1.Short title and table of
contents
(a)This Act may be cited
as the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of
2011
.
(b)The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Inspection of dwelling units.
Sec. 3. Rent reform and income reviews.
Sec. 4. Eligibility for assistance based on assets and
income.
Sec. 5. Targeting assistance to low-income working
families.
Sec. 6. Voucher renewal funding.
Sec. 7. Administrative fees.
Sec. 8. Homeownership.
Sec. 9. PHA reporting of rent payments to credit reporting
agencies.
Sec. 10. Performance assessments.
Sec. 11. PHA project-based assistance.
Sec. 12. Rent burdens.
Sec. 13. Establishment of fair market rent.
Sec. 14. Screening of applicants.
Sec. 15. Enhanced vouchers.
Sec. 16. Demonstration program waiver authority.
Sec. 17. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 18. Agency authority for utility payments in certain
circumstances.
Sec. 19. Utility data.
Sec. 20. Project-based preservation vouchers.
Sec. 21. Effect of foreclosure on section 8
tenancies.
Sec. 22. Study to identify obstacles to using vouchers in
federally subsidized housing projects.
Sec. 23. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
Sec. 24. Study of effects of section 8 program on HUD budget
and programs.
Sec. 25. Housing innovation program.
Sec. 26. Study of use of income databases to reduce subsidy
errors.
Sec. 27. Effective date.
2.Inspection of dwelling
unitsSection 8(o)(8) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(8)) is amended—
(1)by striking
subparagraph (A) and inserting the following new subparagraph:
(A)
(i)For each dwelling unit for which a housing assistance
payment contract is established under this subsection, the public housing
agency (or other entity pursuant to paragraph (11)) shall inspect the unit
before any assistance payment is made to determine whether the dwelling unit
meets the housing quality standards under subparagraph (B), except as provided
in clause (ii) or (iii) of this subparagraph.
(ii)Correction of
non-life threatening conditionsIn the case of any dwelling unit that is
determined, pursuant to an inspection under clause (i), not to meet the housing
quality standards under subparagraph (B), assistance payments may be made for
the unit notwithstanding subparagraph (C) if failure to meet such standards is
a result only of non-life threatening conditions, as such conditions are
established by the Secretary. A public housing agency making assistance
payments pursuant to this clause for a dwelling unit shall, 30 days after the
beginning of the period for which such payments are made, suspend any
assistance payments for the unit if any deficiency resulting in noncompliance
with the housing quality standards has not been corrected by such time, and may
not resume such payments until each such deficiency has been corrected.
(iii)Use of
alternative inspection method for interim periodIn the case of any property that within the
previous 12 months has met the requirements of an inspection that qualifies as
an alternative inspection method pursuant to subparagraph (E), a public housing
agency may authorize occupancy before the inspection under clause (i) has been
completed, and may make assistance payments retroactive to the beginning of the
lease term after the unit has been determined pursuant to an inspection under
clause (i) to meet the housing quality standards under subparagraph
(B).
;
(2)by redesignating
subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (H); and
(3)by striking
subparagraph (D) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
(D)
(i)Each public housing agency providing
assistance under this subsection (or other entity, as provided in paragraph
(11)) shall, for each assisted dwelling unit, make inspections not less often
than biennially during the term of the housing assistance payments contract for
the unit to determine whether the unit is maintained in accordance with the
requirements under subparagraph (A).
(ii)Use of
alternative inspection methodThe requirement under clause (i)
may be complied with by use of inspections that qualify as an alternative
inspection method pursuant to subparagraph (E).
(iii)The
agency (or other entity) shall retain the records of the inspection for a
reasonable time and shall make the records available upon request to the
Secretary, the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and any auditor conducting an audit under section 5(h).
(E)Alternative
inspection methodAn inspection of a property shall qualify as an
alternative inspection method for purposes of this subparagraph if—
(i)the inspection was
conducted pursuant to requirements under a Federal, State, or local housing
assistance program (including the HOME investment partnerships program under
title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C.
12721 et seq.) and the low-income housing tax credit program under section 42
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986); and
(ii)pursuant to such
inspection, the property was determined to meet the standards or requirements
regarding housing quality or safety applicable to units assisted under such
program, and, if a non-Federal standard was used, the public housing agency has
certified to the Secretary that such standards or requirements provide the same
protection to occupants of dwelling units meeting such standards or
requirements as, or greater protection than, the housing quality standards
under subparagraph (B).
(F)Upon notification to the public housing agency, by a
family on whose behalf tenant-based rental assistance is provided under this
subsection or by a government official, that the dwelling unit for which such
assistance is provided does not comply with the housing quality standards under
subparagraph (B), the agency shall inspect the dwelling unit—
(i)in
the case of any condition that is life-threatening, within 24 hours after
receipt of such notice; and
(ii)in the case of
any condition that is not life-threatening, within 15 days after receipt of
such notice.
(G)Enforcement of
housing quality standards
(i)Determination of
noncomplianceA dwelling unit that is covered by a housing
assistance payments contract under this subsection shall be considered, for
purposes of subparagraphs (D) and (F), 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—
- (aa)in
the case of any such failure that is a result of life-threatening conditions,
within 24 hours after such notice has been provided; and
- (bb)in
the case of any such failure that is a result of non-life threatening
conditions, within 30 days after such notice has been provided or such other
reasonable longer period as the public housing agency may establish.
(ii)Withholding of
assistance amounts during correctionThe public housing agency
may withhold assistance amounts under this subsection with respect to a
dwelling unit that does not comply with housing quality standards under
subparagraph (B) as determined pursuant to an inspection conducted under
subparagraph (D) or (F). If the unit is brought into compliance with such
housing quality standards during the periods referred to in clause (i)(III),
the public housing agency shall recommence assistance payments and may use any
amounts withheld during the correction period to make assistance payments
relating to the period during which payments were withheld.
(iii)Abatement of
assistance amountsThe public
housing agency shall abate all of the assistance amounts under this subsection
with respect to a dwelling unit that is determined, pursuant to clause (i) of
this subparagraph, to be in noncompliance with housing quality standards under
subparagraph (B). Upon completion of repairs by the public housing agency or
the owner sufficient so that the dwelling unit complies with such housing
quality standards, the agency shall recommence payments under the housing
assistance payments contract to the owner of the dwelling unit.
(iv)Use of abated
assistance to pay for repairs
(I)The public housing agency may use such
amounts abated to make repairs to the dwelling unit or to contract to have
repairs made, except that a contract to make repairs may not be entered into
with the inspector for the dwelling unit referred to in clause (i)(I).
(II)For purposes of this clause, abated amounts may include
amounts withheld during the correction period described in clause (ii) of this
subparagraph with respect to a dwelling unit that is subsequently determined
under clause (i) to be in noncompliance with housing quality standards.
(III)Limitation of
liability of public housing agenciesA public housing agency that
uses its authority under this clause shall not, if the agency accomplishes the
work through a contractor that is licensed, bonded, and insured in amounts and
with coverage as required by the Secretary, be liable for any injury or damages
that may result to persons or to any property owned by the tenant or
owner.
(v)If
a public housing agency providing assistance under this subsection abates
rental assistance payments pursuant to clause (iii) with respect to a dwelling
unit, the agency shall, upon commencement of such abatement—
(I)notify the tenant
and the owner of the dwelling unit that—
- (aa)such abatement
has commenced; and
- (bb)if
the dwelling unit is not brought into compliance with housing quality standards
within 60 days after the effective date of the determination of noncompliance
under clause (i) or such reasonable longer period as the agency may establish,
the tenant will have to move; and
(II)issue the tenant
the necessary forms to allow the tenant to move to another dwelling unit and
transfer the rental assistance to that unit.
(vi)An owner of a
dwelling unit may not terminate the tenancy of any tenant because of the
withholding or abatement of assistance pursuant to this subparagraph. During
the period that assistance is abated pursuant to this subparagraph, the tenant
may terminate the tenancy by notifying the owner.
(vii)Termination of
lease or assistance payments contractIf assistance amounts under this section
for a dwelling unit are abated pursuant to clause (iii) and the owner does not
correct the noncompliance within 60 days after the effective date of the
determination of noncompliance under clause (i), or such other reasonable
longer period as the public housing agency may establish, and the agency does
not use its authority under clause (iv), the agency shall terminate the housing
assistance payments contract for the dwelling unit.
(viii)
(I)The agency shall provide the family residing in such a
dwelling unit a period of 90 days or such longer period as is necessary to
lease a new unit, beginning upon termination of the contract, to lease a new
residence with tenant-based rental assistance under this section.
(II)Availability of
public housing unitsIf the family is unable to lease such a new
residence during such period, the public housing agency shall, at the option of
the family, provide such family a preference for occupancy in a dwelling unit
of public housing that is owned or operated by the agency that first becomes
available for occupancy after the expiration of such period.
(III)Assistance in
finding unitThe public housing agency shall provide reasonable
assistance to the family in finding a new residence, including use of up to two
months of any assistance amounts abated pursuant to clause (iii) for costs
directly associated with relocation of the family to a new residence, which may
include moving expenses and security deposits. The agency may require that a
family receiving assistance for a security deposit shall remit, to the extent
of such assistance, the amount of any security deposit refunds made by the
owner of the dwelling unit for which the lease was terminated.
(ix)If a public housing agency determines that any damage to
a dwelling unit that results in a failure of the dwelling unit to comply with
housing quality standards under subparagraph (B), other than any damage
resulting from ordinary use, was caused by the tenant, any member of the
tenant’s household, or any guest or other person under the tenant’s control,
the agency may waive the applicability of this subparagraph, except that this
clause shall not exonerate a tenant from any liability otherwise existing under
applicable law for damages to the premises caused by such tenant.
