I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5401 

To amend the Fair Housing Act, to prohibit discrimination based on use 

of section 8 vouchers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 7, 2016 

Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Ways 

and Means and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined 

by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 

within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Housing Act, to prohibit discrimination 

based on use of section 8 vouchers, 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 ‘‘Landlord Account5 ability Act of 2016’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the United States is in the midst of a hous9 ing crisis, as the homeownership rate has declined to 


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1 63.5 percent, a 30-year low, while rental demand 

2 has increased and pushed vacancy rates down to 7 

3 percent; 

4 (2) the current average rental asking price is 

5 $870, up 23 percent since the end of the recession 

6 6 years ago; 

7 (3) families and individuals that pay more than 

8 30 percent of their income for housing are consid9 ered cost-burdened and have difficultly affording 

10 other necessities like food, clothing, transportation, 

11 and medical care; 

12 (4) over half of all renters, approximately 20.8 

13 million households, are cost-burdened; 

14 (5) over 80 percent of low-income households, 

15 those with incomes of under $15,000 per year, are 

16 severely cost-burdened; 

17 (6) the current rental environment makes rental 

18 assistance under the Section 8 Housing Choice 

19 Voucher Program of the Department of Housing 

20 and Urban Development vital to finding affordable 

21 housing for many families; 

22 (7) the Section 8 program helps approximately 

23 2.2 million low-income families, the elderly, and the 

24 disabled afford respectable housing in the private 

25 market; 


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1 (8) the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Pro2 gram assists our Nation’s most economically vulner3 able families—the average annual gross income of a 

4 family assisted under the program is only $13,568; 

5 (9) many of the individuals and families as6 sisted by the Section 8 Program would be at risk of 

7 homelessness without the program; 

8 (10) the Section 8 program caps the rental cost 

9 for eligible families and individuals at 30 percent of 

10 their incomes, which frees up their limited resources 

11 to pay for life’s other necessities; 

12 (11) although families and individuals assisted 

13 under the program are free to choose any available 

14 housing in their community, that has not prevented 

15 landlords from discriminating against low-income 

16 tenants; 

17 (12) as a result, the Section 8 program has 

18 only a 60-percent success rate in assisting voucher19 holders find affordable housing; 

20 (13) given the strong connection between the 

21 classes currently protected under the Fair Housing 

22 Act, including race, gender, those with disabilities, 

23 familial status, and economic status, establishing a 

24 ban on income discrimination would further the 


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1 goals of the Fair Housing Act and better protect 

2 these families and individuals; 

3 (14) for many years, landlords have relied on 

4 the Section 8 housing program to provide affordable 

5 housing to tenants in low-income areas, but as more 

6 urban areas have undergone rapid revitalization, 

7 property values have risen dramatically; 

8 (15) as a result of rising property values, there 

9 have been serious allegations that landlords are in10 tentionally allowing their federally subsidized units 

11 to deteriorate in an effort to drive voucher-users out 

12 and convert units to higher, market-rate apartments; 

13 (16) in addition, landlords are failing to meet 

14 the housing quality standards of the Department of 

15 Housing and Urban Development and improperly 

16 demanding rent in excess of 30 percent of voucher17 holders’ incomes; and 

18 (17) therefore, it is necessary to ban discrimi19 nation against source of income, discourage inten20 tional acts to disqualify dwelling units from Federal 

21 housing programs, and encourage proper mainte22 nance of multifamily house in order to revive the 

23 Section 8 rental assistance program, affirmatively 

24 further fair housing policies, and address our na25 tional housing affordability crisis. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF DISCRIMINATION ON ACCOUNT OF 

2 USE OF SECTION 8 VOUCHERS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 804 of the Fair Housing 

4 Act (42 U.S.C. 3604) is amended by inserting after para5 graph (f) the following new paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(g) To discriminate in connection with the 

7 rental of a dwelling because the tenant or prospec8 tive tenant is the holder of a housing voucher.’’. 

9 (b) DEFINITION.—Section 802 of the Fair Housing 

10 Act (42 U.S.C. 3602) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(p) ‘Holder of a housing voucher’ means a 

13 holder of a voucher for rental assistance under sub14 section (o) or (t) of section 8 of the United States 

15 Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f).’’. 

16 SEC. 4. PENALTIES FOR INTENTIONAL ACTS TO DIS17 QUALIFY DWELLING UNITS FROM ELIGI18 BILITY FOR FEDERAL HOUSING PROGRAMS. 

