[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6803 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6803

    To improve inspections of public housing and federally assisted 
 multifamily housing conducted by the Real Estate Assessment Center of 
            the Department of Housing and Urban Development.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 1, 2008

  Ms. Clarke introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                    Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To improve inspections of public housing and federally assisted 
 multifamily housing conducted by the Real Estate Assessment Center of 
            the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

    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 ``Real Estate Assessment Center 
Inspection Improvement Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENT OF INSPECTIONS.

    The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in consultation 
with public housing agencies and owners of federally assisted 
multifamily housing, shall take such actions as may be necessary to 
improve the activities of the Real Estate Assessment Center of the 
Department of Housing and Urban Development for physical assessment and 
inspection of public housing and federally assisted multifamily 
housing, including developing a detailed process to improve planning 
and preparation for inspections of such housing, as follows:
            (1) Advance notice of offline units.--The Secretary shall 
        require, and provide for, public housing agencies and owners of 
        federally assisted multifamily housing to inform the Real 
        Estate Assessment Center an adequate period of time in advance 
        of an inspection regarding any dwelling units that will be 
        offline during the inspection due to unit repairs, 
        rehabilitation, or damage due to natural disasters.
            (2) Scheduling inspections.--The Secretary shall require 
        the Real Estate Assessment Center, in scheduling inspections of 
        public housing and federally assisted multifamily housing--
                    (A) to consult with the public housing agency or 
                owner of the housing, as applicable, to determine a 
                mutually agreeable date for the inspection that is 
                consistent with the schedule of the agency or owner; 
                and
                    (B) in the case of public housing agencies 
                designated pursuant to section 6(j) of the United 
                States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d(j)) as 
                high-performing agencies, to schedule regular 
                inspections every three years.
            (3) Selection of inspectors.--The Secretary shall provide 
        that a Real Estate Assessment Center inspection of public 
        housing or federally assisted multifamily housing shall be 
        conducted by an inspector who is selected by the public housing 
        agency or owner of the housing, as applicable, from a list of 
        qualified, participating inspectors developed and provided by 
        the Secretary.
            (4) Inspections.--The Secretary shall provide that in 
        carrying out any inspection and assessment of public housing or 
        federally assisted multifamily housing, the Real Estate 
        Assessment Center shall--
                    (A) identify, but not score deficiencies on items 
                not owned or controlled by the public housing agency, 
                including neighbors' fences, tenants' extra appliances, 
                and municipal sidewalks and streets; and
                    (B) require that--
                            (i) any assessment shall factor the impact, 
                        with respect to a public housing agency, of any 
                        chronic under-funding of the Public Housing 
                        Operating Fund and the Public Housing Capital 
                        Fund and any detrimental effects that 
                        successive years of under-funding have had the 
                        agency's ability to adequately maintain the 
                        physical condition of public housing; and
                            (ii) any final Real Estate Assessment 
                        Center score is prorated to reflects such 
                        under-funding.
            (5) Re-inspections.--The Secretary shall provide that any 
        public housing agency having a property that fails a Real 
        Estate Assessment Center physical inspection may request a re-
        inspection so that deficiencies can be cured before 
        establishment of a final Real Estate Assessment Center score.
            (6) Training.--The Secretary shall make the three-day Real 
        Estate Assessment Center physical inspection training for non-
        inspectors, held in Washington, DC, available to personnel of 
        all public housing agencies throughout the Nation, by use of 
        the World Wide Web or other electronic means.
            (7) Advisory committee.--The Secretary shall convene an 
        advisory committee (within the meaning given such term in the 
        Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) to review and 
        make recommendations for revising, as necessary, the Real 
        Estate Assessment Center scoring system.
                                 <all>