(x)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.
.
3.Rent reform and income
reviews
(a)Rent for public
housing and section 8 programsSection 3 of the United States Housing Act
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a)—
(A)in paragraph (1)
by inserting Low-income
occupancy requirement and rental payments.—
after
(1)
;
(B)in paragraph
(1)—
(i)by
striking paragraph (2)
and inserting paragraphs (2) and
(3)
; and
(ii)by
striking paragraph (3)
and inserting paragraph
(4)
;
(C)in paragraph
(2)(A)(i), by striking paragraph (3)
and inserting
paragraph (4)
;
(D)by redesignating
paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6),
respectively;
(E)by inserting after
paragraph (2) the following new paragraph:
(3)PHA authority to
establish alternative rents
(A)Rent flexibility
for public housingSubject to the requirements under subparagraph
(B), a public housing agency may establish for public housing—
(i)a
tenant rent structure in which—
(I)the public housing agency establishes,
based on the rental value of the unit, as determined by the public housing
agency, a ceiling rent for each dwelling unit that it owns and operates;
and
(II)such ceiling rent
is adjusted periodically on the basis of an inflation index or a recalculation
of the rental value of the unit (which may be recalculated by unit or by
building);
(ii)an income-tiered
tenant rent structure in which the amount of rent a family shall pay is set and
distributed on the basis of broad tiers of income and such tiers and rents are
adjusted on the basis of an annual cost index except that families shall not be
offered a rent lower than the rent corresponding to their income tier;
or
(iii)a tenant rent
structure in which the amount of rent a family shall pay is based on a
percentage of family income, except that lower percentages may apply only with
respect to earned income; such a rent structure may provide for an amount of
rent based on a calculation of earned income that provides for disregard of a
higher percentage or higher dollar amount, or both, than provided for in
paragraph (8)(B).
(B)Notwithstanding
the authority provided under subparagraph (A), the amount paid for rent
(including the amount allowed for tenant-paid utilities) by any family for a
dwelling unit in public housing may not exceed the amount determined under
subsection (a)(1) of this section. The Secretary shall issue regulations and
establish procedures for public housing agency calculations and documentation
as are necessary to ensure compliance with this subparagraph.
(C)Elderly families
and disabled familiesNotwithstanding any other provision of this
Act, this paragraph shall not apply to elderly families and disabled
families.
;
and
(F)by adding at the
end the following new paragraphs:
(7)
(A)Reviews
of family income for purposes of this section shall be made—
(i)in
the case of all families, upon the initial provision of housing assistance for
the family;
(ii)annually thereafter, except as provided in
subparagraph (B)(i);
(iii)upon the request
of the family, at any time the income or deductions (under subsection (b)(5))
of the family change by an amount that is estimated to result in a decrease of
$1,200 (or such lower amount as the public housing agency or owner may, at the
option of the agency or owner, establish) or more in annual adjusted income;
and
(iv)at any time the income or deductions (under
subsection (b)(5)) of the family change by an amount that is estimated to
result in an increase of $1,200 or more in annual adjusted income, except that
any increase in the earned income of a family shall not be considered for
purposes of this clause (except that earned income may be considered if the
increase corresponds to previous decreases under clause (iii)), except that a
public housing agency or owner may elect not to conduct such review in the last
three months of a certification period.
(B)
(i)Self
certification and 3-year reviewIn the case of any family described in
clause (ii), after the initial review of the family’s income pursuant to
subparagraph (A)(i), the public housing agency or owner shall not be required
to conduct a review of the family’s income pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) for
any year for which such family certifies, in accordance with such requirements
as the Secretary shall establish, that the income of the family meets the
requirements of clause (ii) of this subparagraph and that the sources of such
income have not changed since the previous year, except that the public housing
agency or owner shall conduct a review of each such family’s income not less
than once every 3 years.
(ii)A family described in this clause is a family who has an
income, as of the most recent review pursuant to subparagraph (A) or clause (i)
of this subparagraph, of which 90 percent or more consists of fixed income, as
such term is defined in clause (iii).
(iii)For purposes of this subparagraph, the term fixed
income includes income from—
(I)the supplemental
security income program under title XVI of the Social Security Act, including
supplementary payments pursuant to an agreement for Federal administration
under section 1616(a) of the Social Security Act and payments pursuant to an
agreement entered into under section 212(b) of Public Law 93–66;
(II)Social Security
payments;
(III)Federal, State,
local and private pension plans; and
(IV)other periodic
payments received from annuities, insurance policies, retirement funds,
disability or death benefits, and other similar types of periodic receipts that
are of substantially the same amounts from year to year.
(C)Reviews of family
income for purposes of this section shall be subject to the provisions of
section 904 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of
1988.
(8)
(A)Use of current
year incomeIn determining
family income for initial occupancy or provision of housing assistance pursuant
to clause (i) of paragraph (7)(A) or pursuant to reviews pursuant to clause
(iii) or (iv) of such paragraph, a public housing agency or owner shall use the
income of the family as estimated by the agency or owner for the upcoming
year.
(B)In determining
family income for annual reviews pursuant to paragraph (7)(A)(ii), a public
housing agency or owner shall, except as otherwise provided in this paragraph,
use the income of the family as determined by the agency or owner for the
preceding year, taking into consideration any redetermination of income during
such prior year pursuant to clause (iii) or (iv) of paragraph (7)(A).
(C)Inflationary
adjustment for fixed income families
(i)In any year in which
a public housing agency or owner does not conduct a review of income for any
family described in clause (ii) of paragraph (7)(B) pursuant to the authority
under clause (i) of such paragraph to waive such a review, such family’s prior
year’s income determination shall, subject to clauses (ii) and (iii), be
adjusted by applying an inflationary factor as the Secretary shall, by
regulation, establish.
(ii)Exemption from
adjustmentA public housing agency or owner may exempt from an
adjustment pursuant to clause (i) any income source for which income does not
increase from year to year.
(iii)Applicability
of inflationary factorThe inflationary factor adjustment
referred to in clause (i) shall not be made with respect to the first year
after the year in which housing is occupied or housing assistance is initially
provided for a family.
(D)In determining the
income for any family based on the prior year’s income, with respect to prior
year calculations of income not subject to subparagraph (B), a public housing
agency or owner may make other adjustments as it considers appropriate to
reflect current income.
(E)A public housing
agency or owner may, to the extent such information is available to the public
housing agency or owner, determine the family’s income prior to the application
of any deductions based on timely income determinations made for purposes of
other means-tested Federal public assistance programs (including the program
for block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families under
part A of title IV of the Social Security Act, a program for Medicaid
assistance under a State plan approved under title XIX of the Social Security
Act, and the food stamp program as defined in section 3(h) of the Food Stamp
Act of 1977). The Secretary shall, in consultation with other appropriate
Federal agencies, develop procedures to enable public housing agencies and
owners to have access to such income determinations made by other means-tested
Federal programs that the Secretary determines to have comparable reliability.
Exchanges of such information shall be subject to the same limitations and
tenant protections provided under section 904 of the Stewart B. McKinney
Homeless Assistance Act Amendments of 1988 (42 U.S.C. 3544) with respect to
information obtained under the requirements of section 303(i) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503(i)).
(F)A public housing
agency or owner may not be considered to fail to comply with this paragraph or
paragraph (7) due solely to any de minimis errors made by the agency or owner
in calculating family
incomes.
;
(2)by striking
subsections (d) and (e); and
(3)by redesignating
subsection (f) as subsection (d).
(b)Section 3(b) of the United States Housing
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)) is amended—
(1)by striking
paragraph (4) and inserting the following new paragraph:
(4)The term income means, with
respect to a family, income received from all sources by each member of the
household who is 18 years of age or older or is the head of household or spouse
of the head of the household, plus unearned income by or on behalf of each
dependent who is less than 18 years of age, as determined in accordance with
criteria prescribed by the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of
Agriculture, subject to the following requirements:
(A)Such term includes recurring gifts and receipts, actual
income from assets, and profit or loss from a business.
(B)Such term does not include—
(i)any imputed return
on assets;
(ii)any amounts that would be eligible for
exclusion under section 1613(a)(7) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1382b(a)(7)); and
(iii)deferred
disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs that are received
in a lump sum amount or in prospective monthly amounts.
(C)Earned income of
studentsSuch term does not
include earned income of any dependent earned during any period that such
dependent is attending school or vocational training on a full-time basis or
any grant-in-aid or scholarship amounts related to such attendance used for the
cost of tuition or books.
(D)Educational
savings accountsIncome shall be determined without regard to any
amounts in or from, or any benefits from, any Coverdell education savings
account under section 530 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any qualified
tuition program under section 529 of such Code.
(E)Such term shall
not include other exclusions from income as are established by the Secretary or
any amount required by Federal law to be excluded from consideration as income.
The Secretary may not require a public housing agency or owner to maintain
records of any amounts excluded from income pursuant to this
subparagraph.
;
and
(2)by striking
paragraph (5) and inserting the following new paragraph:
(5)The term adjusted income means, with respect
to a family, the amount (as determined by the public housing agency or owner)
of the income of the members of the family residing in a dwelling unit or the
persons on a lease, after any deductions from income as follows:
(A)An amount equal to
10 percent of the lesser of—
(i)the family’s
earned income; or
(ii)$9,000, except
that such amount shall be adjusted annually by applying to such amount (as it
may have been previously adjusted) an inflationary factor as the Secretary
shall, by regulation, establish and except that for purposes of adjusted income
determinations each year such amount shall be established by rounding the
amount calculated down to the next lowest multiple of $1,000.
