Tenants’ Right to Organize Act
Bill: H.R.9587 | Sponsor: Rep. Levin, Andy (D-MI)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Tenants' Right to Organize Act
This bill provides for the right of tenants who receive certain rental assistance to establish, operate, and participate in a tenant organization.
Specifically, tenants who participate in Housing Choice Voucher (i.e., Section 8 tenant-based housing assistance) or Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development have the right to engage in a tenant organization to address issues related to their living environment and participate in community development activities.
Public housing agencies and unit owners are required to recognize tenant organizations and allow tenants to conduct protected activities, including distributing leaflets, initiating tenant contact, and convening meetings in the building.
A public housing agency or building owner may not require prior permission for any of these activities. Further, these entities may not retaliate against a tenant for participating in a tenant organization.
The bill also provides grants for state and local organizations for training and outreach with respect to tenant organization capacity building and technical assistance.

To promote the establishment of resident organizations and provide 
  additional amounts for tenant organizations, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tenants' Right to Organize Act''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.

    It is the sense of the Congress that tenants receiving tenant-based 
rental assistance have the right to ``decent, safe, stable and sanitary 
housing''.

SEC. 3. HOUSING CHOICE VOUCHER TENANT ORGANIZATIONS.

    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:
            ``(22) Right to organize.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Tenants receiving tenant-based 
                rental assistance have the right to establish, operate, 
                and participate in a resident organization for the 
                purpose of addressing issues related to their living 
                environment, which includes the terms and conditions of 
                their tenancy as well as activities related to housing 
                and community development and may not be retaliated 
                against for asserting these rights.
                    ``(B) Required engagement.--
                            ``(i) Public housing agencies.--Each public 
                        housing agency shall--
                                    ``(I) recognize legitimate resident 
                                organizations;
                                    ``(II) solicit comments from all 
                                resident organizations not less than 
                                once each year; and
                                    ``(III) not later than 60 days 
                                after receiving a comment from a 
                                resident organization, meaningfully 
                                respond in writing to such comment.
                            ``(ii) Owners of units.--Each owner--
                                    ``(I) shall recognize legitimate 
                                resident organizations; and
                                    ``(II) may not retaliate with 
                                respect to any tenant because of their 
                                association with a legitimate resident 
                                organization.
                    ``(C) Protections.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Each public housing 
                        agency and each owner may not interfere with 
                        the right of tenants to establish and operate a 
                        tenant organization.
                            ``(ii) Protected activities.--Each public 
                        housing agency and each owner shall allow 
                        tenants and tenant organizers to conduct the 
                        following activities related to the 
                        establishment or operation of a tenant 
                        organization:
                                    ``(I) Distributing leaflets in 
                                lobby areas.
                                    ``(II) Placing leaflets at or under 
                                tenants' doors.
                                    ``(III) Distributing leaflets in 
                                common areas.
                                    ``(IV) Initiating contact with 
                                tenants.
                                    ``(V) Conducting door-to-door 
                                surveys of tenants to ascertain 
                                interest in establishing a tenant 
                                organization and to offer information 
                                about tenant organizations.
                                    ``(VI) Posting information on 
                                bulletin boards.
                                    ``(VII) Assisting tenants to 
                                participate in tenant organization 
                                activities.
                                    ``(VIII) Convening regularly 
                                scheduled tenant organization meetings 
                                in a space on site and accessible to 
                                tenants, in a manner that is fully 
                                independent of management 
                                representatives. In order to preserve 
