REHABS Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.5077 | Sponsor: Rep. Maloney, Sean Patrick (D-NY)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Removing Environmental Hazards And Building Safely Act of 2021 or the REHABS Act of 2021
This bill authorizes the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to award grants to national and regional organizations and consortia to abate and remove environmental hazards (e.g., lead, asbestos, and mold) in homes being rehabilitated for families and individuals who otherwise would be unable to afford to purchase a dwelling. Additionally, HUD must study the assessment and removal of mold in the rehabilitation of a single-family home.

To study and facilitate the abatement and removal of environmental 
 hazards in homes rehabilitated with community participation, 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 ``Removing Environmental Hazards And 
Building Safely Act of 2021'' or the ``REHABS Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. STUDY AND REMOVAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS IN HOMES BEING 
              REHABILITATED.

    (a) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall conduct 
a study on--
            (1) the best methods to assess the amount of mold in a 
        single family home prior to such home being rehabilitated;
            (2) the danger posed by mold in a single family home prior 
        to such home being rehabilitated; and
            (3) best practices for safely removing mold when 
        rehabilitating a single family home.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 30 days after the completion of the 
study pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit a report 
to Congress containing the results of such study, and make such report 
available on a public website of the Department.

SEC. 3. GRANT PROGRAM FOR THE ABATEMENT AND REMOVAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL 
              HAZARDS FROM HOMES.

