SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of the Congress that all members of 
a household receiving tenant-based rental assistance have 
the right to decent, safe, stable, and sanitary housing. 
SEC. 3. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER TENANT ORGANIZA-
TIONS. 
Section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following: 
‘‘(23) RIGHT TO ORGANIZE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A tenant— 
‘‘(i) has the right to establish, oper-
ate, and participate in a legitimate tenant 
organization for the purpose of addressing 
issues related to their living environment, 
which includes— 
‘‘(I) the terms and conditions of 
their tenancy; and 
‘‘(II) activities related to housing 
and community development; 
‘‘(ii) has the right to speak to the 
public, including media, elected officials, 
and government agencies with respect to 
their right to decent, safe, and sanitary 
housing in compliance with relevant hous-
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ing codes, fair housing statutes, and any 
other requirements; and 
‘‘(iii) may not be retaliated against for 
asserting such rights. 
‘‘(B) REQUIRED ENGAGEMENT.— 
‘‘(i) PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCIES.— 
Each public housing agency shall— 
‘‘(I) recognize legitimate tenant 
organizations; 
‘‘(II) give reasonable consider-
ation to concerns raised by legitimate 
tenant organizations; 
‘‘(III) solicit feedback from any 
legitimate tenant organization within 
the public housing agency, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(aa) if a public housing 
agency is required to complete an 
annual public housing agency 
plan, feedback with respect to the 
plan; or 
‘‘(bb) if a public housing 
agency has an exemption under 
section 5(b)(3), soliciting feed-
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back not less than once each 
year; 
‘‘(IV) after receiving feedback 
from a legitimate tenant organiza-
tion— 
‘‘(aa) except as provided in 
item (bb), meaningfully respond 
in writing to such comment not 
later than 60 days after receiving 
such feedback; and 
‘‘(bb) with respect to exigent 
poor housing conditions, respond 
in writing to the feedback not 
later than 30 days after receiving 
such feedback; and 
‘‘(V) seek resident advisory board 
appointments from legitimate tenant 
organizations. 
‘‘(ii) 
OWNERS
OF
UNITS.—Each 
owner shall— 
‘‘(I) recognize legitimate tenant 
organizations; 
‘‘(II) give reasonable consider-
ation to concerns raised by legitimate 
tenant organizations; and 
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‘‘(III) allow tenant organizers to 
assist tenants in the establishment 
and operation of legitimate tenant or-
ganizations. 
‘‘(C) PROTECTIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each public hous-
ing agency and each owner may not— 
‘‘(I) interfere with the right of 
any tenant to establish and operate a 
legitimate tenant organization; and 
‘‘(II) retaliate against any tenant 
or tenant organizer because of their 
association with or participation in ac-
tivities related to a legitimate tenant 
organization. 
‘‘(ii) PROTECTED
ACTIVITIES.—Each 
public housing agency, each owner, and 
agents thereof shall permit tenants and 
tenant organizers to conduct the following 
activities related to the establishment or 
operation of a legitimate tenant organiza-
tion: 
‘‘(I) Distributing leaflets in lobby 
areas. 
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‘‘(II) Placing leaflets at or under 
doors of tenants. 
‘‘(III) Distributing leaflets in 
common areas. 
‘‘(IV) Initiating contact with ten-
ants. 
‘‘(V) 
Conducting 
door-to-door 
surveys of tenants to ascertain inter-
est in establishing a legitimate tenant 
organization and to offer information 
about tenant organizations. 
‘‘(VI) Posting information on 
bulletin boards. 
‘‘(VII) Assisting tenants with 
participation in tenant organization 
activities. 
‘‘(VIII) 
Convening 
regularly 
scheduled tenant organization meet-
ings in a space on-site and accessible 
to tenants, in a manner that is fully 
independent of representatives of the 
public housing agency or the owner, 
unless invited by the tenant organiza-
tion to specific meetings to discuss a 
specific issue or issues. 
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‘‘(IX) Assisting tenants in— 
‘‘(aa) creating a resident ad-
visory board or resident council; 
and 
‘‘(bb) appointing tenants to 
serve on a resident advisory 
board or resident council. 
‘‘(X) Speaking to the public, in-
cluding the media, elected officials, 
and government agencies. 