19 (a) VIOLATION.—An owner of a dwelling unit that 

20 is available for rental may not take any action, or fail to 

21 take any action, with the intent to make the dwelling unit 

22 insufficiently decent, safe, sanitary, or inhabitable, or 

23 cause such other physical condition, so that the dwelling 

24 does not qualify for assistance within the jurisdiction of 

25 the Department (as such term is defined in section 102(m) 


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1 of the Department of Housing and Urban Development 

2 Reform Act of 1989 (42 U.S.C. 3545(m))). 

3 (b) CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.—Any person who is 

4 found by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Develop5 ment, after notice and opportunity for a hearing in accord6 ance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, to 

7 have violated subsection (a) shall be assessed a civil money 

8 penalty by the Secretary in the amount of $100,000 for 

9 each such action or failure to act. 

10 (c) LIABILITY TO TENANTS.—A tenant who, at the 

11 time of a violation under subsection (a), occupies the 

12 dwelling unit to which the violation relates may bring a 

13 civil action for damages in the following amounts: 

14 (1) $50,000 for each action or failure to act in 

15 violation of subsection (a). 

16 (2) Any actual damages and costs to the tenant 

17 resulting from the violation, including any costs of 

18 finding a replacement dwelling unit. 

19 SEC. 5. RESOURCES FOR RECEIVING AND RESOLVING COM20 PLAINTS REGARDING MULTIFAMILY HOUS21 ING PROJECTS. 

22 (a) INCREASED HUD STAFFING FOR COMPLAINT

23 CALL STAFFING.— 

24 (1) INCREASED STAFFING.—The Secretary 

25 shall, not later than the expiration of the 180-day 


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1 period beginning on the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act, increase the staffing level for the Multi3 family Housing Complaint Line established and op4 erated by the Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse of 

5 the Department so that it is sufficient and appro6 priate to handle the volume of calls received without 

7 unreasonable waiting periods. 

8 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For 

9 carrying out paragraph (1), there are authorized to 

10 be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as may 

11 be necessary for each fiscal year for carrying out 

12 paragraph (1). 

13 (b) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING COMPLAINT RESOLU14 TION PROGRAM.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

16 out a Multifamily Housing Complaint Resolution 

17 Program for receiving complaints about multifamily 

18 housing projects from voucher users who reside in 

19 such projects and local governmental officials, under 

20 which the Secretary shall provide for— 

21 (A) gathering of information regarding 

22 each such complaint; 

23 (B) determining whether there is a likeli24 hood that there is any violation of the requireVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Jun 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5401.IH H5401

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1 ments under the rental assistance voucher pro2 gram relating to such complaint; 

3 (C) informing the owner or landlord of the 

4 complaint and any violations; and 

5 (D) attempting to resolve the complaint 

6 and violations, including through mediation. 

7 (2) RESOLUTION.—The Secretary may provide 

8 for carrying out the activities required under para9 graph (1)(D) through regional or field offices of the 

10 Department or through such local or private organi11 zations or agencies as the Secretary determines have 

12 appropriate capabilities and expertise to carry out 

13 such activities. 

14 (3) FUNDING.—Amounts made available for ad15 ministrative fees under section 8(q) of the United 

16 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)) 

17 shall be available for carrying out the program 

18 under this subsection. 

19 (4) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the expira20 tion of the 12-month period beginning on the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

22 issue any regulations necessary to establish the Pro23 gram required under this subsection. 


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1 SEC. 6. HUD DISCLOSURE OF LANDLORD COMPLAINTS. 

2 (a) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE.—The Secretary shall pub3 licly disclose, on a website of the Department and on a 

4 timely basis, information regarding each complaint re5 ceived under the Program establish pursuant to section 

6 5(b), which shall include for each such complaint— 

7 (1) the nature of the complaint; 

8 (2) the date on which such complaint was sub9 mitted to the Department; 

10 (3) the disposition, as of the time of such dis11 closure, of such complaint; and 

12 (4) information identifying the multifamily 

13 housing project to which such complaint relates. 

14 (b) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary of 

15 Housing and Urban Development shall submit a report 

16 annually to the Committee on Financial Services of the 

17 House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, 

18 Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate summarizing 

19 the complaints described in subsection (a) that were re20 ceived by the Department during the preceding year and 

21 describing the disposition to such date of such complaints. 

