rehabilitation, and may not request such an appli19 cant to provide such consent. Such an applicant may 

20 voluntarily provide such information, provide signed 

21 written consent for the agency to receive such infor22 mation, or provide signed written consent for such 

23 a facility to provide such information to an agency, 

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1 sponsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13661(b)) and 

2 an agency provided such information shall consider 

3 such information in conducting such a review. Noth4 ing in this paragraph may be construed to penalize 

5 or to authorize any penalty for an applicant for not 

6 providing such information or consent.’’; 

7 (3) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

8 following new paragraph: 

9 ‘‘(2) EXPIRATION OF WRITTEN CONSENT.—An ap10 plicant’s signed written consent provided pursuant to 

11 paragraph (1) shall expire automatically after the public 

12 housing agency has made a final decision to either approve 

13 or deny the applicant’s application for admittance to pub14 lic housing.’’; 

15 (4) by striking paragraph (3); 

16 (5) by striking paragraph (6); and 

17 (6) by redesignating paragraphs (4), (5), (7), 

18 and (8) as paragraphs (3), (4), (5), and (6), respec19 tively. 

20 (d) VISITATION RIGHTS.—Section 6 of the United 

21 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d) is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(u) VISITATION RIGHTS.—A public housing agency 

24 may prohibit visitation of a public housing dwelling unit 


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1 by a non-tenant on the basis of criminal activity by such 

2 non-tenant only if— 

3 ‘‘(1) such activity is covered criminal activity, 

4 as such term is defined in section 580(a) of the 

5 Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 

6 1998; 

7 ‘‘(2) the agency has thoroughly considered all 

8 mitigating factors, including the same factors with 

9 respect to the non-tenant as are required under sub10 section (b) of such section 576 to be considered with 

11 respect to an applicant for federally assisted hous12 ing; 

13 ‘‘(3) in the case of any such prohibition of visi14 tation by a non-tenant, the agency provides the ten15 ant or non-tenant involved with an opportunity, not 

16 less frequently than annually, to request a redeter17 mination with respect to such prohibition at which 

18 the tenant or non-tenant may present any new miti19 gating evidence; 

20 ‘‘(4) the agency has provided the non-tenant 

21 with written notice of the agency’s decision to pro22 hibit visitation, that— 

23 ‘‘(A) includes statements identifying the 

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1 tenant’s right to present mitigating factors to 

2 overturn the agency’s decision; and 

3 ‘‘(B) is provided in multiple languages, 

4 consistent with guidance issued by the Sec5 retary in accordance with Executive Order 

6 13166 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–1 note; relating to ac7 cess to services for persons with limited English 

8 proficiency); and 

9 ‘‘(5) such prohibition ends after of a period of 

10 time that does not exceed three years.’’. 

11 (e) PRIVATELY MANAGED PUBLIC HOUSING AND

12 HOUSING FUNDED UNDER CERTAIN DEMONSTRATION

13 PROGRAMS.—Section 6 of the United States Housing Act 

14 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d), as amended by the preceding 

15 provisions of this section, is further amended by adding 

16 at the end the following new subsection: 

17 ‘‘(v) SCREENING AND EVICTION POLICIES FOR PRI18 VATELY MANAGED PUBLIC HOUSING AND HOUSING

19 FUNDED UNDER CERTAIN DEMONSTRATION PRO20 GRAMS.—In the case of any public housing dwelling units 

21 or projects that are managed by an entity other than the 

22 public housing agency that owns the units or project, any 

23 units or projects subject to the Moving to Work dem24 onstration program authorized under section 204 of the 

25 Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban 


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1 Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations 

2 Act, 1996 (Public Law 104–134; 110 Stat. 1321), and 

3 any units funded under the Rental Assistance Demonstra4 tion program authorized under title II of the Transpor5 tation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related 

6 Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (division C of Public 

7 Law 112–55; 125 Stat. 673), such units and projects shall 

8 be subject to the screening and eviction policies established 

9 pursuant to this section and subtitle F of the Quality 

10 Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 

11 13661 et seq.) by the agency that owns the units or 

12 projects.’’. 