The
deduction under this subparagraph shall not be considered in determining
adjusted income for the purposes of section 16 (relating to eligibility for
assisted housing and income mix).(B)Elderly and
disabled families$725 in the
case of any family that is an elderly family or a disabled family.
(C)In the case of any family that includes a
member or members who—
(i)are less than 18
years of age or attending school or vocational training on a full-time basis;
or
(ii)is a person with disabilities who is 18
years of age or older and resides in the household,
$500
for each such member.(D)The amount, if any, that exceeds 10 percent of annual family
income that is used to pay for unreimbursed child care expenses, which shall
include child care for preschool-age children, for before- and after-care for
children in school, and for other child care necessary to enable a member of
the family to be employed or further his or her education.
(E)Health and
medical expensesThe amount,
if any, by which 10 percent of annual family income is exceeded by the sum
of—
(i)in
the case of any elderly or disabled family, any unreimbursed health and medical
care expenses; and
(ii)any unreimbursed
reasonable attendant care and auxiliary apparatus expenses for each handicapped
member of the family, to the extent necessary to enable any member of such
family to be employed.
(F)Such additional deductions as a public housing agency
may, at its discretion, establish, except that the Secretary shall establish
procedures to ensure that such deductions do not materially increase Federal
expenditures.
The
Secretary shall annually calculate the amounts of the deductions under
subparagraphs (B) and (C), as such amounts may have been previously calculated,
by applying an inflationary factor as the Secretary shall, by regulation,
establish, except that the actual deduction determined for each year shall be
established by rounding such amount to the next lowest multiple of
$25..
(c)Housing choice
voucher programParagraph (5) of section 8(o) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(5)) is amended—
(1)in the paragraph
heading, by striking Annual review
and inserting
Reviews
;
(2)in subparagraph
(A)—
(A)by striking
the provisions of
and inserting paragraphs (7) and (8) of
section 3(a) and to
; and
(B)by striking
and shall be conducted upon the initial provision of housing assistance
for the family and thereafter not less than annually
; and
(3)in subparagraph
(B), by striking the second sentence.
(d)Section 8(t)(1)(D) of the United States Housing Act of
1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(t)(1)(D)) is amended by striking income
each place such term appears and inserting annual adjusted
income
.
(e)Paragraph (3) of section 8(c) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(3)) is amended by striking the last
sentence.
(f)Impact on public
housing revenues
(1)Adjustments to
operating formulaIf the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development determines that the application of
the amendments made by this section results in a material and disproportionate
reduction in the rental income of certain public housing agencies during the
first year in which the amendments made by this section are implemented, the
Secretary may make appropriate adjustments in the formula income for such year
of those agencies experiencing such a reduction.
(2)HUD reports on
revenue and cost impactIn each of the first two years after the
first year in which the amendments made by this section are implemented, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall submit a report to Congress
identifying and calculating the impact of changes made by the amendments made
by this section and sections 4 and 5 of this Act on the revenues and costs of
operating public housing units, the voucher program for rental assistance under
section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, and the program under such
section 8 for project-based rental assistance. If such report identifies a
material reduction in the net income of public housing agencies nationwide or a
material increase in the costs of funding the voucher program or the
project-based assistance program, the Secretary shall include in such report
recommendations for legislative changes to reduce or eliminate such a
reduction.
(g)The amendments made by this section shall take effect during
the first calendar year after regulations or notice has been adopted to
implement such amendments, except that the Secretary may delay such effective
date by one year upon a determination that such delay is necessary for public
housing agencies and owners to make the necessary changes to comply with such
amendments.
4.Eligibility for
assistance based on assets and income
(a)Section 16 of the United States Housing Act
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n) is amended by inserting after subsection (d) the
following new subsection:
(e)Eligibility for
assistance based on assets
(1)Subject to paragraph (3) and notwithstanding any other
provision of this Act, a dwelling unit assisted under this Act may not be
rented and assistance under this Act may not be provided, either initially or
at each recertification of family income, to any family—
(A)whose net family assets exceed $100,000, as
such amount is adjusted annually by applying an inflationary factor as the
Secretary considers appropriate; or
(B)who has a present
ownership interest in, a legal right to reside in, and the effective legal
authority to sell, real property that is suitable for occupancy as a residence,
except that the prohibition under this subparagraph shall not apply to—
(i)any property for
which the family is receiving assistance under this Act;
(ii)any person that
is a victim of domestic violence; or
(iii)any family that
is offering such property for sale.
(2)
(A)For purposes of this
subsection, the term net family assets means, for all members of
the household, the net cash value of all assets after deducting reasonable
costs that would be incurred in disposing of real property, savings, stocks,
bonds, and other forms of capital investment. Such term does not include
interests in Indian trust land, equity accounts in homeownership programs of
the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or Family Self Sufficiency
accounts.
(B)Such
term does not include—
(i)the value of
personal property, except for items of personal property of significant value,
as the Secretary may establish or the public housing agency may
determine;
(ii)the value of any
retirement account;
(iii)real property
for which the family does not have the effective legal authority necessary to
sell such property;
(iv)any amounts
recovered in any civil action or settlement based on a claim of malpractice,
negligence, or other breach of duty owed to a member of the family and arising
out of law, that resulted in a member of the family being disabled;
(v)the value of any Coverdell education
savings account under section 530 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any
qualified tuition program under section 529 of such Code; and
(vi)such other
exclusions as the Secretary may establish.
(C)In cases in which a
trust fund has been established and the trust is not revocable by, or under the
control of, any member of the family or household, the value of the trust fund
shall not be considered an asset of a family if the fund continues to be held
in trust. Any income distributed from the trust fund shall be considered income
for purposes of section 3(b) and any calculations of annual family income,
except in the case of medical expenses for a minor.
(3)
(A)A public housing
agency or owner may determine the net assets of a family, for purposes of this
section, based on a certification by the family that the net assets of such
family do not exceed $50,000.
(B)No current real
property ownershipA public housing agency or owner may determine
compliance with paragraph (1)(B) based on a certification by the family that
such family does not have any current ownership interest in any real property
at the time the agency or owner reviews the family’s income.
(C)The Secretary may develop standardized forms for the
certifications referred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B).
(4)Compliance for
public housing dwelling unitsWhen recertifying family income with
respect to families residing in public housing dwelling units, a public housing
agency may, in the discretion of the agency and only pursuant to a policy that
is set forth in the public housing agency plan under section 5A for the agency,
choose not to enforce the limitation under paragraph (1).
(5)Elderly and
disabled familiesWhen
recertifying the income of an elderly or disabled family residing in a dwelling
unit assisted under this Act, a public housing agency or owner may choose not
to enforce the limitation under paragraph (1) or may establish exceptions to
such limitation based on eligibility criteria, but only pursuant to a policy
that is set forth in the public housing agency plan under section 5A for the
agency or under a policy adopted by the owner. Eligibility criteria for
establishing exceptions may provide for separate treatment for elderly and
disabled families and may be based on different factors, such as age, income,
the ability of the family to find suitable alternative housing, and whether
supportive services are being provided.
(6)Authority to
delay evictionsIn the case
of a family residing in a dwelling unit assisted under this Act who does not
comply with the limitation under paragraph (1), the public housing agency or
project owner may delay eviction or termination of the family based on such
noncompliance for a period of not more than 6
months.
.
(b)The
United States Housing Act of 1937 is amended—
(1)in section 3(a)(1)
(42 U.S.C. 1437a(a)(1)), by striking the first sentence and inserting the
following: Dwelling units assisted under this Act may be rented, and
assistance under this Act may be provided, whether initially or at time of
recertification, only to families who are low-income families at the time such
initial or continued assistance, respectively, is provided, except that
families residing in dwelling units as of the date of the enactment of the
Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of
2011 that, under agreements in effect on such date of enactment,
may have incomes up to 95 percent of local area median income shall continue to
be eligible for assistance at recertification as long as they continue to
comply with such income restrictions. When recertifying family income with
respect to families residing in public housing dwelling units, a public housing
agency may, in the discretion of the agency and only pursuant to a policy that
is set forth in the public housing agency plan under section 5A for the agency,
choose not to enforce the prohibition under the preceding sentence. When
recertifying family income with respect to families residing in dwelling units
for which project-based assistance is provided, a project owner may, in the
owner’s discretion and only pursuant to a policy adopted by such owner, choose
not to enforce such prohibition. In the case of a family residing in a dwelling
unit assisted under this Act who does not meet the requirements under the first
sentence of this paragraph or the requirements under section 8(o)(4), the
public housing agency or project owner may delay eviction or termination of the
family based on such noncompliance for a period of not more than 6
months.
;
(2)in section 8(o)(4)
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(4)), by striking the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and
inserting the following:
(4)Assistance under this subsection may be provided,
whether initially or at each recertification, only pursuant to subsection (t)
to a family eligible for assistance under such subsection or to a family who at
the time of such initial or continued assistance, respectively, is a low-income
family that is—
;
and
(3)in section 8(c)(4) (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(4)),
by striking at the time it initially occupied such dwelling unit
and inserting according to the restrictions under section
3(a)(1)
.
5.Targeting
assistance to low-income working families
(a)Section 16(b)(1) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n(b)(1)) is amended—
(1)by inserting after
do not exceed
the following: the higher of (A) the
poverty line (as such term is defined in section 673 of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902), including any revision required by
such section) applicable to a family of the size involved, or (B)
;
and
(2)by inserting
before the period at the end the following: ; and except that clause (A)
of this sentence shall not apply in the case of public housing agencies located
in Puerto Rico or any other territory or possession of the United
States
.