22 SEC. 7. TAX CREDIT INCENTIVE FOR MAINTENANCE OF 

23 MULTIFAMILY HOUSING WITH VOUCHER 

24 USER TENANTS. 

25 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart D of part IV of sub26 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 


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1 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

2 section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 45S. LOW-INCOME HOUSING MAINTENANCE CREDIT. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 38, in 

5 the case of an eligible landlord, the low-income housing 

6 maintenance credit determined under this section for the 

7 taxable year is an amount equal to the amount of the tax8 payer’s low-income housing maintenance expenses for such 

9 taxable year. 

10 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PER UNIT LIMITATION.—The credit al12 lowed under subsection (a) with respect to any tax13 payer for any taxable year shall not exceed the prod14 uct of $2,500 multiplied by the number of low-in15 come housing units owned by the taxpayer. 

16 ‘‘(2) PER BUILDING LIMITATION.—The credit 

17 allowed under subsection (a) with respect to any tax18 payer for any taxable year shall not exceed the prod19 uct of $100,000 multiplied by the number of eligible 

20 low-income housing projects owned by the taxpayer. 

21 ‘‘(3) PER TAXPAYER LIMITATION.—The credit 

22 allowed under subsection (a) with respect to any tax23 payer for any taxable year shall not exceed 

24 $500,000. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE LANDLORD.—For purposes of this 

2 section, the term ‘eligible landlord’ means any taxpayer 

3 for any taxable year if— 

4 ‘‘(1) such taxpayer owns one or more eligible 

5 low-income housing projects during such taxable 

6 year, and 

7 ‘‘(2) either— 

8 ‘‘(A) each complaint that is filed, under 

9 the program under section 5(b) of the Landlord 

10 Accountability Act of 2016, during such taxable 

11 year with respect to a dwelling unit in an eligi12 ble low-income housing project owned by such 

13 taxpayer has been determined by the Secretary 

14 of Housing and Urban Development to have 

15 been remedied not later than the date which is 

16 30 days after the date on which such complaint 

17 is so filed, or 

18 ‘‘(B) no such complaint has been filed with 

19 respect to such a dwelling unit in such a hous20 ing project owned by such taxpayer during such 

21 taxable year. 

22 ‘‘(d) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

23 section— 

24 ‘‘(1) LOW-INCOME HOUSING MAINTENANCE EX25 PENSES.—The term ‘low-income housing mainteVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:57 Jun 08, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5401.IH H5401

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1 nance expenses’ means the aggregate amount paid 

2 or incurred by the taxpayer during the taxable year 

3 for maintenance or improvement of low-income hous4 ing units. 

5 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LOW-INCOME HOUSING

6 PROJECT.—The term ‘eligible low-income housing 

7 project’ means, with respect to a taxable year, a 

8 housing project— 

9 ‘‘(A) that consists of five or more dwelling 

10 units at least one of which was occupied during 

11 such year by a family who rented the dwelling 

12 unit using a voucher for rental assistance under 

13 section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act 

14 of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)); and 

15 ‘‘(B) with respect to which the eligible 

16 landlord has entered into such binding agree17 ments as the Secretary of Housing and Urban 

18 Development shall require to ensure that rents 

19 for dwelling units in the project do not, at any 

20 time after the taxable year in which a low-in21 come housing maintenance credit under this 

22 section is allowable, exceed the applicable fair 

23 market rental under section 8(c) of the United 

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


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1 1437f(c)) for the market area in which the 

2 project is located. 

3 ‘‘(3) LOW-INCOME HOUSING UNIT.—The term 

4 ‘low-income housing unit’ means a dwelling unit 

5 within an eligible low-income housing project. 

6 ‘‘(e) AGGREGATION RULE.—All persons treated as a 

7 single employer under subsection (a) or (b) of section 52 

8 or subsection (m) or (o) of section 414 shall be treated 

9 as one person for purposes of applying this section. The 

10 credit determined under subsection (a) (after application 

11 of subsection (b)) shall be allocated among such persons 

12 in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe. 

13 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION.—No credit shall be determined 

14 under this section with respect to any taxable year begin15 ning after December 31, 2026.’’. 

16 (b) CREDIT TO BE PART OF GENERAL BUSINESS

17 CREDIT.—Section 38(b) of such Code is amended by strik18 ing ‘‘plus’’ at the end of paragraph (35), by striking the 

19 period at the end of paragraph (36) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, 

20 and by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(37) in the case of an eligible landlord (as de22 fined in section 45S(c)), the low-income housing 

23 maintenance credit determined under section 45S.’’. 

