I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 202 
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 
JANUARY 3, 2017 
Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee 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. 
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 ‘‘Landlord Account-
ability Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds that— 
(1) the United States is in the midst of a hous-
ing crisis, as the homeownership rate has declined to 
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63.5 percent, a 30-year low, while rental demand 
has increased and pushed vacancy rates down to 7 
percent; 
(2) the current average rental asking price is 
$870, up 23 percent since the end of the recession 
6 years ago; 
(3) families and individuals that pay more than 
30 percent of their income for housing are consid-
ered cost-burdened and have difficultly affording 
other necessities like food, clothing, transportation, 
and medical care; 
(4) over half of all renters, approximately 20.8 
million households, are cost-burdened; 
(5) over 80 percent of low-income households, 
those with incomes of under $15,000 per year, are 
severely cost-burdened; 
(6) the current rental environment makes rental 
assistance under the Section 8 Housing Choice 
Voucher Program of the Department of Housing 
and Urban Development vital to finding affordable 
housing for many families; 
(7) the Section 8 program helps approximately 
2.2 million low-income families, the elderly, and the 
disabled afford respectable housing in the private 
market; 
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(8) the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Pro-
gram assists our Nation’s most economically vulner-
able families—the average annual gross income of a 
family assisted under the program is only $13,568; 
(9) many of the individuals and families as-
sisted by the Section 8 Program would be at risk of 
homelessness without the program; 
(10) the Section 8 program caps the rental cost 
for eligible families and individuals at 30 percent of 
their incomes, which frees up their limited resources 
to pay for life’s other necessities; 
(11) although families and individuals assisted 
under the program are free to choose any available 
housing in their community, that has not prevented 
landlords from discriminating against low-income 
tenants; 
(12) as a result, the Section 8 program has 
only a 60-percent success rate in assisting voucher- 
holders find affordable housing; 
(13) given the strong connection between the 
classes currently protected under the Fair Housing 
Act, including race, gender, those with disabilities, 
familial status, and economic status, establishing a 
ban on income discrimination would further the 
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goals of the Fair Housing Act and better protect 
these families and individuals; 
(14) for many years, landlords have relied on 
the Section 8 housing program to provide affordable 
housing to tenants in low-income areas, but as more 
urban areas have undergone rapid revitalization, 
property values have risen dramatically; 
(15) as a result of rising property values, there 
have been serious allegations that landlords are in-
tentionally allowing their federally subsidized units 
to deteriorate in an effort to drive voucher-users out 
and convert units to higher, market-rate apartments; 
(16) in addition, landlords are failing to meet 
the housing quality standards of the Department of 
Housing and Urban Development and improperly 
demanding rent in excess of 30 percent of voucher- 
holders’ incomes; and 
(17) therefore, it is necessary to ban discrimi-
nation against source of income, discourage inten-
tional acts to disqualify dwelling units from Federal 
housing programs, and encourage proper mainte-
nance of multifamily house in order to revive the 
Section 8 rental assistance program, affirmatively 
further fair housing policies, and address our na-
tional housing affordability crisis. 
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