                                the independence of tenant 
                                organizations, management 
                                representatives may not attend such 
                                meetings unless invited by the tenant 
                                organization to specific meetings to 
                                discuss a specific issue or issues.
                            ``(iii) Permission.--A public housing 
                        agency or owner may not require tenants or 
                        tenant organizers to obtain prior permission 
                        before engaging in the activities permitted 
                        under this paragraph.
                            ``(iv) Presumption.--If a public housing 
                        agency or owner takes an adverse action against 
                        a tenant that is a member of a tenant 
                        organization there shall be a rebuttable 
                        presumption that such adverse action is an act 
                        of retaliation relating to the participation of 
                        the tenant in the tenant organization.
                    ``(D) Enforcement protocol.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall, not 
                        later than 1 year after the date of the 
                        enactment of this paragraph, establish a 
                        protocol for the enforcement of this paragraph 
                        and such protocol shall--
                                    ``(I) include an independent 
                                investigation of tenant and advocate 
                                allegations of abuse and retaliation;
                                    ``(II) provide a mechanism for 
                                administrative complaints to be made 
                                and cataloged;
                                    ``(III) keep tenants informed about 
                                the progression of any complaint;
                                    ``(IV) prohibit the withholding of 
                                tenant-based rental assistance from any 
                                tenant that makes a complaint, until 
                                such complaint is closed; and
                                    ``(V) provide confidentiality where 
                                necessary, including in cases where 
                                alleged abuse is extreme and targeted.
                            ``(ii) Report.--The Secretary shall, each 
                        quarter submit to Committee on Financial 
                        Services of the House of Representatives and 
                        the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                        Affairs, a report with respect to the 
                        enforcement of this paragraph that--
                                    ``(I) provides all data at both the 
                                property-level and jurisdiction-level; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) includes information with 
                                respect to--
                                            ``(aa) the volume of 
                                        outstanding complaints;
                                            ``(bb) the average response 
                                        time for initial complaint; and
                                            ``(cc) the average time it 
                                        takes to close a complaint.
                            ``(iii) Authorization of appropriations.--
                        There are authorized to be appropriated, to the 
                        Secretary, such sums as are necessary to carry 
                        out this paragraph.
                    ``(E) Notice of right to organize.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Each public housing 
                        agency shall notify each tenant receiving 
                        tenant-based rental assistance of the right to 
                        organize described in subparagraph (A) annually 
                        during the recertification process.
                            ``(ii) Tenancy addendum.--The Secretary 
                        shall update the most recent Tenancy Addendum 
                        for the Section 8 Tenant-Based Assistance 
                        Housing Choice Voucher Program to describe the 
                        right to organize provided for in this 
                        subsection.
                    ``(F) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
                            ``(i) Tenant organizer.--The term `tenant 
                        organizer' means a tenant or non-tenant who 
                        assists tenants in establishing and operating a 
                        tenant organization, and who is not an employee 
                        or representative of current or prospective 
                        owners, managers, or their agents.
                            ``(ii) Legitimate tenant organization.--The 
                        term `legitimate tenant organization' means an 
                        organization of 3 more tenants receiving 
                        tenant-based rental assistance that has been 
                        established for the purpose described in 
                        subparagraph (A).
                            ``(iii) Owner.--The term owner means a 
                        person who owns a dwelling unit occupied by a 
                        tenant that receives rental assistance.''.