‘‘(XI) Formulating a response to 
a request by the owner or public hous-
ing agency for approval of rent in-
creases or other discretionary deci-
sions affecting residents. 
‘‘(XII) Other reasonable activities 
related to the establishment or oper-
ation of a legitimate tenant organiza-
tion. 
‘‘(iii) PERMISSION.—A public housing 
agency or owner may not require tenants 
or tenant organizers to obtain prior per-
mission before engaging in the activities 
permitted under this paragraph. 
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‘‘(iv) 
PRESUMPTION.—If 
a 
public 
housing agency or owner takes an adverse 
action against a tenant or tenant organizer 
that is a member of a legitimate tenant or-
ganization during the 180-day period be-
ginning on the date on which the tenant 
engages in a protected activity under this 
subparagraph, there shall be a rebuttable 
presumption that the adverse action is an 
act of retaliation relating to the participa-
tion of the tenant in the tenant organiza-
tion. 
‘‘(D) NOTICE OF RIGHT TO ORGANIZE.— 
Each public housing agency shall notify each 
tenant of the rights described under this para-
graph. 
‘‘(E) PROHIBITION
ON
INTERFERENCE 
AND RETALIATION.—Each public housing agen-
cy and each owner may not— 
‘‘(i) interfere with the right of tenants 
to establish and operate a legitimate ten-
ant organization; or 
‘‘(ii) retaliate against any tenant or 
tenant organizer because of their associa-
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tion with or participation in activities re-
lated to a legitimate tenant organization. 
‘‘(F) MEETING SPACES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each public hous-
ing agency and owner shall make available 
the use of any community room or other 
available space appropriate for meetings 
within the building or project when re-
quested by a legitimate tenant organization 
and used for activities related to the estab-
lishment or operation of a legitimate ten-
ant organization. 
‘‘(ii) ACCESSIBILITY.—If the building 
or project has an accessible common area 
or areas, such facilities shall reasonably be 
made available for legitimate tenant orga-
nization meetings to ensure such meetings 
are accessible to persons with disabilities, 
unless it is impractical for reasons beyond 
the control of the public housing agency or 
owner. 
‘‘(iii) FEES.—An owner of a building 
or project may charge a reasonable, cus-
tomary, and usual fee, as may normally be 
imposed for the use of such facilities. 
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‘‘(G) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 
‘‘(i) ADVERSE
ACTION.—The term 
‘adverse action’ means, in response to a 
tenant’s exercise of rights described in this 
paragraph— 
‘‘(I) the termination or non-re-
newal of a lease; 
‘‘(II) the termination of assist-
ance under this section; 
‘‘(III) a decrease or delay in serv-
ices provided to the tenant by the 
owner or public housing agency; 
‘‘(IV) an unplanned increase of 
rent or fees; 
‘‘(V) the threat or initiation of a 
lawsuit against a lessee; 
‘‘(VI) a violation of tenant pri-
vacy; or 
‘‘(VII) the harassment of a ten-
ant or tenant organizers. 
‘‘(ii) LEGITIMATE TENANT ORGANIZA-
TION.—The term ‘legitimate tenant organi-
zation’ means, in a building or project with 
3 or more families receiving assistance 
under this section, an organization that— 
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‘‘(I) meets regularly and operates 
democratically; 
‘‘(II) is representative of all ten-
ants in the building or project; 
‘‘(III) is completely independent 
from a public housing agency, owner, 
landlord, management of the building 
or development, and any representa-
tives of such entities; 
‘‘(IV) has been established for 
the purpose described in subpara-
graph (A); and 
‘‘(V) includes newly formed resi-
dent organizing committees, which do 
not require specific structures, written 
by-laws, elections, or resident peti-
tions. 
‘‘(iii) TENANT.—The term ‘tenant’ 
means a family or any member of a family 
that receives assistance under this section. 
‘‘(iv) TENANT ORGANIZER.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—The term 
‘tenant organizer’ means an individual 
who— 
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‘‘(aa) assists tenants in es-
tablishing and operating a legiti-
mate tenant organization; and 
‘‘(bb) is not an employee or 
representative of current or pro-
spective owners or agents or the 
owners. 