(b)Section 16(a)(2)(A)
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n(a)(2)(A)) is
amended—
(1)by inserting after
do not exceed
the following: the higher of (i) the
poverty line (as such term is defined in section 673 of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902), including any revision required by
such section) applicable to a family of the size involved, or (ii)
;
and
(2)by inserting
before the period at the end the following: ; and except that clause (i)
of this sentence shall not apply in the case of projects located in Puerto Rico
or any other territory or possession of the United States
.
(c)Project-Based
section 8 assistanceSection
16(c)(3) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437n(c)(3)) is
amended—
(1)by inserting after
do not exceed
the following: the higher of (A) the
poverty line (as such term is defined in section 673 of the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902), including any revision required by
such section) applicable to a family of the size involved, or (B)
;
and
(2)by inserting
before the period at the end the following: ; and except that clause (A)
of this sentence shall not apply in the case of projects located in Puerto Rico
or any other territory or possession of the United States
.
6.
(a)Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437f) is amended by striking subsection (dd) and inserting the
following new subsection:
(dd)
(1)Authorization of
appropriationsThere are
authorized to be appropriated, for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016, such
sums as may be necessary for tenant-based assistance under subsection (o) for
the following purposes:
(A)To renew all
expiring annual contributions contracts for tenant-based rental
assistance.
(B)To provide
tenant-based rental assistance for—
(i)conversion of
section 23 projects to assistance under this section;
(ii)the family
unification program under subsection (x) of this section;
(iii)relocation of
witnesses in connection with efforts to combat crime in public and assisted
housing pursuant to a request from a law enforcement or prosecution
agency;
(iv)enhanced vouchers
authorized under subsection (t) of this section;
(v)relocation or
replacement in connection with the HOPE VI program under section 24;
(vi)demolition or
disposition of public housing units pursuant to section 18 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437p);
(vii)mandatory
conversions of public housing to vouchers, pursuant to section 33 of the United
States Housing Act of 1937, respectively (42 U.S.C. 1437z–5);
(viii)voluntary conversions of public housing to
vouchers, pursuant to section 22 of the United States Housing Act of 1937,
respectively (42 U.S.C. 1437t);
(ix)vouchers
necessary to comply with a consent decree or court order;
(x)tenant protection vouchers in connection
with dwelling units that cease to receive project-based assistance under
subsection (b), (c), (d), (e), or (v) of this section;
(xi)relocation and
replacement vouchers in connection with public housing units that are
demolished or disposed of pursuant to eminent domain, pursuant to a
homeownership program, or in connection with a mixed finance development method
under section 35 or otherwise;
(xii)vouchers used
for the preservation of public housing units not included in the operating
formula under section 9(e)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437g(e)(2));
(xiii)emergency
voucher assistance for the protection of victims of domestic violence, dating
violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
(xiv)tenant
protection vouchers in connection with the foreclosure or disposition of
multifamily housing subject to a mortgage insured and subsidized under the
National Housing Act; and
(xv)tenant protection
assistance, including replacement and relocation assistance.
Subject
only to the availability of sufficient amounts provided in appropriation Acts,
the Secretary shall provide tenant-based rental assistance in connection with
all dwelling units that cease to be available as assisted housing as a result
of clauses (i), (iv), (v), (vi), (vii), (x), (xi), and (xiv).(2)Allocation of
renewal funding among public housing agencies
(A)From amounts
appropriated for each year pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), the Secretary shall
provide renewal funding for each public housing agency—
(i)based on leasing and cost data from the
preceding calendar year, as adjusted by an annual adjustment factor to be
established by the Secretary, which shall be established using the smallest
geographical areas for which data on changes in rental costs are annually
available;
(ii)by making any adjustments necessary to
provide for the first-time renewal of vouchers funded under paragraph (1)(B)
and of any incremental vouchers funded in previous years;
(iii)by making any adjustments necessary for
full year funding of vouchers moved into and out of the jurisdiction of the
public housing agency in the prior calendar year pursuant to portability
procedures under subsection (r)(2); and
(iv)by making such
other adjustments as the Secretary considers appropriate, including adjustments
necessary to address changes in voucher utilization rates and voucher costs
related to natural and other major disasters.
(B)For purposes of
subparagraph (A)(i), leasing and cost data shall be calculated annually by
using the average for the preceding calendar year. Such leasing and cost data
shall be adjusted to include vouchers that were set aside under a commitment to
provide project-based assistance under subsection (o)(13) and to exclude
amounts funded through advances under paragraph (3). Such leasing and cost data
shall not include funds not appropriated for tenant-based assistance under
section 8(o), unless the agency’s funding was prorated in the prior year and
the agency used other funds to maintain vouchers in use.
(C)For the purpose of determining allocations
under subsection (A)(i), the leasing rate calculated for the prior calendar
year may exceed an agency’s authorized voucher level, except that such
calculation shall not utilize a leasing rate in excess of 103 percent of the
leasing rate in the year preceding such prior year (after making appropriate
adjustments for incremental and new enhanced vouchers) which results from the
use of accumulated amounts, as referred to in the last sentence of paragraph
(4)(A).
(D)Moving to work;
housing innovation programNotwithstanding subparagraphs (A) and
(B), each public housing agency participating in any year in the moving to work
program or the housing innovation program under section 37 of this Act shall be
funded pursuant to its agreement under such program and shall be subject to any
pro rata adjustment made under subparagraph (F)(i).
(E)Unreimbursed
portability costsThe Secretary may reimburse public housing
agencies for increased costs related to portability incurred during the prior
year that were not reimbursed pursuant to paragraph (4)(B)(i).
(F)
(i)To the extent that amounts made available for a fiscal year
are not sufficient to provide each public housing agency with the full
allocation for the agency determined pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (D), the
Secretary shall reduce such allocation for each agency on a pro rata basis,
except that renewal funding of enhanced vouchers under section 8(t) shall not
be subject to such proration.
(ii)To the extent that amounts made available for a fiscal year
exceed the amount necessary to provide each housing agency with the full
allocation for the agency determined pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (D),
such excess amounts shall be used for the purposes specified in paragraph
(4)(B).
(G)Prompt funding
allocationThe Secretary
shall allocate all funds under this subsection for each year before the latter
of (i) February 15, or (ii) the expiration of the 45-day period beginning upon
the enactment of the appropriations Act funding such renewals.
(3)
(A)During
the last 3 months of each calendar year, the Secretary shall provide amounts
out of any appropriations made pursuant to paragraph (1) for the fiscal year
beginning on October 1 of that calendar year to any public housing agency, at
the request of the agency, in an amount up to two percent of the allocation for
the agency for such calendar year, subject to subparagraph (C).
(B)Amounts
advanced under subparagraph (A) may be used to pay for additional voucher
costs, including costs related to temporary overleasing.
(C)Use of prior
year amountsDuring the last 3 months of a calendar year, if
amounts previously provided to a public housing agency for tenant-based
assistance for such year or for previous years remain unobligated and available
to the agency—
(i)the agency shall
exhaust such amounts to cover any additional voucher costs under subparagraph
(B) before amounts advanced under subparagraph (A) may be so used; and
(ii)the amount that may be advanced under
subparagraph (A) to the agency shall be reduced by an amount equal to the total
of such previously provided and unobligated amounts.
(D)Amounts
advanced under subparagraph (A) in a calendar year shall be repaid to the
Secretary in the subsequent calendar year by offsetting the amounts made
available for such agency for such subsequent calendar year pursuant to
allocation under paragraph (2) by an amount equal to the amount so advanced to
the agency.
(4)
(A)The Secretary shall
offset, from amounts provided under the annual contributions contract for a
public housing agency for a calendar year, all accumulated amounts allocated
under paragraph (2) and from previous years that are unused by the agency at
the end of each calendar year, except for an amount not less than 6 percent of
such amount allocated to the agency pursuant to paragraph (2) for the preceding
calendar year. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, each public housing
agency may retain all amounts not offset under this subparagraph, and may use
such amounts for all authorized purposes.
(B)Not
later than the latter of April 1 of each calendar year or 75 days after the
enactment of an appropriations Act providing funding for voucher renewal costs,
the Secretary shall, from amounts available pursuant to paragraph (2)(E) and
from any other available amounts appropriated for such purpose—
(i)set aside and
subsequently make available such amounts as the Secretary considers likely to
be needed, when combined with funds from a central fund or any other source of
funds appropriated or made available for such purpose, to reimburse public
housing agencies for increased costs related to portability and family
self-sufficiency activities pursuant to section 23(h) during such year;
and
(ii)reallocate all remaining amounts among
public housing agencies, with priority given based on the extent to which an
agency has utilized the amount allocated under paragraph (2) for the agency to
serve eligible families and the relative need for additional voucher assistance
for use only to increase voucher leasing
rates.
.
(b)The
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, not later than the expiration
of the 6-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, issue
a proposed rule for comment to modify the regulations governing the
responsibilities of public housing agencies in cases in which families assisted
with tenant-based assistance under section 8 of the United States Housing Act
of 1937 exercise their right to move to a different jurisdiction under the
Secretary’s regulations regarding portability procedures (24 C.F.R. 982.355),
to eliminate, or minimize to the greatest extent feasible consistent with
available funding, billing between agencies and administrative barriers to
families’ choices of where to reside, without undermining the ability of public
housing agencies to serve their waiting lists. The Secretary shall finalize
regulations modifying such portability procedures in accordance with this
subsection not later than the expiration of the 12-month period beginning upon
the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c)Vouchers for
persons with disabilities and homeless veteransThe Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development shall develop and issue, to public housing agencies that have
received voucher assistance under section 8(o) for non-elderly disabled
families, or under section 8(o)(19) for homeless veterans, pursuant to
appropriations Acts for fiscal year 1997 and fiscal years thereafter, guidance
to ensure that, to the maximum extent practicable, such vouchers continue to be
provided upon turnover to qualified non-elderly disabled families or homeless
veterans, respectively.
