[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 44 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 44

 To preserve affordable housing opportunities for low-income families, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 4, 2007

  Ms. Velazquez (for herself and Mr. Towns) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To preserve affordable housing opportunities for low-income families, 
                        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 ``Stabilizing Affordable Housing for 
the Future Act''.

SEC. 2. INVESTMENT THROUGH UP-FRONT GRANTS FROM GENERAL INSURANCE FUND.

    (a) 1997 Act.--Subsection (a) of section 204 of the Departments of 
Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent 
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-11a(a)) is amended 
by striking the last sentence.
    (b) 1978 Act.--Paragraph (4) of section 203(f) of the Housing and 
Community Development Amendments of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 1701z-11(f)(4)) is 
amended by striking the last sentence.

SEC. 3. PRESERVATION OF HUD-HELD AND HUD-OWNED BUILDINGS.

    Section 204(a) of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing 
and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 
1997 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-11a(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``During'' and all that follows through 
        ``and thereafter, the provision of'' and inserting ``In 
        managing and disposing of multifamily properties during any 
        fiscal year, the Secretary may provide''; and
            (2) by striking ``notwithstanding any other provision'' and 
        inserting ``consistent with other provisions''.

SEC. 4. MAINTAINING AFFORDABILITY THROUGH CONTINUED ASSISTANCE AND 
              ESCROWING OF RENTAL ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Requirement To Maintain Assistance.--Subject to subsection (c) 
and notwithstanding any other provision of law, in managing and 
disposing of any multifamily property that is owned by, or subject to a 
mortgage held by, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the 
Secretary shall maintain payment of any rental assistance that is 
attached to any dwelling units in the property and provided under a 
contract for the property under section 8 of the United States Housing 
Act of 1937 or under any other program administered by the Secretary, 
as provided in this section.
    (b) Escrow for Properties Not Meeting Housing Quality Standards.--
In the case of any transfer of a distressed multifamily property that 
does not comply with housing quality standards applicable to the 
property, the Secretary may not recapture any rental assistance 
described in subsection (a) for the property, but shall hold any such 
assistance in escrow for the property during the period of 
noncompliance and, upon determining that the property complies with 
such standards make such assistance available for the property.
    (c) Projects Not Feasible for Continued Assistance.--With respect 
to a multifamily property described in subsection (a), to the extent 
the Secretary, in consultation with the tenants of the property, 
determines that the property is not feasible for continued rental 
assistance payments under such section 8, or other programs, based on 
consideration of the costs of rehabilitating and operating the 
property, after utilizing all available Federal, State, and local 
resources including rent adjustments under section 524 of the 
Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 
U.S.C. 1437f note), the Secretary may, in consultation with the tenants 
of that property, contract with an owner or owners of other existing 
housing properties to make project-based rental assistance payments for 
such other properties or provide other rental assistance.

SEC. 5. BUILDING ACQUISITION: VALUATION OF PHYSICALLY DISTRESSED 
              PROPERTIES SOLD BY HUD IN DISCOUNT SALES.

    Section 2001 of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (12 U.S.C. 1701z-
11 note) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``without taking into 
        account any affordability requirements''and inserting the 
        following: ``as determined using industry standard appraisal 
        practices, including consideration of the cost of repairs 
        needed for the property subject to the loan to comply with 
        minimum safety and building standards and the cost of 
        maintaining the affordability restrictions applicable under the 
        original loan or grant for the property'' ; and
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ``without taking into 
        account any affordability requirements''and inserting the 
        following: ``as determined using industry standard appraisal 
        practices, including consideration of the cost of repairs 
        needed for the property to comply with minimum safety and 
        building standards and the cost of maintaining the 
        affordability restrictions applicable under the original loan 
        or grant for the property''.

SEC. 6. MULTIFAMILY HOUSING MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE.