‘‘(II) BUILDING POLICIES.— 
‘‘(aa) POLICY AGAINST CAN-
VASSING.—If 
a 
building 
or 
project has consistently enforced 
a written policy against can-
vassing, any tenant organizer 
who is not a tenant shall be ac-
companied by a tenant while on 
the property of the building or 
project. 
‘‘(bb) POLICY IN FAVOR OF 
CANVASSING.—If a building or 
project has a written policy fa-
voring canvassing, any tenant or-
ganizer who is not a tenant shall 
be afforded the same privileges 
and rights of access as any other 
uninvited outside parties in the 
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normal course of operations of 
the building or project. 
‘‘(cc) NO
POLICY
ON
CAN-
VASSING.—If 
a 
building 
or 
project does not have a consist-
ently enforced, written policy 
against canvassing, the building 
or project shall be treated as if it 
has 
a 
policy 
favoring 
can-
vassing.’’. 
SEC. 4. LIHTC TENANT ORGANIZATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 42(g) of the Internal Rev-
enue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph: 
‘‘(10) LIHTC TENANT ORGANIZATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) RIGHTS OF TENANTS.—In the case of 
any qualified low-income housing project which 
is an applicable project, families occupying rent- 
restricted units in such project shall have the 
same right as families described in section 
8(o)(23)(B)(i), (ii) and (iii) of the United 
States Housing Act of 1937. 
‘‘(B) RESPONSIBILITIES OF OWNERS AND 
STATE
HOUSING
CREDIT
AGENCIES.—In the 
case of any applicable project, such project shall 
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not be treated as a qualified low-income hous-
ing project for purposes of this section unless— 
‘‘(i) each owner of such project meets 
requirements which are the same as the re-
quirements of clauses (i) and (iii) of sub-
paragraph (C) and subparagraph (D) of 
section 8(o)(23) of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937, and 
‘‘(ii) each State housing credit agency 
meets requirements which are the same as 
the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of 
subparagraph (C) and subparagraph (D) 
of such section. 
‘‘(C) APPLICABLE
PROJECT.—For pur-
poses of this paragraph, the term ‘applicable 
project’ means— 
‘‘(i) any project which is placed in 
service after the date of enactment of this 
Act; and 
‘‘(ii) any project— 
‘‘(I) which was placed in service 
on or before the date of enactment of 
such Act; and 
‘‘(II) for which the date of enact-
ment of such Act occurred before the 
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‘‘(E) 
AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIA-
TIONS.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary such sums as are nec-
essary to carry out this paragraph.’’. 
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 
the date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary 
for Public and Indian Housing of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development shall, in coordination 
with the Secretary of the Treasury, establish a protocol 
for the enforcement of paragraph (23) of section 8(o) of 
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f(o)(23)), as added by section 3 of this Act, and para-
graph (10) of section 42(g) of the Internal Revenue Code 
of 1986, as added by section 4 of this Act, that— 
(1) reflects or integrates the existing enforce-
ment protocol for tenants protected under section 
202 of the Housing and Community Development 
Amendments Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 1715z–1b), 
where possible; 
(2) creates a mechanism for administrative 
complaints to be filed, cataloged, and investigated 
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regarding public housing agencies, State housing 
credit agencies, owners, landlords, management, and 
their representatives’ alleged violation of their obli-
gation not to interfere with the right of tenants to 
establish and operate a legitimate tenant organiza-
tion, which shall— 
(A) provide families a remedy when the 
agency determines a violation of the obligation 
not to interfere with the right of tenants to es-
tablish and operate a legitimate tenant organi-
zation; 
(B) include an independent investigation of 
tenant and advocate allegations of abuse; 
(C) keep tenants informed about the pro-
gression of any complaint; and 
(D) provide confidentiality if necessary, in-
cluding in cases where alleged abuse is extreme 
and targeted; 
(3) prohibits withholding the tenant-based as-
sistance under such section 8(o) or the denial of the 
right to occupy an assisted unit or a rent-restricted 
unit, or any other right or privilege required to be 
provided as a condition of the tenant-based assist-
ance or the project being treated as a qualified low- 
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income housing project until such complaint is 
closed; and 
(4) if relevant, appropriately refers complaints 
related to potential violation of fair housing laws to 
the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity 
at the Department of Housing and Urban Develop-
ment. 