7.
(a)Section 8(q) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(q)) is amended—
(1)in paragraph
(1)—
(A)by striking
subparagraphs (B) and (C) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
(B)The
fee under this subsection shall—
(i)be
payable to each public housing agency for each month for which a dwelling unit
is covered by an assistance contract;
(ii)be based on a per-unit fee, which shall be
based on the per-unit fee payable to the agency in fiscal year 2003 and updated
for each subsequent year as specified in subsection (iv), or on such formula
which the Secretary may, by regulation, establish using a per-unit fee
structure which shall provide for the payment of the full cost of administering
vouchers, and which may include performance incentives consistent with
subsection (o)(21);
(iii)include an
amount for the cost of issuing a voucher to new participants;
(iv)be updated each
year using an index of changes in wage and benefit data or other objectively
measurable data that reflect the costs of administering the program for such
assistance, as determined by the Secretary; and
(v)include an amount for the cost of family
self-sufficiency coordinators, as provided in section 23(h)(1).
(C)The
Secretary shall cause to be published in the Federal Register the fee rate for
each geographic area.
;
and
(B)by striking
subparagraph (E) and inserting the following new subparagraph;
(E)Fee for
agency-owned unitsThe
Secretary shall establish a fee for dwelling units owned by a public housing
agency that reflects reasonable costs of administration, which shall take into
consideration the third-party inspection and rent determination expenses
incurred in compliance with the requirements of subsection
(o)(11).
;
and
(2)in paragraph (4),
by striking 1999
and inserting 2011
.
(b)Administrative
fees for family self-Sufficiency program costsSubsection (h) of
section 23 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437u(h)) is
amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following new
paragraph:
(1)
(A)The Secretary shall establish a fee under section 8(q)
for the costs incurred in administering the self-sufficiency program under this
section to assist families receiving voucher assistance through section
8(o).
(B)The fee shall provide
funding for family self-sufficiency coordinators as follows:
(i)A public housing agency serving 25 or more participants in
the family self-sufficiency program under this section shall receive a fee
equal to the costs of employing one full-time family self-sufficiency
coordinator. An agency serving fewer than 25 such participants shall receive a
prorated fee.
(ii)An agency that meets minimum performance standards shall
receive an additional fee sufficient to cover the costs of employing a second
family self-sufficiency coordinator if the agency has 75 or more participating
families, and a third such coordinator if it has 125 or more participating
families.
(iii)Previously
funded agenciesAn agency that received funding from the
Department of Housing and Urban Development for more than three such
coordinators in any of fiscal years 1998 through 2010 shall receive funding for
the highest number of coordinators funded in a single fiscal year during that
period, provided they meet applicable size and performance standards.
(iv)For the first year in which a public housing agency
exercises its right to develop an family self-sufficiency program for its
residents, it shall be entitled to funding to cover the costs of up to one
family self-sufficiency coordinator, based on the size specified in its action
plan for such program.
(v)State and
regional agenciesFor purposes of calculating the family
self-sufficiency portion of the administrative fee under this subparagraph,
each administratively distinct part of a State or regional public housing
agency shall be treated as a separate agency.
(vi)Determination
of number of coordinatorsIn
determining whether a public housing agency meets a specific threshold for
funding pursuant to this paragraph, the number of participants being served by
the agency in its family self-sufficiency program shall be considered to be the
average number of families enrolled in such agency’s program during the course
of the most recent fiscal year for which the Department of Housing and Urban
Development has data.
(C)If
insufficient funds are available in any fiscal year to fund all of the
coordinators authorized under this section, the first priority shall be given
to funding one coordinator at each agency with an existing family
self-sufficiency program. The remaining funds shall be prorated based on the
number of remaining coordinators to which each agency is entitled under this
subparagraph.
(D)Any
fees allocated under this subparagraph by the Secretary in a fiscal year that
have not been spent by the end of the subsequent fiscal year shall be
recaptured by the Secretary and shall be available for providing additional
fees pursuant to subparagraph (B)(ii).
(E)Within six months
after the date of the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall publish
a proposed rule specifying the performance standards applicable to funding
under clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (B). Such standards shall include
requirements applicable to the leveraging of in-kind services and other
resources to support the goals of the family self-sufficiency program.
(F)Public housing agencies receiving funding under this
paragraph shall collect and report to the Secretary, in such manner as the
Secretary shall require, information on the performance of their family
self-sufficiency programs.
(G)The Secretary shall conduct a formal and
scientific evaluation of the effectiveness of well-run family self-sufficiency
programs, comparing outcomes of families participating in such programs with
families who are not, using random assignment of participants to the extent
practicable. Not later than the expiration of the 4-year period beginning upon
the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall submit an interim
evaluation report to the Congress. Not later than the expiration of the 8-year
period beginning upon such enactment, the Secretary shall submit a final
evaluation report to the Congress. There is authorized to be appropriated
$10,000,000 to carry out the evaluation under this subparagraph.
(H)Incentives for
innovation and high performanceThe Secretary may reserve up to
10 percent of the amounts made available for administrative fees under this
paragraph to provide support to or reward family self-sufficiency programs that
are particularly innovative or highly successful in achieving the goals of the
program.
.
(c)Section
202 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Housing and Urban Development,
and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note; Public
Law 104–204; 110 Stat. 2893) is hereby repealed.
8.
(a)Section 8
homeownership downpayment programSection 8(y)(7) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(y)(7)) is amended by striking
subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following new subparagraphs:
(A)Subject to the
provisions of this paragraph, in the case of a family on whose behalf rental
assistance under section 8(o) has been provided for a period of not less than
12 months prior to the date of receipt of downpayment assistance under this
paragraph, a public housing agency may, in lieu of providing monthly assistance
payments under this subsection on behalf of a family eligible for such
assistance and at the discretion of the agency, provide a downpayment
assistance grant in accordance with subparagraph (B).
(B)A downpayment assistance grant under this
paragraph—
(i)shall be used by the family only as a
contribution toward the downpayment and reasonable and customary closing costs
required in connection with the purchase of a home;
(ii)shall be in the
form of a single one-time grant; and
(iii)may not exceed
$10,000.
(C)No effect on
obtaining outside sources for downpayment assistanceThis Act may
not be construed to prohibit a public housing agency from providing downpayment
assistance to families from sources other than a grant provided under this Act,
or as determined by the public housing agency.
(D)Counseling and
self-sufficiency programsA
public housing agency may require prepurchase housing counseling or
participation in a self-sufficiency program as a condition of a family
receiving downpayment assistance under this
paragraph.
.
(b)Use of vouchers
for manufactured housingSection 8(o)(12) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(12)) is amended—
(1)in subparagraph
(A), by striking the period at the end of the first sentence and all that
follows through “of” in the second sentence and inserting “and rents”;
and
(2)in subparagraph
(B)—
(A)in clause (i), by
striking the rent
and all that follows and inserting the
following: “rent shall mean the sum of the monthly payments made by a family
assisted under this paragraph to amortize the cost of purchasing the
manufactured home, including any required insurance and property taxes, the
monthly amount allowed for tenant-paid utilities, and the monthly rent charged
for the real property on which the manufactured home is located, including
monthly management and maintenance charges.”;
(B)by striking clause
(ii); and
(C)in clause
(iii)—
(i)by
inserting after the period at the end the following: “If the amount of the
monthly assistance payment for a family exceeds the monthly rent charged for
the real property on which the manufactured home is located, including monthly
management and maintenance charges, a public housing agency may pay the
remainder to the family, lender or utility company, or may choose to make a
single payment to the family for the entire monthly assistance amount.”;
and
(ii)by
redesignating such clause as clause (ii).
9.PHA reporting of
rent payments to credit reporting agenciesSection 3 of the United States Housing Act
of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a), as amended by the preceding provisions of this Act,
is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
(e)PHA reporting of
rent payments to credit reporting agencies
(1)To the extent that an individual receiving
tenant-based housing choice vouchers under section 8 by a public housing agency
agrees in writing to reporting under this subsection, the public housing agency
may submit to consumer reporting agencies described in section 603(p) of the
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a) information regarding the past rent
payment history of the individual with respect to the dwelling unit for which
such assistance is provided.
(2)The
Secretary, after consultation with consumer reporting agencies referred in
paragraph (1), shall establish a system and format to be used by public housing
agencies for reporting of information under such paragraph that provides such
information in a format and manner that is similar to other credit information
submitted to such consumer reporting agencies and is usable by such
agencies.
.
10.Section 8(o) of
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) is amended by adding
at the end the following new paragraph:
(21)
(A)The
Secretary shall, by regulation, establish standards and procedures for
assessing the performance of public housing agencies in carrying out the
programs for tenant-based rental assistance under this subsection and for
homeownership assistance under subsection (y).
(B)The
standards and procedures under this paragraph shall provide for assessment of
the performance of public housing agencies in the following areas:
(i)Extent to which
dwelling units comply with housing quality standards, including compliance with
inspection requirements.
(ii)Extent of
utilization of assistance amounts provided to the agency and of authorized
vouchers, using appropriate adjustments for vouchers set aside to meet
commitments under paragraph (13).
(iii)Timeliness and
accuracy of reporting by the agency to the Secretary.
(iv)Effectiveness in
carrying out policies that result in deconcentration of poverty and reduction
of racial segregation.
(v)Reasonableness of rent burdens, consistent
with public housing agency responsibilities under section
8(o)(1)(E)(iii).
