COVID-19 Emergency Housing Relief Act of 2020

To suspend certain requirements under the public housing and housing choice voucher programs during the COVID-19 emergency, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the COVID-19 Emergency Housing Relief Act of 2020 2. Suspension of community service, work, presence in unit, and minimum rent requirements and time limits on assistance (a) Suspension Notwithstanding any other provision of law, during the period that begins upon the date of the enactment of this Act and ends 6 months after the end of the incident period for the emergency declared on March 13, 2020, by the President under section 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act ( 42 U.S.C. 4121 (1) Section 12(c) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437j(c) (2) Any work requirement or time limitation on assistance established by a public housing agency participating in the Moving to Work demonstration program authorized under section 204 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 ( Public Law 104–134 (3) Paragraph (3) of section 3(a) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437a(a)(3) (4) Section 982.312 of the regulations of the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (24 C.F.R. 982.312); relating to absence from unit). (b) Prohibition No penalty may be imposed nor any adverse action taken for failure on the part of any tenant of public housing or a dwelling unit assisted under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f 3. Housing choice vouchers (a) Section 8 vouchers Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall provide that— (1) during the COVID-19 emergency period, a public housing agency may not terminate the availability to an eligible household of a housing choice voucher under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f(o) (2) in the case of any eligible household on whose behalf such a housing choice voucher has been made available, if as of the termination of the COVID-19 emergency period such availability has not terminated (including by reason of paragraph (1) of this subsection) and such voucher has not been used to enter into a lease for an assisted dwelling unit, the public housing agency making such voucher available may not terminate such availability until the expiration of the 60-day period beginning upon the termination of the COVID-19 emergency period. (b) Definition For purposes of this section, the term COVID-19 emergency period 42 U.S.C. 5191

Summary: COVID-19 Emergency Housing Relief Act of 2020 This bill suspends certain requirements for federally assisted public housing residents and prohibits termination of available low-income housing choice vouchers during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) public health emergency period. Specifically, the bill suspends (1) community service requirements, (2) any work requirement or time limitation established in connection with the Moving to Work demonstration program, (3) the minimum rental amount families are required to pay, and (4) the requirement that a family not be absent from a unit for more than 180 consecutive calendar days. These suspensions last until six months after the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency period. Additionally, during the COVID-19 public health emergency period, and for 60 days thereafter, public housing agencies may not terminate available low-income housing choice vouchers for the failure to enter into a lease.