Housing Accountability Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.2200 | Sponsor: Rep. Cohen, Steve (D-TN)
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Housing Accountability Act of 2021
This bill provides statutory authority for the requirement that a property owner receiving low-income housing assistance payments for an existing public housing unit must maintain decent, safe, and sanitary conditions for the housing structure.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) must survey tenants of these structures semiannually to identify problems with the structures or with management. A structure must be referred to HUD for remediation if consistent or persistent problems are identified. HUD may impose penalties on an owner of a structure that violates this bill.

To provide standards for physical condition and management of housing 
  receiving assistance payments under section 8 of the United States 
                          Housing Act of 1937.

    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 ``Housing Accountability Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. STANDARDS FOR PHYSICAL CONDITION AND MANAGEMENT OF HOUSING 
              RECEIVING ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.

    Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437f) is amended by inserting after subsection (v) the following:
    ``(w) Standards for Physical Condition and Management of Housing 
Receiving Assistance Payments.--
            ``(1) Standards for physical condition and management of 
        housing.--Any entity receiving assistance payments under this 
        section shall maintain decent, safe, and sanitary conditions, 
        as determined by the Secretary, for any structure covered under 
        a housing assistance payment contract.
            ``(2) Survey of tenants.--The Secretary shall develop a 
        process by which a Performance-Based Contract Administrator 
        shall, on a semiannual basis, conduct a survey of the tenants 
        of each structure covered under a housing assistance payment 
        contract for the purpose of identifying consistent or 
        persistent problems with the physical condition of the 
        structure or performance of the manager of the structure.
            ``(3) Remediation.--A structure covered under a housing 
        assistance payment contract shall be referred to the Secretary 
        for remediation if a Performance-Based Contract Administrator 
        identifies a consistent or persistent problem with the 
        structure or the management of the structure based on--
                    ``(A) a survey conducted under paragraph (2); or
                    ``(B) any other observation made by the 
                Performance-Based Contract Administrator during the 
                normal course of business.
            ``(4) Penalty for failure to uphold standards.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may impose a 
                penalty on any owner of a structure covered under a 
                housing assistance payment contract if the Secretary 
                finds that the structure or manager of the structure--
                            ``(i) did not satisfactorily meet the 
                        requirements under paragraph (1); or
                            ``(ii) is repeatedly referred to the 
                        Secretary for remediation by a Performance-
                        Based Contract Administrator through the 
                        process established under paragraph (3).
                    ``(B) Amount.--A penalty imposed under subparagraph 
                (A) shall be in an amount equal to not less than 1 
                percent of the annual budget authority the owner is 
                allocated under a housing assistance payment contract.
                    ``(C) Use of amounts.--Any amounts collected under 
                this paragraph shall be used solely for the purpose of 
                supporting safe and sanitary conditions at applicable 
                structures or for tenant relocation, as designated by 
                the Secretary, with priority given to the tenants of 
                the structure that led to the penalty.
            ``(5) Applicability.--This subsection shall not apply to 
        any property assisted under subsection (o).''.

SEC. 3. ISSUANCE OF REPORT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall submit to Congress a 
report that--
            (1) examines the adequacy of capital reserves for each 
        structure covered under a housing assistance payment contract 
        under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 
        U.S.C. 1437f);
            (2) examines the use of funds derived from a housing 
        assistance payment contract for purposes unrelated to the 
        maintenance and capitalization of the structure covered under 
        the contract; and
            (3) includes any administrative or legislative 
        recommendations to further improve the living conditions at 
        those structures.
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