(vi)Accurate calculations of rent, utility
allowances, and subsidy payments.
(vii)Effectiveness in
carrying out family self-sufficiency activities.
(viii)Timeliness of
actions related to landlord participation.
(ix)Compliance with
targeting requirements under section 16(b).
(x)Such other areas
as the Secretary considers appropriate, which may only be established by
regulation.
(C)Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this paragraph, and at least every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary, using the
standards and procedures established under this paragraph, shall—
(i)conduct an
assessment of the performance of each public housing agency carrying out a
program referred to in subparagraph (A);
(ii)make such
assessment available to the public housing agency and to the public via the
website of the Department of Housing and Urban Development; and
(iii)submit a report
to Congress regarding the results of each such assessment.
(D)When
implemented, the performance assessment standards and procedures under this
paragraph shall supercede the Section 8 Management Assessment Program of the
Secretary then in
effect.
.
11.PHA project-based
assistanceSection 8(o)(13) of
the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)) is
amended—
(1)by striking
subparagraph (B) and inserting the following new subparagraph:
(B)
(i)Subject to clause
(ii), not more than 25 percent of the funding available for tenant-based
assistance under this section that is administered by the agency may be
attached to structures pursuant to this paragraph.
(ii)An
agency may attach up to an additional 5 percent of the funding available for
tenant-based assistance under this section to structures pursuant to this
paragraph for dwelling units that house individuals and families that meet the
definition of homeless under section 103 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302), that provide supportive housing to persons
with disabilities, or that are located in areas where vouchers under this
subsection are difficult to use, as specified in subparagraph (D)(ii)(II). The
Secretary may, by regulation, establish additional categories for the exception
under this clause.
;
(2)by striking
subparagraph (D) and inserting the following new subparagraph:
(D)Income mixing
requirement
(i)Except as provided in
clause (ii), not more than the greater of 25 dwelling units or 25 percent of
the dwelling units in any project may be assisted under a housing assistance
payment contract for project-based assistance pursuant to this paragraph. For
purposes of this subparagraph, the term project means a single
building, multiple contiguous buildings, or multiple buildings on contiguous
parcels of land.
(ii)
(I)The limitation under
clause (i) shall not apply in the case of assistance under a contract for
housing consisting of single family properties, or for dwelling units that are
exclusively made available for households comprised of elderly families,
disabled families, and families receiving supportive services for special needs
populations, such as individuals who were formerly homeless. For purposes of
the preceding sentence, the term single family properties means
buildings with no more than four dwelling units.
(II)
- (aa)With respect to areas in which fewer than
75 percent of families issued vouchers become participants in the program, the
public housing agency has established the payment standard at 110 percent of
the fair market rent for all census tracts in the area for the previous six
months, the public housing agency has requested a higher payment standard, and
the public housing agency grants an automatic extension of 90 days (or longer)
to families with vouchers who are attempting to find housing, clause (i) shall
be applied by substituting
40 percent
for 25
percent
; and
- (bb)With respect to census tracts with a
poverty rate of 20 percent or less, clause (i) shall be applied by substituting
50 percent
for 25 percent
and the Secretary may,
by regulation, establish additional
conditions.
;
(3)in subparagraph
(J)—
(A)by striking the fifth and sixth sentences
and inserting the following: A public housing agency may establish and
utilize procedures for maintaining site-based waiting lists under which
applicants may apply directly at, or otherwise designate to the public housing
agency, the project or projects in which they seek to reside, except that all
eligible applicants on the waiting list of an agency for assistance under this
subsection shall be permitted to place their names on such separate list. All
such procedures shall comply with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the
Fair Housing Act, and other applicable civil rights laws. The owner or manager
of a structure assisted under this paragraph shall not admit any family to a
dwelling unit assisted under a contract pursuant to this paragraph other than a
family referred by the public housing agency from its waiting list, or a family
on a site-based waiting list that complies with the requirements of this
subparagraph. A public housing agency shall disclose to each applicant all
other options in the selection of a project in which to reside that are
provided by the public housing agency and are available to the
applicant.
; and
(B)by inserting after the third sentence the
following new sentence: Any family who resides in a dwelling unit
proposed to be assisted under this paragraph, or in a unit to be replaced by a
proposed unit to be assisted under this paragraph shall be given an absolute
preference for selection for placement in the proposed unit, if the family is
otherwise eligible for assistance under this subsection.
; and
(4)by adding at the
end the following new subparagraphs:
(N)Structure owned
by agencyNotwithstanding any
other provision of law, as part of an initiative to improve, develop, or
replace a public housing site, a public housing agency may attach assistance to
an existing, newly constructed, or rehabilitated structure in which the agency
has an ownership interest or which the agency has control of without following
a competitive process, but only if the agency includes such initiative in its
public housing agency plan approved under section 5A and the units that receive
such assistance will not receive assistance under section 9. The preceding
sentence may not be construed to limit the ability of a public housing agency
to attach assistance to structures under other applicable law.
(O)Assistance provided
under this paragraph shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph (7),
except that subparagraph (A) of such paragraph shall not apply. Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, for the term of the contract under this paragraph,
the owner may terminate tenancy only for serious or repeated violations of the
terms and conditions of the lease or for violation of applicable law.
(P)A public housing
agency may, subject to the agreement of the receiving agency, transfer a
portion of its vouchers and related budget authority to a public housing agency
that administers a program under this subsection in another jurisdiction
located in the same or a contiguous metropolitan area or county.
(Q)If a dwelling unit assisted under this paragraph also
receives funding from either of the funds established under section 1338 or
1339 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of
1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568, 4569), the rent for the unit, if agreed upon by both the
public housing agency and the owner, may be established at an amount that is
less than would otherwise be permitted under paragraphs (1)(B) or (10)(A) of
this
section.
.
12.
(a)Section 8(o)(1) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph
(E) and inserting the following new subparagraph:
(E)
(i)The Secretary shall
monitor rent burdens and submit a report to the Congress annually on the
percentage of families assisted under this subsection, occupying dwelling units
of any size, that pay more than 30 percent of their adjusted incomes for rent
and such percentage that pay more than 40 percent of their adjusted incomes for
rent. Using information regularly reported by public housing agencies, the
Secretary shall provide public housing agencies, on an annual basis, a report
with the information described in the first sentence of this clause, and may
require a public housing agency to modify a payment standard that results in a
significant percentage of families assisted under this subsection, occupying
dwelling units of any size, paying more than 30 percent of their adjusted
incomes for rent. In implementing the requirements of this clause, the
Secretary shall separate out calculations and consideration of families whose
rent contributions are calculated under section 3(a)(3) and clauses (ii) and
(iii) of paragraph (2)(A) of this subsection.
(ii)The Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress
annually on the degree to which families assisted under this subsection in each
metropolitan area are clustered in lower rent, higher poverty areas, which
shall include reporting of data by race and ethnicity, and how, and the extent
to which, greater geographic distribution of such assisted families could be
achieved, including by increasing payment standards for particular communities
within such metropolitan areas.
(iii)Public housing
agency responsibilitiesEach
public housing agency shall make publicly available the information on rent
burdens provided by the Secretary pursuant to clause (i), and, for agencies
located in metropolitan areas, the information on concentration provided by the
Secretary pursuant to clause (ii). If a public housing agency has a high degree
of concentration of poverty, as determined under a standard to be developed by
the Secretary in accordance with clause (ii), or if the percentage of families
paying more than 40 percent of their adjusted net income exceeds a percentage
level, to be established by the Secretary, the public housing agency shall
adjust the payment standard to eliminate excessive rent burdens within a
reasonable time period or explain its reasons for not making such adjustment.
The Secretary may not deny the request of a public housing agency to set a
payment standard up to 120 percent of the fair market rent to eliminate
excessive rent burdens in accordance with the preceding sentence, except on the
basis that an agency has not demonstrated that its request meets these
criteria. If a request of a public housing agency has not been denied or
approved with 45 days after the request is made, the request shall be
considered to have been
approved.
.
(b)Public housing
agency planSection 5A(d)(4)
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437c–1(d)(4)) is amended
by inserting before the period at the end the following: “, including the
report with respect to the agency furnished by the Secretary pursuant to
section 8(o)(1)(E) concerning rent burdens and, if applicable, geographic
concentration of voucher holders, any changes in rent or other policies the
public housing agency is making to address excessive rent burdens or
concentration, and if the public housing agency is not adjusting its payment
standard, its reasons for not doing so”.
(c)Rent burdens for
persons with disabilitiesSubparagraph (D) of section 8(o)(1) is
amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: “, except that
a public housing agency may establish a payment standard of not more than 120
percent of the fair market rent where necessary as a reasonable accommodation
for a person with a disability, without approval of the Secretary. A public
housing agency may seek approval of the Secretary to use a payment standard
greater than 120 percent of the fair market rent as a reasonable accommodation
for a person with a disability. In connection with the use of any increased
payment standard established or approved pursuant to either of the preceding
two sentences as a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability, the
Secretary may not establish additional requirements regarding the amount of
adjusted income paid by such person for rent”.
13.Establishment of
fair market rent
(a)Paragraph (1) of section 8(c) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(1)) is amended—
(1)by inserting
(A)
after the paragraph designation;
(2)by striking the
seventh, eighth, and ninth sentences; and
(3)by adding at the
end the following:
(B)(i)The Secretary shall define market areas for
purposes of this paragraph in areas sufficiently distinct as is
necessary—
(I)to establish fair market rentals that
accurately reflect typical rental costs of units suitable for occupancy by
persons assisted under this section in communities in metropolitan and
non-metropolitan areas (including low poverty areas); and
(II)to avoid concentration of voucher
holders;
while taking into consideration the factors specified
in clause (ii).(ii)The factors specified in this clause
are—
(I)the efficient administration of the
program by public housing agencies and the administrative costs of the
Secretary of establishing additional areas;
(II)the availability of data for a
sufficient number of dwelling units to establish accurate fair market rentals;
and
(III)the ability of public housing
agencies to adjust the payment standard to more accurately reflect typical
rental costs.