24 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

25 for subpart D of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 


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1 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 45S. Low-income housing maintenance credit.’’. 

3 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

4 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

5 December 31, 2016. 

6 SEC. 8. PUBLIC DISPLAY OF TENANT’S RIGHTS AND COM7 PLAINT LINE. 

8 (a) REQUIRED DISPLAY.—An owner of a multifamily 

9 housing project in which three or more voucher users re10 side shall display, at all times and in clear and conspicuous 

11 location on each floor of such project that contains any 

12 dwelling unit, a written notice that includes— 

13 (1) a statement describing the rights under 

14 Federal law afforded to tenants of the project who 

15 are voucher users; 

16 (2) the phone number for the Multifamily 

17 Housing Complaint Line established and operated by 

18 the Multifamily Housing Clearinghouse; and 

19 (3) the phone number for a regional or local of20 fice of the Department which can provide tenants 

21 additional information regarding State and local re22 sources for tenants. 

23 (b) CIVIL MONEY PENALTY.—Any person who is 

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1 ance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code, to 

2 have failed to make a good faith effort to display notice 

3 complying with subsection (a) may be assessed a civil 

4 money penalty by the Secretary in the amount of $500 

5 for each day of each such failure, except that the Secretary 

6 shall waive such penalty in any case in which an owner 

7 cures such violation within the 5-day period beginning 

8 upon notice by the Secretary of such violation. 

9 (c) MODEL NOTICE.— 

10 (1) DEVELOPMENT.—Not later than the expira11 tion of the 12-month period beginning on the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall de13 velop and publish in the Federal Register a model 

14 notice that fulfills the requirements under subsection 

15 (a)(1). 

16 (2) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make 

17 copies of the notice developed pursuant to paragraph 

18 (1) available, upon request, to owners of multifamily 

19 housing projects. 

20 (d) APPLICABILITY.—Subsections (a) and (b) shall 

21 apply beginning upon the expiration of the 60-day period 

22 that begins on the date that the Secretary publishes notice 

23 in the Federal Register pursuant to subsection (c)(1). 

24 (e) REGULATIONS.—Not later than the expiration of 

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


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1 of this Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations to carry 

2 out this section. 

3 SEC. 9. GRANTS FOR TENANT HARASSMENT PREVENTION 

4 PROGRAMS. 

5 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may, to the extent 

6 amounts are made available for grants under this section, 

7 make grants to States, Indian tribes, units of local govern8 ment, and nonprofit, nongovernmental affordable housing 

9 organizations to develop, expand, or assist tenant harass10 ment prevention programs. 

11 (b) TENANT HARASSMENT PREVENTION PRO12 GRAM.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘tenant 

13 harassment prevention program’’ means any program or 

14 activities designed to protect, assist, or educate tenants 

15 of residential rental dwelling units regarding harassing or 

16 illegal behavior by their landlords intended to force the 

17 tenant to vacate the dwelling unit or surrender any of 

18 their rights as tenants. Such term includes programs and 

19 activities providing legal assistance, counseling, education, 

20 intervention, complaint processes. 

21 (c) FEDERAL SHARE.—The amount of a grant under 

22 this section for any tenant harassment prevention pro23 gram may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs of the 

24 program or activities to be carried out, including adminis25 trative costs. 


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1 (d) APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary shall provide for 

2 eligible entities specified in subsection (a) to apply for 

3 grants under this section, which applications shall describe 

4 the tenant harassment prevention program to be assisted 

5 with grant amounts, the activities to be carried out under 

6 the program, and the projected costs of such activities; 

7 (e) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select appli8 cants to receive grants based on criteria that the Secretary 

9 shall establish. 

10 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated $25,000,000 for each 

12 of fiscal years 2017 through 2021 for grants under this 

13 section. 

14 SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS. 

15 For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

16 shall apply: 

17 (1) MULTIFAMILY HOUSING PROJECT.—The 

18 term ‘‘multifamily housing project’’ means a housing 

19 project consisting of five or more dwelling units. 

20 (2) RENTAL ASSISTANCE VOUCHER .—The term 

21 ‘‘rental assistance voucher’’means a voucher for 

22 rental assistance made available under section 8(o) 

23 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 

24 U.S.C. 1437f(o)). 


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

2 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 

3 (4) VOUCHER USER.—The term ‘‘voucher user’’ 

4 means a family who is renting a dwelling unit using 

5 a rental assistance voucher. 

6 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS. 

7 The Secretary may issue any regulations necessary 

8 to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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