[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2653 Introduced in House (IH)]






109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2653

To ensure that dwelling units assisted under the rental housing voucher 
program under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 comply 
                    with housing quality standards.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 26, 2005

 Mr. Andrews introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To ensure that dwelling units assisted under the rental housing voucher 
program under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 comply 
                    with housing quality standards.

    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 ``Landlord Accountability Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. ENFORCEMENT OF HOUSING QUALITY STANDARDS.

    (a) In General.--Paragraph (8) of section 8(o) of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)) is amended--
            (1) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``pha's'' and 
        inserting ``phas and housing quality standards''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
                    ``(F) Enforcement of housing quality standards.--
                            ``(i) Determination of noncompliance.--A 
                        dwelling unit that is covered by a housing 
                        assistance payments contract under this 
                        subsection shall be considered, for purposes of 
                        this subparagraph, to be in noncompliance with 
                        the housing quality standards under 
                        subparagraph (B) if--
                                    ``(I) the public housing agency or 
                                an inspector authorized by the State or 
                                unit of local government determines 
                                upon inspection of the unit that the 
                                unit fails to comply with such 
                                standards;
                                    ``(II) the agency or inspector 
                                notifies the owner of the unit in 
                                writing of such failure to comply; and
                                    ``(III) the failure to comply is 
                                not corrected within 90 days after 
                                receipt of such notice.
                            ``(ii) Withholding and release of 
                        assistance amounts.--The public housing agency 
                        shall withhold all of the assistance amounts 
                        under this subsection with respect to a 
                        dwelling unit that is in noncompliance with 
                        housing quality standards under subparagraph 
                        (B). Subject to clause (iii), the agency shall 
                        promptly release any withheld amounts to the 
                        owner of the dwelling unit upon completion of 
                        repairs that remedy such noncompliance.
                            ``(iii) Use of withheld assistance to pay 
                        for repairs.--The public housing agency may use 
                        such amounts withheld to make repairs to the 
                        dwelling unit or to contract to have repairs 
                        made (or to contract with an inspector referred 
                        to in clause (i)(I) to make or contract for 
                        such repairs), and shall subtract the cost of 
                        such repairs from any amounts released to the 
                        owner of the unit upon remedying such 
                        noncompliance.
                            ``(iv) Protection of tenants.--An owner of 
                        a dwelling unit may not terminate the tenancy 
                        of any tenant or refuse to renew a lease for 
                        such unit because of the withholding of 
                        assistance pursuant to this subparagraph.
                            ``(v) Termination of lease or assistance 
                        payments contract.--If assistance amounts under 
                        this section for a dwelling unit are withheld 
                        pursuant to clause (ii) and the owner does not 
                        correct the noncompliance before the expiration 
                        of the lease for the dwelling unit and such 
                        lease is not renewed, the Secretary shall 
                        recapture any such amounts from the public 
                        housing agency.
                            ``(vi) Applicability.--This subparagraph 
                        shall apply to any dwelling unit for which a 
                        housing assistance payments contract is entered 
                        into or renewed after the date of the 
                        effectiveness of the regulations implementing 
                        this subparagraph.''.
    (b) Regulations.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 
shall issue any regulations necessary to carry out the amendment made 
by subsection (a) not later than the expiration of the 12-month period 
beginning upon the date of the enactment of this Act. Such regulations 
shall take effect not later than the expiration of the 90-day period 
beginning upon such issuance.
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