I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4718 
To require each public housing agency to establish and maintain an online 
portal for tenants and applicants, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 18, 2023 
Ms. MALLIOTAKIS (for herself, Ms. MENG, Mr. BACON, Ms. CLARKE of New 
York, and Ms. SALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To require each public housing agency to establish and main-
tain an online portal for tenants and applicants, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Housing Transparency 
Improvement Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) COVERED
HOUSING.—The term ‘‘covered 
housing’’ means— 
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(A) low-income housing; and 
(B) any property with assistance converted 
under the Rental Assistance Demonstration 
program authorized under title II of the Con-
solidated and Further Continuing Appropria-
tions Act, 2012 (Public Law 112–55; 125 Stat. 
673). 
(2) FAMILIES; LOW-INCOME
HOUSING.—The 
terms ‘‘families’’ and ‘‘low-income housing’’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 3(b) of the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437a(b)). 
(3) PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCY.—The term 
‘‘public housing agency’’— 
(A) has the meaning given the term in sec-
tion 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)); and 
(B) includes any owner of low-income 
housing that enters into a housing assistance 
payments contract under section 8 of the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437o). 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 
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(5) SMALL
PUBLIC
HOUSING
AGENCY.—The 
term ‘‘small public housing agency’’ means a public 
housing agency that— 
(A) owns, assists, or operates not more 
than 50 covered housing dwelling units; and 
(B) predominantly operates in a rural 
area, 
as 
described 
in 
section 
1026.35(b)(2)(iv)(A) of title 12, Code of Fed-
eral Regulations, or any successor regulation. 
SEC. 3. ONLINE PORTAL. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, each public housing 
agency shall establish and maintain an online portal on 
the website of the public housing agency through which 
families residing in and applicants for a covered housing 
dwelling owned, assisted, or operated by the public hous-
ing agency may— 
(1) access information, including contact infor-
mation, relating to the performance evaluation, man-
agement, and control of the covered housing dwell-
ing; 
(2) access a plain language list of the legal 
rights of each family residing in or applying for the 
covered housing dwelling, which shall be available for 
translation; and 
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(3) track inquiries related to service requests 
and complaints submitted to the public housing 
agency through a tracking system described in sub-
section (b). 
(b) TRACKING SYSTEM.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each public housing agency 
shall establish, using existing software or through 
new software, a request tracking system, including 
for inquiry on the status of an application, short- 
term and long-term capital improvements, service re-
quests, and complaints, submitted by a family resid-
ing in a covered housing dwelling owned, assisted, or 
operated by the public housing agency through 
which the families and applicants may track re-
quests with real-time updates provided by the public 
housing agency. 
(2) TICKET DATABASE.— 
(A) 
ASSIGNMENT
OF
NUMBER.—The 
tracking system described in paragraph (1) 
shall contain a ticket database under which the 
public housing agency shall assign each inquiry, 
service request, or complaint submitted to a 
public housing agency by a family residing in or 
applicant for a covered housing dwelling owned, 
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assisted, or operated by the public housing 
agency a ticket number. 
(B) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—Each tick-
et number described in subparagraph (A) 
shall— 
(i) be searchable through the tracking 
system described in paragraph (1); 
(I) include a description of— 
(II) the nature of the inquiry, 
complaint, or request; 
(III) the most recent status of 
the inquiry, complaint, or request; 
(IV) whether or not the inquiry, 
complaint, or request is open or 
closed; 
(V) any action taken on the in-
quiry, complaint, or request, and any 
next steps to be taken; and 
(VI) any additional information 
as the public housing agency deter-
mines appropriate; and 
(ii) not publicly disclose any personal 
information relating to the inquiry, com-
plaint, or request, including the unit num-
ber, name of the resident or applicant, or 
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any other identifying information that is 
prohibited from disclosure under applicable 
laws. 
(c) UPDATES.—Each public housing agency shall en-
sure that the online portal established under subsection 
(a) is updated on a regular basis and contains the most 
recent information regarding inquiries, service requests, 
and complaints described in subsection (a)(3). 
(d) REPORTING.—Each public housing agency shall, 
on an annual basis, develop a fact sheet for tenants resid-
ing in and applicants for a covered housing dwelling 
owned, assisted, or operated by the public housing agency 
that— 
(1) includes, in a clear and easily discernible 
manner— 
(A) the total amount and type of Federal. 
State, and local funds received for the fiscal 
year; 
(B) the funding streams for ongoing and 
upcoming capital improvement projects; 
(C) the most recent inspection date and 
score; 
(D) any major renovation, capital, or rede-
velopment plans; and 
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(E) the name and contact information for 
the manager or management of the dwelling, if 
operating independently; and 
(2) is posted on the website of the public hous-
ing agency, is available in paper format, is available 
for translation, is available upon request, and is sub-
mitted as an addendum as part of the public hous-
ing agency plan required under section 5A of the 
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437c–1) and as part of any other reporting require-
ment related to the civil rights obligations of the 
public housing agency. 
(e) GRANTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 
grants to public housing agencies in the amount nec-
essary for the public housing agency to purchase, es-
tablish, and maintain the online portal required 
under this section. 
(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as 
may be necessary to carry out this subsection. 
(f) REPORTING.—Each public housing agency shall, 
on a quarterly basis, submit to the Secretary information 
on grants made under subsection (e), including how the 
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amounts were used related to the online portal required 
under this section. 
(g) INCENTIVES.—The Secretary shall consider the 
implementation and maintenance by a public housing 
agency of the online portal required under this section in 
the annual public housing assessment system described in 
part 902 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, or any 
successor regulation. 
(h) EXEMPTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The requirement to create 
and maintain an online portal under this section 
shall not apply to small public housing agencies. 
(2) ALTERNATE
METHOD.—A small public 
housing agency that is exempted under paragraph 
(1) shall develop and implement and submit to the 
Secretary alternate methods for fulfilling the re-
quirements under subsections (a) through (d). 
Æ 
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