    (a) Grant Authority.--The Secretary may, to the extent amounts are 
available to carry out this section and the requirements of this 
section are met, make grants to provide for or facilitate the abatement 
and removal of environmental hazards in homes being rehabilitated to 
national and regional organizations and consortia that have experience 
in providing for or facilitating the abatement and removal of 
environmental hazards from homes.
    (b) Goals and Accountability.--In making grants under this section, 
the Secretary shall take such actions as may be necessary to ensure 
that--
            (1) assistance provided under this section is used to 
        provide for or facilitate the abatement and removal of 
        environmental hazards in homes being rehabilitated through the 
        provision of self-help housing, under which the homeowner 
        contributes a significant amount of sweat equity toward the 
        rehabilitation of the dwelling;
            (2) the dwellings for which abatement or removal is 
        performed in connection with assistance provided under this 
        section are quality dwellings that comply with local building 
        and safety codes and standards and are available at prices 
        below the prevailing market prices;
            (3) the provision of assistance under this section 
        establishes and fosters a partnership between the Federal 
        Government and organizations and consortia, resulting in 
        efficient rehabilitation of affordable housing with minimal 
        governmental intervention, limited governmental regulation, and 
        significant involvement by private entities;
            (4) activities to rehabilitate housing assisted pursuant to 
        this section involve community participation in which 
        volunteers assist in the rehabilitation of dwellings; and
            (5) assistance under this section for the abatement or 
        removal of environmental hazards is provided for dwellings on a 
        geographically diverse basis, which shall include areas having 
        high housing costs, rural areas, and areas underserved by other 
        homeownership opportunities that are populated by low-income 
        families unable to otherwise afford housing.
If, at any time, the Secretary determines that the goals under this 
subsection cannot be met by providing assistance in accordance with the 
terms of this section, the Secretary shall immediately notify the 
applicable Committees in writing of such determination and any proposed 
changes for such goals or this section.
    (c) National Competition.--The Secretary shall select organizations 
and consortia referred to in subsection (a) to receive grants through a 
national competitive process, which the Secretary shall establish.
    (d) Use.--Amounts from grants made under this section, including 
any recaptured amounts, shall be used only for the abatement and 
removal of environmental hazards in connection with rehabilitating 
existing homes to make them decent, safe, and sanitary nonluxury 
dwellings in the United States for families and persons who otherwise 
would be unable to afford to purchase a dwelling.
    (e) Establishment of Grant Fund.--
            (1) In general.--Any amounts from a grant made under this 
        section shall be deposited by the grantee organization or 
        consortium in a fund that is established by such organization 
        or consortium for such amounts, administered by such 
        organization or consortium, and available only for the uses 
        described in subsection (d). Any interest, fees, or other 
        earnings of the fund shall be deposited in the fund and shall 
        be considered grant amounts for purposes of this section.
            (2) Assistance to affiliates.--Any organization or 
        consortia that receives a grant under this section may use 
        amounts in the fund established for such organizations or 
        consortia pursuant to paragraph (1), for the uses described in 
        subsection (d), by providing assistance from the fund to local 
        affiliates of such organizations and consortia.
    (f) Requirements for Assistance.--The Secretary may make a grant to 
an organization or consortium under subsection (a) only pursuant to--
            (1) an expression of interest by such organization or 
        consortia to the Secretary for a grant for such purposes; and
            (2) a grant agreement entered into under subsection (g).
    (g) Grant Agreement.--A grant under this section shall be made only 
pursuant to a grant agreement entered into by the Secretary and the 
organization or consortia receiving the grant, which shall--
            (1) require such organization or consortia to use grant 
        amounts only as provided in this section;
            (2) require the organization or consortia to use the grant 
        amounts in a manner that leverages other sources of funding 
        other than grants under this section, including private or 
        public funds, in rehabilitating dwellings;
            (3) provide that the Secretary shall recapture any grant 
        amounts provided to the organization or consortia that are not 
        used within 24 months after such amounts are first disbursed to 
        the organization or consortia; and
            (4) contain such other terms as the Secretary may require 
        to provide for compliance with subsection (b) and the 
        requirements of this section.
    (h) Fulfillment of Grant Agreement.--If the Secretary determines 
that an organization or consortia awarded a grant under this section 
has not, within 24 months after grant amounts are first made available 
to the organization or consortia, substantially fulfilled the 
obligations under the grant agreement, the Secretary shall use any such 
undisbursed amounts remaining from such grants for other grants in 
accordance with this section.
    (i) Records and Audits.--During the period beginning upon the 
making of a grant under this section and ending upon close-out of the 
grant under subsection (j)--
            (1) the organization awarded the grant shall keep such 
        records and adopt such administrative practices as the 
        Secretary may require to ensure compliance with the provisions 
        of this section and the grant agreement; and
            (2) the Secretary and the Comptroller General of the United 
        States, and any of their duly appointed representatives, shall 
        have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any 
        books, documents, papers, and records of the grantee 
        organization or consortia and its affiliates that are pertinent 
        to the grant made under this section.
    (j) Administration.--The Secretary shall administer the program 
under this section through the same office or official under the 
Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development that 
administers the Self-Help and Assisted Homeownership Opportunity 
Program, as authorized under section 11 of the Housing Opportunity 
Program Extension Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 12805 note)
    (k) Close-Out.--The Secretary shall close out a grant made under 
this section upon determining that the aggregate amount of any 
assistance provided from the fund established under subsection (e)(1) 
by the grantee organization or consortium exceeds the amount of the 
grant. For purposes of this subsection, any interest, fees, and other 
earnings of the fund shall be excluded from the amount of the grant.
    (l) Report to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after close-out of 
all grants under this section is completed, the Secretary shall submit 
a report to the applicable Committees describing--
            (1) the grants made under this section;
            (2) the grantees;
            (3) the housing for which abatement or removal of 
        environmental hazards was performed in connection with the 
        grant amounts; and
            (4) the purposes for which the grant amounts were used.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
            (1) Applicable committees.--The term ``applicable 
        Committees'' means the House Committee on Financial Services 
        and the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
        Affairs.
            (2) Environmental hazard.--The term ``environmental 
        hazard'' means any condition that causes exposure to lead, 
        asbestos, mold, and other hazards as determined by the 
        Secretary.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Housing and Urban Development.
            (4) United states.--The term ``United States'' includes the 
        States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern 
        Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and 
        any other territory or possession of the United States.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.

SEC. 6. SUNSET.

    The Secretary shall not enter into any grant agreement, contract, 
or obligation under this Act after the conclusion of fiscal year 2024.
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