13 SEC. 7. TERMINATION OF TENANCY AND TENANT SELEC14 TION UNDER SECTION 8 RENTAL ASSISTANCE 

15 PROGRAM. 

16 (a) TERMINATION OF TENANCY.— 

17 (1) PROJECT-BASED ASSISTANCE.—Clause (iii) 

18 of section 8(d)(1)(B) of the United States Housing 

19 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(d)(1)(B)(iii)) is 

20 amended to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(iii) during the term of the lease, any covered 

22 criminal activity, as such term is defined in section 

23 580(a) of the Quality Housing and Work Responsi24 bility Act of 1998, shall be cause for termination of 


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1 tenancy, subject to section 577 of such Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 13662);’’. 

3 (2) VOUCHER ASSISTANCE.—Subparagraph (D) 

4 of section 8(o)(7) of the United States Housing Act 

5 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(7)(D)) is amended to 

6 read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(D) during the term of the lease, any cov8 ered criminal activity, as such term is defined 

9 in section 580(a) of the Quality Housing and 

10 Work Responsibility Act of 1998, shall be cause 

11 for termination of tenancy, subject to section 

12 577 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 13662);’’. 

13 (b) SELECTION OF TENANTS UNDER VOUCHER PRO14 GRAM.—Section 8(o)(6)(B) of the United States Housing 

15 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(6)(B)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF TEN17 ANTS.—Each’’ and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(B) SELECTION OF TENANTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) FUNCTION OF OWNER.—Each’’; 

20 (2) by inserting after ‘‘shall be the function of 

21 the owner.’’ the following: ‘‘Any owner that screens 

22 applicants based on the criminal background of the 

23 applicant or any member of the applicant household, 

24 or other permissible grounds for denial under sub25 title F of title V of the Quality Housing and Work 


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1 Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13661 et seq.; 

2 relating to safety and security in public and assisted 

3 housing) or this section, shall provide each applicant, 

4 at the time of application, the written notice re5 quired pursuant to section 576(f)(1) of such Act, 

6 which notice shall be provided in multiple languages, 

7 consistent with guidance issued by the Secretary in 

8 accordance with Executive Order 13166 (42 U.S.C. 

9 2000d–1 note; relating to access to services for per10 sons with limited English proficiency).’’; 

11 (3) by striking ‘‘In addition’’ and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(ii) SCREENING.—In addition’’; 

14 (4) by inserting after the period at the end the 

15 following: ‘‘A public housing agency’s elective screen16 ing shall be limited to criteria that are directly re17 lated to an applicant’s ability to fulfill the obliga18 tions of an assisted lease and shall consider miti19 gating circumstances presented by such applicant. 

20 The preceding sentence shall not limit the authority 

21 of a public housing agency to deny assistance based 

22 on the criminal background of the applicant or any 

23 member of the applicant’s household, or any other 

24 permissible grounds for denial under subtitle F of 

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1 bility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13661 et seq.; relating 

2 to safety and security in public and assisted hous3 ing), subject to the procedural requirements of this 

4 section. Any applicant or participant determined to 

5 be ineligible for admission or continued participation 

6 to the program shall be promptly notified of the 

7 basis for such determination and provided, within a 

8 reasonable time after the determination, an oppor9 tunity for an informal hearing on such determina10 tion at which mitigating circumstances presented by 

11 the applicant, including remedial conduct subsequent 

12 to the conduct that is the basis of such determina13 tion, shall be considered. Such notice shall be pro14 vided in multiple languages, consistent with guidance 

15 issued by the Secretary in accordance with Executive 

16 Order 13166 (42 U.S.C. 2000d–1 note; relating to 

17 access to services for persons with limited English 

18 proficiency)’’; and 

19 (5) by adding at the end the following new 

20 clause: 

21 ‘‘(iii) EXISTING ASSISTED FAMI22 LIES.—Previously assisted or subsidized 

23 families being provided with tenant protec24 tion assistance authorized by law (includ25 ing tenant protection vouchers, enhanced 


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1 vouchers under subsection (t), or project2 based vouchers under subsection (o)(13)), 

3 families who are porting their vouchers to 

4 a new jurisdiction, and assisted families 

5 who are moving to redeveloped public hous6 ing, shall not be considered new applicants 

7 under this paragraph and shall not be sub8 ject to elective re-screening by a public 

9 housing agency.’’. 

10 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES.—Section 8(q)(2)(B) of 

11 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

12 1437f(q)(2)(B)) is amended by inserting before the semi13 colon the following: ‘‘, except that persons who have exited 

14 a jail or prison shall be considered, for purposes of this 

15 subparagraph, to be experiencing difficulty in obtaining 

16 appropriate housing under the programs’’. 

