Housing Assistance Reform Act of 2015

To expand the Moving to Work and Rental Assistance demonstration programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Housing Assistance Reform Act of 2015 2. Expansion of Moving to Work demonstration program (a) Authority The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (in this section referred to as the Secretary Public Law 104–134 (b) Eligible public housing agencies Public housing agencies selected for participation in the Moving to Work demonstration program pursuant to the expansion authorized under subsection (a)— (1) shall be high-capacity public housing agencies, the definition of which shall include— (A) a designation as a high performer under the public housing assessment system and the section 8 management assessment program, as applicable; and (B) a voucher utilization rate of at least 90 percent of voucher funds, as defined by the Secretary, for the duration of participation in the program; (2) may include a consortia of public housing agencies of an appropriate size, as determined by the Secretary; (3) shall represent, to the extent feasible based on eligible applications, a diverse range of public housing agencies, with respect to geographical jurisdiction and size, to allow innovative policies to be tested in different contexts; and (4) shall not receive more funding under section 8 or 9 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437f (c) Renewal With respect to public housing agencies participating in the Moving to Work demonstration program before the enactment of this Act, upon the expiration of the Moving to Work agreement for any such agency that the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development determines has complied with the terms of such agreement, the Secretary shall extend the Moving to Work agreement of the agency under such terms as are in effect upon the date of expiration of the agreement and shall not alter the formula allocation for funding for such agency. (d) Notice The Secretary shall establish criteria and program requirements to carry out this section by notice published in the Federal Register, after an opportunity for public comment. 3. Expansion of rental assistance demonstration program The fourth proviso in the heading Rental Assistance Demonstration Public Law 112–55 Public Law 113–235 not more than 185,000 units currently receiving assistance under section 9 or section 8(e)(2) of the Act shall be converted there shall not be any numerical limitation on the number of units currently receiving assistance under section 9 or section 8(e)(2) of the Act that may be converted

Summary: Housing Assistance Reform Act of 2015 This bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to increase the number of public housing agencies (PHAs) authorized to participate in the Moving to Work demonstration program by adding to it up to 60 high-performing, high-capacity PHAs, for a total of up to 300,000 housing vouchers and public housing units, over five years, to test and evaluate innovative models for improving economic self-sufficiency, mobility, academic performance, and other outcomes for tenants assisted by HUD. Selected PHAs may not receive more funding under low-income housing assistance, the Capital Fund, or the Operating Fund of the United States Housing Act of 1937 than they otherwise would have received without designation as a high performer under the public housing assessment system and the Section 8 (low-income housing assistance) management assessment program. If a PHA participating in the program before enactment of this Act has complied with the terms of its Moving to Work agreement, then HUD: must extend the PHA's agreement under the same terms in effect on the agreement's date of expiration, and may not alter the formula allocation for the agency's funding. There shall no longer be any limitation, under the Rental Assistance Demonstration specified in the Department of Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Act, 2012 (as amended), on the number of PHA and certain other multifamily housing units receiving Public Housing Capital and Operating Funds assistance or low-income moderate rehabilitation program assistance that may be converted to tenant-based or project-based rental assistance units.