SEC. 4. LIHTC TENANT ORGANIZATIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 42(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(10) LIHTC tenant organizations.--
                    ``(A) Rights of tenants.--Tenants of rent-
                restricted units in any qualified low-income housing 
                project shall have the same right as tenants described 
                in section 8(o)(22)(A) of the United States Housing Act 
                of 1937.
                    ``(B) Responsibilities of owners and state housing 
                credit agencies.--A project shall not be treated as a 
                qualified low-income housing project for purposes of 
                this section unless--
                            ``(i) each owner of such project meets 
                        requirements which are the same as the 
                        requirements of subparagraphs (B)(ii) and (C) 
                        of section 8(o)(22) 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 subparagraph (B)(i) and (C) of 
                        such section.
                    ``(C) Enforcement protocol.--The Secretary, after 
                consultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
                Development, shall--
                            ``(i) establish a protocol for the 
                        enforcement of this paragraph which is the same 
                        as the protocol established under section 
                        8(o)(22)(D)(i) of the United States Housing Act 
                        of 1937, except that, for purposes of this 
                        subparagraph, the reference in such section to 
                        `tenant-based rental assistance' shall be 
                        treated as a reference to the right of the 
                        tenant to occupy a rent-restricted unit and to 
                        any other right or privilege required to be 
                        provided to such tenant as a condition of the 
                        project being treated as a qualified low-income 
                        housing project, and
                            ``(ii) submit each quarter to the Committee 
                        on Ways and Means of the House of 
                        Representatives and the Committee on Finance of 
                        the Senate a report containing the information 
                        described in section 8(o)(22)(D)(ii) of the 
                        United States Housing Act of 1937 with respect 
                        to the enforcement of this paragraph with 
                        respect to qualified low-income housing 
                        projects.
                    ``(D) Notice of right to organize.--Each State 
                housing credit agency shall annually notify each owner 
                and tenant of a rent-restricted unit of a qualified 
                low-income housing project of the right to organize 
                referred to in subparagraph (A).''.
    (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. 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 striking ``of low-income housing 
                        for which project-based rental assistance is 
                        provided at below market rent levels and may 
                        not be renewed, (including transfer of 
                        developments to tenant groups, nonprofit 
                        organizations, and public entities), for tenant 
                        services'' and inserting the following: ``and 
                        improvement of low-income housing for which 
                        project-based rental assistance, public housing 
                        subsidies, low-income housing tax credits, 
                        Federal or State subsidized loans, enhanced 
                        vouchers under section 8(t), or project-based 
                        vouchers under section 8(o) are provided or 
                        proposed''; and
                            (iii) in the second parenthetical clause, 
                        by inserting before the closing parenthesis the 
                        following: ``, and predevelopment assistance to 
                        enable such transfers''; and
                    (B) by inserting after the period at the end the 
                following: ``For outreach and training of tenants and 
                technical assistance, the Secretary shall implement a 
                grant program utilizing performance-based outcome 
                measures for eligible costs incurred. Recipients 
                providing capacity building or technical assistance 
                services to tenant groups shall be qualified nonprofit 
                State-wide, countywide, area-wide, or city-wide 
                organizations with demonstrated experience including at 
                least a two-year recent track record of organizing and 
                providing assistance to tenants, and independence from 
                the owner, a prospective purchaser, or their managing 
                agents. The Secretary may provide assistance and 
                training to grantees in administrative and fiscal 
                management to ensure compliance with applicable Federal 
                requirements. The Secretary shall expedite the 
                provision of funding for the fiscal year in which the 
                date of the enactment of this Act occurs and 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 to eligible housing under this 
                subsection. The Secretary shall also make available 
                flexible grants to qualified nonprofit organizations 
                that do not own eligible multifamily properties, for 
                tenant outreach in underserved areas, and to 
                experienced national or regional nonprofit 
                organizations to provide specialized training or 
                support to grantees assisted under this section. 
                Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds 
                authorized under this paragraph for any fiscal year 
                shall be available for obligation in subsequent fiscal 
                years. The Secretary shall require each recipient of 
                amounts made available pursuant to this subparagraph to 
                submit to the Secretary reports, on a quarterly basis, 
                detailing the use of such funds and including such 
                information as the Secretary shall require.''.

SEC. 6. CLARIFICATION OF TENANT PARTICIPATION IN MULTI-FAMILY PROJECTS.

    Section 202(a) of the Housing and Community Development Amendments 
of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-1b(a)) is amended by striking ``under 147f of 
title 42'' and inserting ``under section 147f of title 42, including a 
project assisted under section 8(o)(13) of the Housing Act of 1937''.

SEC. 7. RULEMAKING.

    The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, not later 
than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this section, issue a 
rule revising section 964.150 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, 
to permit housing agencies to fund $25 per unit per year for units 
represented by duly elected resident councils for resident services.
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