    The Multifamily Mortgage Foreclosure Act of 1981 is amended--
            (1) in section 362 (12 U.S.C. 3701)--
                    (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(7) mortgages transferred by the Secretary to State and 
        local governments should be foreclosed in the same manner as 
        mortgages held by the Secretary.'';
            (2) in section 363 (12 U.S.C. 3702)--
                    (A) in paragraph (9), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in paragraph (10), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(11) ``State or local government transferee'' means any 
        state or unit of general local government, any public housing 
        authority, or any State or local housing finance agency that 
        has acquired mortgages pursuant to section 203 of the Housing 
        and Community Development Amendments of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 1701z-
        11), section 204 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and 
        Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies 
        Appropriations Act, 1997 (12 U.S.C. 1715z-11a), or any other 
        provision of law, that were previously held by the 
        Secretary.'';
            (3) in section 364 (12 U.S.C. 3703)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, or any State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the first 
                and fourth places such term appears; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, or the State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the 
                second, third, and fifth places such term appears;
            (4) in section 365 (12 U.S.C. 3704)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, or any State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the first 
                place such term appears;
                    (B) by inserting ``, or the State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' each other 
                place such term appears; and
                    (C) by striking the last 3 sentences and inserting 
                the following: ``The entity designating the foreclosure 
                commissioner, whether the Secretary or any State or 
                local government transferee, shall be a guarantor of 
                payment of any judgment against the foreclosure 
                commissioner for damages based upon the commissioner's 
                failure properly to perform the commissioner's duties. 
                As between the entity designating the foreclosure 
                commissioner, whether the Secretary or any State or 
                local government transferee, and the mortgagor, the 
                entity designating the foreclosure commissioner shall 
                bear the risk of any financial default by the 
                foreclosure commissioner. In the event that the 
                Secretary or any State or local government transferee 
                makes any payment pursuant to the preceding two 
                sentences, the Secretary or any State or local 
                government transferee shall be fully subrogated to the 
                rights satisfied by such payment.'';
            (5) in section 366 (12 U.S.C. 3705)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, or any State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the first, 
                third, fourth, and fifth place such term appears; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, or the State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the second 
                and sixth places such term appears;
            (6) in section 367 (12 U.S.C. 3706)--
                    (A) in subsection (a)--
                            (i) in paragraph (1), by inserting ``or the 
                        State or local government transferee,'' after 
                        ``Secretary,''; and
                            (ii) in paragraph (8), by inserting ``, or 
                        the State or local government transferee'' 
                        after ``Secretary'';
                    (B) in subsection (b)--
                            (i) by inserting ``, or any State or local 
                        government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' 
                        the first and second places such term appears; 
                        and
                            (ii) by inserting ``, or the State or local 
                        government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' 
                        the third place such term appears; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subsection:
    ``(c) In any case in which a State or local government transferee 
is the purchaser of a multifamily project, the State or local 
government transferee shall manage and dispose of such project to 
benefit those originally intended to be assisted under the prior 
program unless continued operation and disposition of the property 
under such program is not feasible based on consideration of the costs 
of rehabilitating and operating the property after considering all 
available Federal, State, and local resources, including rent 
adjustments under section 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing 
Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note).''.
            (7) in section 368 (12 U.S.C. 3707)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, or any State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the first 
                and third places such term appears; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, or the State of local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the second 
                place such term appears;
            (8) in section 369A (12 U.S.C. 3709)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, or any State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the second 
                place such term appears; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, or the State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the first, 
                third, and fourth places such term appears;
            (9) in section 369B (12 U.S.C. 3710)--
                    (A) by inserting ``, or the State of local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' the first 
                and second places such term appears; and
                    (B) by inserting ``, or any State or local 
                government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' each other 
                place such term appears;
            (10) in section 369E (12 U.S.C. 3713), by inserting ``, or 
        any State or local government transferee,'' after ``Secretary'' 
        each place such term appears; and
            (11) in section 369F(a)(1) (12 U.S.C. 3714(a)(1)), by 
        inserting ``, or any State or local government transferee,'' 
        before the semicolon at the end.

SEC. 7. BUILDING TRANSFERS: REQUIREMENTS FOR PURCHASERS OF FHA-INSURED 
              PROJECTS AND SECTION 8 PROJECTS.

    Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall issue a proposed 
rulemaking, in accordance with title 5, United States Code, that 
applies the participation and certification requirements for potential 
purchasers required under section 219 of Division G of the Consolidated 
Appropriations Act, 2004 (Public Law 108-199; 118 Stat. 397) and 
applicable to the sale of HUD-owned multifamily housing projects and 
the foreclosure sale of any multifamily housing securing a mortgage 
held by the Secretary also to the sale of any multifamily housing 
having a mortgage that is insured under the National Housing Act or for 
which assistance is provided under section 8 of the United States 
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f) under a project-based assistance 
contract.

SEC. 8. TRANSPARENCY REGARDING BUILDING INFORMATION.

    (a) Required Posting on Website.--The Secretary of Housing and 
Urban Development shall make publicly available, by posting on a World 
Wide Web site of the Department, information regarding multifamily 
housing properties for which rental assistance is provided under 
section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), 
for which other rental assistance or a subsidy is provided under a 
program administered by the Secretary, or for which a mortgage is 
insured under the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
    (b) Required Information.--The information described in subsection 
(a) regarding a property shall include--
            (1) information regarding the results of physical 
        inspections of the property, including any real estate 
        assessment center (REAC) scores for the property;
            (2) any notices, plans, and information relating to the 
        property required under the Low-Income Housing Preservation and 
        Resident Homeownership Act of 1990, including a notice of 
        intent to prepay a mortgage under section 212, information 
        under section 216, a second notice of intent under section 
        216(d), a plan of action under section 217, and notice of 
        approval of a plan of action under section 225;
            (3) any notice of request to terminate an insurance 
        contract under title II of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 
        1707 et seq.) for a loan or mortgage on the property;
            (4) any notice of request to prepay a loan or mortgage on 
        the property insured under title II of the National Housing Act 
        (12 U.S.C. 1707 et seq.); and
            (5) any notice under section 8(c)(8) of the United States 
        Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(8)) of proposed 
        termination of an assistance contract under such section for 
        the property.
    (c) Updating.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall 
update the information made available pursuant to this section not less 
than quarterly.
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