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC-
TION.—Tenants may file an action at law or in equity, 
in Federal or State court, including for injunctive relief, 
to enforce the various provisions of this Act. 
(c) REPORT.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development shall submit to the Committee on Banking, 
Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Com-
mittee on Financial Services of the House of Representa-
tives a quarterly report on the enforcement of this section 
that— 
(1) provides all data at both the property-level 
and jurisdiction-level; and 
(2) includes— 
(A) the volume of outstanding complaints; 
(B) the average response time to an initial 
complaint; 
(C) the average time it takes to close a 
complaint; and 
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(D) information about the type of issues 
reported by tenants that necessitated enforce-
ment action. 
SEC. 6. FUNDING FOR TENANT AND OTHER PARTICIPATION 
AND CAPACITY BUILDING. 
Paragraph (3) of section 514(f) of the Multifamily 
Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 
(42 U.S.C. 1437f note) is amended— 
(1) in subparagraph (A)— 
(A) in the first sentence— 
(i) by striking ‘‘not more than’’ and 
inserting ‘‘not less than’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘for predevelopment 
assistance to enable such transfers,’’ after 
‘‘owners),’’; and 
(iii) by striking ‘‘of low-income hous-
ing for which project-based rental assist-
ance is provided at below market rent lev-
els and may not be renewed (including 
transfer of developments to tenant groups, 
nonprofit organizations, and public enti-
ties), for tenant services’’ and inserting the 
following: ‘‘and improvement of low-income 
housing for which project-based rental as-
sistance, public housing subsidies, low-in-
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come housing tax credits, Federal or State 
subsidized loans, enhanced vouchers under 
section 8(t) of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937, or project-based vouchers 
under section 8(o) of such Act are provided 
or proposed’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSIST-
ANCE GRANTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of the enactment of this 
subparagraph, the Secretary shall establish 
a grant program to award amounts for the 
purposes of, under this paragraph— 
‘‘(I) outreach and training of ten-
ants by eligible entities; and 
‘‘(II) the provision of technical 
assistance by eligible entities to tenant 
groups. 
‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eli-
gible for a grant under this subparagraph, 
an entity shall be a nonprofit organization 
that— 
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‘‘(I) has not less than 2 years of 
experience with the organization and 
provision of assistance to tenants; and 
‘‘(II) is independent from any 
owners, prospective purchasers, or any 
agents thereof of a residential devel-
opment. 
‘‘(iii) ASSISTANCE TO ELIGIBLE ENTI-
TIES.—The Secretary may provide assist-
ance and training to recipients of amounts 
under subparagraph with respect to— 
‘‘(I) administrative and fiscal 
management; and 
‘‘(II) compliance with any Fed-
eral requirements. 
‘‘(iv) 
EXPEDITED
FUNDING.—The 
Secretary shall expedite the provision of 
funding for the fiscal year in which the 
date of the enactment of this subparagraph 
occurs by entering into an interagency 
agreement for not less than $1,000,000 
with the Corporation for National and 
Community Service to conduct a tenant 
outreach and training program. 
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‘‘(v) FLEXIBLE
GRANTS.—The Sec-
retary shall make available flexible grants 
under this subparagraph to qualified non-
profit organizations that do not own eligi-
ble multifamily properties, for tenant out-
reach in underserved areas, and to experi-
enced national or regional nonprofit orga-
nizations to provide specialized training or 
support to grantees assisted under this 
subsection. 
‘‘(vi) FUNDING FOR SUBSEQUENT FIS-
CAL
YEARS.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, amounts authorized under 
this subparagraph for any fiscal year shall 
be available for obligation in subsequent 
fiscal years. 
‘‘(vii) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall 
require each recipient of amounts made 
available pursuant to this subparagraph to 
submit to the Secretary a report, on a 
quarterly basis, detailing the use of such 
amounts, including such information as the 
Secretary shall require.’’. 
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SEC. 7. PROVISION OF FUNDS TO RESIDENT COUNCILS. 
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, provide each resident council, as described in 
section 964.100 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, 
$40 per unit per year, to be increased annually to keep 
pace with inflation. 
Æ 
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