(iii)The Secretary shall establish
procedures to permit a public housing agency to request the establishment of a
separate market areas for either all or contiguous parts of the areas under the
jurisdiction of such agency. The Secretary shall consider and approve any such
request using the criteria established in clause (i) and the considerations
under clause (ii).
(iv)The Secretary shall not reduce the
fair market rental in a market area as a result of a change in the percentile
of the distribution of market rents used to establish the fair market
rental.
(v)The Secretary shall phase in large
increases or decreases in the fair market rentals that result from changes in
market area boundaries or other methodological changes that do not reflect
actual year-to-year trends in rents by limiting such increases or decreases to
not more than 5 percent each
year.
.
(b)Subparagraph (B) of section 8(o)(1) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(1)(B)) is amended by inserting before
the period at the end the following: , except that no public housing
agency shall be required as a result of a reduction in the fair market rental
to reduce the payment standard applied to a family continuing to reside in a
unit for which the family was receiving assistance under this section at the
time the fair market rental was reduced
.
14.
(a)Subparagraph (B) of
section 8(o)(6) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (1437f(o)(6)(B)) is
amended—
(1)by striking
(B) Selection of
tenants.—Each
and inserting the following:
(B)
(i)Each
;
(2)in the first
sentence, by striking unit)
and inserting
unit
;
(3)by striking
In addition
and inserting the following:
(ii)In
addition
;
(4)by inserting after
establish.
the following: A public housing agency’s
elective screening shall be limited to criteria that are directly related to an
applicant’s ability to fulfill the obligations of an assisted lease and shall
consider mitigating circumstances related to such applicant. The requirements
of the preceding sentence shall not limit the ability of a public housing
agency to deny assistance based on an applicant’s criminal background or any
other permissible grounds for denial under subtitle F of title V of the Quality
Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13661 et seq.; relating
to safety and security in public and assisted housing), subject to the
procedural requirements of this section. Any applicant or participant
determined to be ineligible for admission or continued participation to the
program shall be notified of the basis for such determination and provided,
within a reasonable time after the determination, an opportunity for an
informal hearing on such determination at which mitigating circumstances,
including remedial conduct subsequent to the conduct that is the basis of such
determination, shall be considered.
; and
(5)by adding at the
end the following:
(iii)Existing
assisted familiesFamilies
being provided enhanced vouchers pursuant to subsection (t), families receiving
assistance under this Act that are subsequently provided tenant-based
assistance pursuant to subsection (dd)(1)(B), and families residing in
multifamily housing subject to a mortgage insured under the National Housing
Act that are provided tenant-based assistance pursuant to subsection
(dd)(1)(B)(xiv) of this section shall not be considered new applicants under
this paragraph and shall not be subject to elective re-screening by a public
housing
agency.
.
(b)Subparagraph (E) of
section 8(o)(7) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437f(o)(7)(E)) is amended by inserting termination or
after
any
the last place such term appears.
(c)Section 576 of the Quality Housing and Work
Responsibility Act of 1998 (42 U.S.C. 13661) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(b)—
(A)by striking
paragraph (2);
(B)in paragraph
(1)—
(i)in
subparagraph (A), by inserting , based on documented evidence that is
credible and objective,
after determines
;
(ii)in
subparagraph (B), by striking that it has reasonable
and all
that follows through by other residents
and inserting ,
based on documented evidence that is credible and objective, is a chronic
abuser of alcohol, and who is not currently participating in a supervised
alcohol rehabilitation program
; and
(iii)by
redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) (as so amended) as paragraphs (1) and
(2) and realigning such paragraphs, as so redesignated, so as to be indented 2
ems from the left margin; and
(C)by striking the
subsection designation and all that follows through
Notwithstanding
in paragraph (1) and inserting the
following:
(b)Ineligibility of
illegal drug users and alcohol abusersNotwithstanding
;
and
(2)in subsection
(c)—
(A)in the section
heading, by inserting certain
before criminal
;
(B)in the matter that
precedes paragraph (1)—
(i)by inserting , based on documented
evidence that is credible and objective,
after
determines
;
(ii)by
striking a reasonable time
and inserting the 5-year
period
; and
(iii)by
striking or other criminal activity
;
(C)in paragraph (2),
by striking reasonable
each place such term appears and
inserting 5-year
; and
(D)by adding after
and below paragraph (2) the following:
No denial
of admission may be made pursuant to this subsection based on a misdemeanor
charge and conviction unless such denial is based on a pattern of activity, the
commission of any offense against a child (including child pornography
offenses), the commission of any offense involving a child victim, the
commission of a sexual assault, the commission of an assault, or the commission
of violent, disruptive (as such term is defined by the Secretary), or illegal
behavior that interferes with the right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises
by other
residents..
15.
(a)Qualification;
election To remain in unitSection 8(t)(1) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(t)(1)(B)) is amended—
(1)in the matter
preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting and shall not require that the
family requalify under the selection standards for a public housing agency in
order to be eligible for such assistance
before the comma; and
(2)by striking
subparagraph (B) and inserting the following new subparagraph:
(B)(i)the assisted family may
elect to remain in the same project in which the family was residing on the
date of the eligibility event for the project regardless of unit and family
size standards normally used by the administering public housing agency (except
that tenants may be required to move to units of appropriate size if available
on the premises), and the owner of the unit shall accept the enhanced voucher
and terminate the tenancy only for serious or repeated violation of the terms
and conditions of the lease or for violation of applicable law; and
(ii)if, during any period the family
makes such an election and continues to so reside, the rent for the dwelling
unit of the family in such project exceeds the applicable payment standard
established pursuant to subsection (o) for the unit, the amount of rental
assistance provided on behalf of the family shall be determined using a payment
standard that is equal to the rent for the dwelling unit (as such rent may be
increased from time-to-time), subject to paragraph (10)(A) of subsection (o)
and any other reasonable limit prescribed by the Secretary, except that a limit
shall not be considered reasonable for purposes of this subparagraph if it
adversely affects such assisted
families;
.
(b)Provision to
residents of assisted multifamily projects upon termination date
(1)Upon the termination date for each assisted
multifamily housing project, to the extent that amounts for assistance under
this paragraph are provided in advance in appropriation Acts, the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development shall make enhanced voucher assistance under
section 8(t) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(t))
available on behalf of each family described in paragraph (2).
(2)A
family described in this paragraph is a family who—
(A)(i)is a low-income family;
or
(ii)is a moderate-income family that
is—
(I)an elderly family (as such term is used
in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437a(b)));
(II)a disabled family (as such term is used
in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)));
or
(III)residing in a low-vacancy area (as
determined by the Secretary); and
(B)on such
termination date, is residing in a dwelling unit of the project that—
(i)immediately before
such termination date was assisted under the multifamily housing subsidy
program for the project; and
(ii)is
not assisted after such termination date under section 8 of such Act.
(3)Section 8(t)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(t)(2)) is amended by adding after the period at the end the
following new sentence: Such term includes, with respect to an assisted
multifamily housing project (as such term is defined in section 15(b) of the
Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of
2011), the occurrence of the termination date for the
project.
.
(4)For
purposes of this subsection, the following definitions shall apply:
(A)Assisted
multifamily housing propertyThe term assisted multifamily
housing property means a multifamily housing project for which
assistance is provided under a multifamily housing subsidy program.
(B)The term low-income family has the meaning
given such term in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437a(b)).
(C)The term moderate-income family has the
meaning given such term in section 229 of the Low-Income Housing Preservation
and Resident Homeownership Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4119).
(D)Multifamily
housing subsidy programThe term multifamily housing
subsidy program means—
(i)the
below-market interest rate mortgage insurance program under section 221(d)(3)
of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715l(d)(3)); and
(ii)the
program for interest reduction payments under section 236 of the National
Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1715z–1).
(E)The term termination date means, with respect
to an assisted multifamily housing property, the date that—
(i)the
mortgage for the property that is insured under the below-market interest rate
program under section 221(d)(3) of the National Housing Act, or for which
interest reduction payments are made under section 236 of such Act, matures;
and
(ii)the
affordability restrictions applicable to the property because of assistance for
the property pursuant to a multifamily housing subsidy program terminate with
respect to the property.
(5)The
Secretary may issue any regulations necessary to carry out this
subsection.
(c)Provision to
certain assisted housing residents
(1)Enhanced voucher
assistanceNotwithstanding
any other provision of law, contract, or covenant, and subject only to the
availability of amounts provided in advance in appropriation Acts—
(A)upon the expiration, pursuant to
subparagraph (B), of the use restrictions applicable to the covered properties
pursuant to the Emergency Low Income Housing Preservation Act of 1987 (12
U.S.C. 1715l note), each family who is an eligible low-income or moderate
income family, as such terms are used for purposes of section 223(f)(2)(A) of
the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1990 (12
U.S.C. 4113(f)(2)(A)), and, as of such expiration, is residing in a dwelling
unit in the covered properties not covered by project-based rental assistance,
shall be offered enhanced voucher assistance under section 8(t) of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(t)), and each such family who
chooses to remain in the covered properties shall have three years from the
date of the issuance of such enhanced voucher to commence use of the
voucher;
(B)such use
restrictions applicable to the covered properties shall be deemed to expire on
March 1, 2012, but only if the owner of the covered properties enters into
agreements with the Secretary to maintain the project-based rental assistance
for the properties for a period beginning upon such expiration of not fewer
than 20 years; and
(C)the contract rents for dwelling units in
the covered properties covered by project-based rental assistance shall be
determined during the period ending upon the expiration of such use
restrictions pursuant to subparagraph (B) based upon the rents for comparable
unassisted and unrestricted units in the area in which the covered properties
are located; except that before May 1, 2015, the rental assistance payments for
such project-based units in the covered property known as Georgetowne Houses II
shall be restricted to the rent levels provided under the Emergency Low Income
Housing Preservation Act of 1987.