17 SEC. 8. SCREENING AND TERMINATION OF TENANCY IN 

18 RURAL HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

20 shall— 

21 (1) revise the regulations of the Secretary re22 garding screening of applicants for admission to 

23 housing assisted, and for housing assistance, under 

24 the covered rural housing programs (as such term is 

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1 lations are substantially similar to the regulations of 

2 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

3 relating to screening of applicants for admission to 

4 federally assisted housing, and to programs for 

5 housing assistance; and 

6 (2) revise the regulations of the Secretary re7 garding termination of tenancy in housing assisted, 

8 and termination of housing assistance, under the 

9 covered rural housing programs to provide that such 

10 regulations are substantially similar to the regula11 tions of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel12 opment relating to termination of tenancy in feder13 ally assisted housing, and termination of housing as14 sistance. 

15 (b) COVERED RURAL HOUSING PROGRAMS.—For 

16 purposes of this section, the term ‘‘covered rural housing 

17 programs’’ means— 

18 (1) the program under section 515 of the Hous19 ing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485) for rural rental 

20 and cooperative housing; 

21 (2) the loan and grant programs under sections 

22 514 and 516 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1484, 1486) 

23 for farm labor housing; 

24 (3) the program under section 533 of such Act 

25 (42 U.S.C. 1490M) for housing preservation grants; 


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1 (4) the program under section 538 of such Act 

2 (42 U.S.C. 1490p–2) for loan guarantees for multi3 family rural rental housing; 

4 (5) the program under section 521(a) of such 

5 Act (42 U.S.C. 1490a) for rural housing rental as6 sistance; and 

7 (6) the program under section 542 of such Act 

8 (42 U.S.C. 1490r) for rural housing rental voucher 

9 assistance. 

10 (c) TIMING; CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Agri11 culture shall issue the revised regulations required under 

12 paragraph (1)— 

13 (1) after consultation with the Secretary of 

14 Housing and Urban Development; and 

15 (2) not later than the expiration of the 180-day 

16 period that begins upon the conclusion of the period 

17 specified in section 10 of this Act. 

18 SEC. 9. CONTINUUM OF CARE PROGRAM UNDER MCKIN19 NEY-VENTO HOMELESS ASSISTANCE ACT. 

20 (a) SELECTION CRITERIA.—Section 427(b)(1)(B) of 

21 the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

22 11386a(b)(1)(B)) is amended— 

23 (1) in clause (iv)(VI), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 


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1 (2) in clause (v), by inserting ‘‘and’’ after the 

2 period at the end; and 

3 (3) by inserting after clause (v) the following 

4 new clause: 

5 ‘‘(vi) how the recipient will collaborate 

6 with local criminal justice systems and the 

7 coordinated entry system to create path8 ways to housing for those who are cycling 

9 between homelessness and incarceration;’’. 

10 (b) INCENTIVES FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR

11 FORMERLY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 428 of the McKin13 ney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 11386b) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(f) INCENTIVES FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR

17 FORMERLY INCARCERATED INDIVIDUALS.—In addition to 

18 amounts authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year 

19 to carry out this subtitle, there is authorized to be appro20 priated for each fiscal year $10,000,000 to provide bo21 nuses or other incentives to collaborative applicants and 

22 public housing agencies (as such term is defined in section 

23 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 

24 1437a(b))) whose applications propose innovative solu25 tions for providing pathways to housing for formerly incarVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:06 May 05, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5085.IH H5085

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1 cerated individuals, to be used to carry out such activi2 ties.’’. 

3 (2) NOFA.—The Secretary of Housing and 

4 Urban Development shall issue a notice of funding 

5 availability for amounts made available pursuant to 

6 subsection (f) of section 428 of the McKinney-Vento 

7 Homeless Assistance Act, as added by the amend8 ment made by paragraph (1) of this section, not 

9 later than the expiration of the 180-day period be10 ginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 10. REGULATIONS. 

12 The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 

13 shall issue any regulations necessary to carry out the 

14 amendments made by sections 2 through 7 of this Act not 

15 later than the expiration of the 180-day period beginning 

16 on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 11. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 Except as specifically provided otherwise in this Act, 

19 the amendments made by this Act shall be made on, and 

20 shall apply beginning upon, the expiration of the 180-day 

21 period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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