(2)For purposes of
this subsection, the term covered properties
means the housing
developments known as Georgetowne Houses I and II (formerly identified by FHA
project nos. 023–55058 and 023–55179), located in Boston, Massachusetts.
(3)Amounts for the enhanced vouchers pursuant
to this subsection shall be provided under amounts appropriated for
tenant-based rental assistance otherwise authorized under section 8(t) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937.
(4)This
subsection shall take effect upon enactment and nothing in this subsection may
be construed to require any administrative guidance.
16.Demonstration
program waiver authority
(a)Authority To
enter into agreementsNotwithstanding any other provision of law,
the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development may enter into such agreements
as may be necessary with the Social Security Administration and the Secretary
of Health and Human Services to allow for the participation, in any
demonstration program described in subsection (c), by the Department of Housing
and Urban Development and the use under such program of housing choice vouchers
under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437f(o)).
(b)Waiver of income
requirementsThe Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development may, to extent necessary to allow rental
assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 to be
provided on behalf of persons described in subsection (c) who participate in a
demonstration program described in such subsection, and to allow such persons
to be placed on a waiting list for such assistance, partially or wholly
disregard increases in earned income for the purpose of rent calculations under
section 3 for such persons.
(c)A demonstration program described in this subsection is
a demonstration program of a State that provides for persons with significant
disabilities to be employed and continue to receive benefits under programs of
the Department of Health and Human Services and the Social Security
Administration, including the program of supplemental security income benefits
under title XVI of the Social Security Act, disability insurance benefits under
title II of such Act, and the State program for medical assistance (Medicaid)
under title XIX of such Act.
17.Authorization of
appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated for fiscal year 2012 the amount necessary to
provide public housing agencies with incremental assistance under section 8(o)
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) sufficient to
assist 150,000 incremental dwelling units in such fiscal year, for—
(1)tenant-based
assistance; and
(2)project-based
voucher assistance for extremely low-income families, in conjunction
with—
(A)funding from either of the funds
established under section 1338 or 1339 of the Federal Housing Enterprises
Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568, 4569);
(B)low-income housing
tax credits provided under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986;
(C)amounts provided
under the community development block grant program under title I of the
Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.) and the
HOME investment partnerships program under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.); and
(D)State and local
affordable housing funds and programs.
18.Agency authority
for utility payments in certain circumstancesSection 8(o) of the United States Housing
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), as amended by the preceding provisions of
this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
(22)Authority of
public housing agencies to make direct payments for utilities when owner fails
to pay
(A)If the owner has failed to pay for utilities that are the
responsibility of the owner under the lease or applicable law, the public
housing agency is authorized to utilize subsidy payments otherwise due the
owner to pay for continued utility service to avoid hardship to program
participants.
(B)Before
making utility payments as described in subparagraph (A), the public housing
agency shall take reasonable steps to notify the owner that it intends to make
payments to a utility provider in lieu of payments to the owner, except prior
notification shall not be required in any case in which the unit will be or has
been rendered uninhabitable due to the termination or threat of termination of
service, in which case the public housing agency shall notify the owner within
a reasonable time after making such
payment.
.
19.Section 8(o) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o), as amended by the
preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the
following new paragraph:
(23)
(A)The Secretary shall regularly publish such
data regarding utility consumption and costs in local areas as the Secretary
determines will be useful for the establishment of allowances for tenant-paid
utilities for families assisted under this subsection.
(B)The Secretary shall establish guidelines providing for the
use of such data in a manner that—
(i)avoids unnecessary
administrative burdens for public housing agencies; and
(ii)protects families
in various unit sizes and building types, and using various utilities, from
high rent and utility cost burdens relative to
income.
.
20.Project-based
preservation vouchers
(a)Section 8(t) of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(t)) is amended—
(1)by redesignating
paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and
(2)by inserting after
paragraph (3) the following new paragraph:
(4)Preservation
project-based voucher assistanceNotwithstanding any other
provision of law, in the case of a multifamily housing project with respect to
which an eligibility event occurs or has occurred, project-based voucher
assistance may be provided in accordance with subsection (o)(13)(R) in lieu of
enhanced voucher assistance under this subsection. Such project-based voucher
assistance shall not be subject to the provisions of this subsection, except as
otherwise specifically provided in subsection
(o)(13)(R).
.
(b)PHA
project-Based voucher assistanceParagraph (13) of section 8(o)
of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)), as amended
by the preceding provisions of this Act, is further amended by adding at the
end the following new subparagraph:
(R)
(i)Project-based voucher assistance under this
paragraph shall be made available in accordance with this subparagraph for
multifamily housing projects for which an eligibility event (as such term is
defined in subsection (t)) occurs or has occurred and for which enhanced
voucher assistance would otherwise be, or has been, provided under subsection
(t). Any such assistance shall be in lieu of enhanced voucher assistance under
subsection (t) for tenants residing in the project and shall be provided by the
Secretary to a public housing agency.
(ii)If the owner of a
multifamily housing project makes a request for project-based voucher
assistance pursuant to this subparagraph for the project to a public housing
agency that administers a program for assistance under subsection (o) for a
jurisdiction within which the project is located, a contract for assistance
under this subparagraph shall be provided with respect to the project, subject
to clause (v).
(iii)Timing,
coverage, and unit rents
(I)Request made
before eligibility eventIn
the case of a contract for assistance under this subparagraph with respect to a
project that is requested prior to the occurrence of the eligibility event, the
contract for assistance shall be provided, subject to clause (v), upon the
occurrence of the eligibility event. Such contract shall cover all dwelling
units in the project for which enhanced voucher assistance under subsection (t)
would otherwise be provided.
(II)Request made
after issuance of enhanced vouchersIn the case of a contract for
assistance under this subparagraph with respect to a project that is requested
after the issuance of enhanced vouchers under subsection (t) for the project,
the contract shall be provided, subject to clause (v), as soon as possible.
Such contract shall cover all dwelling units in the project that are occupied
by tenants receiving such enhanced voucher assistance at the time the contract
is effective.
(III)Coverage of
additional dwelling unitsAt
the request of the owner of a multifamily housing project for which a contract
for assistance is to be provided under this subparagraph, the public housing
agency may contract with the owner for project-based voucher assistance under
this subparagraph to cover additional dwelling units, if the public housing
agency determines that such additional assistance is necessary or desirable to
further the purposes reflected in clause (v).
(IV)At the request
of the owner of a multifamily housing project for a contract for assistance
under this subparagraph to establish rents at levels above those permitted by
subparagraph (H), a public housing agency that has made the determinations
required by clause (v) may request, and the Secretary may approve, higher unit
rents if necessary to preserve housing opportunities that further the purposes
of clause (v).
(iv)Projects in
multiple PHA jurisdictionsIf
the Secretary has not entered into a contract with a public housing agency to
provide enhanced voucher assistance under subsection (t) for the project at the
time the owner of a multifamily housing project requests assistance under this
subparagraph, and the project is located within the jurisdiction for the
program under subsection (o) of more than one public housing agency, in
determining which agency will administer such assistance, the Secretary
shall—
(I)consider the ratio of the number of
vouchers to be awarded under this subparagraph and of other project-based
vouchers administered under this paragraph to the total number of vouchers
administered by an agency; and
(II)among other
factors, provide preference to an agency for which the total number of
project-based vouchers administered under this paragraph, including vouchers to
be awarded pursuant to this subparagraph, would not exceed 50 percent of the
total number of all vouchers to be administered by the agency after such
award.
The Secretary
shall establish guidelines for determining which agency will administer
assistance if a unit is not located within the jurisdiction of any public
housing agency that administers vouchers.(v)As a condition of entering into a contract
pursuant to this subparagraph, the public housing agency shall have determined,
before entering into such contract that—
(I)the housing to be
assisted under the contract is economically viable; and
(II)- (aa)there is a significant
demand for the housing;
- (bb)the housing will contribute to a
community revitalization plan or to deconcentrating poverty and expanding
housing and economic opportunities; or
- (cc)the continued affordability of the
housing otherwise is an important asset to the community.
(vi)Subparagraph (C) shall not apply to a housing assistance
payment contract pursuant to this subparagraph.
(vii)Disregard of
assistance under percentage limitationAmounts provided pursuant
to this subparagraph shall not be considered for purposes of calculating the
limitation under subparagraph (B).
(viii)Inapplicability
of income-mixing requirementSubparagraph (D) shall not apply
with respect to a housing assistance payments contract pursuant to this
subparagraph.
(ix)Subject
only to clause (iii) and notwithstanding any other provision of law, any family
residing in a multifamily housing project on the date of the eligibility event
for the project who would otherwise be eligible for enhanced voucher assistance
under subsection (t) shall be eligible for project-based voucher assistance
pursuant to this
subparagraph.
.
21.Effect of
foreclosure on section 8 tenancies
(a)Use of rental
assistance amountsSection
8(o)(7) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(7)), as
amended by section 703 of division A of Public Law 111–22 (123 Stat. 1661), is
amended—
(1)in subparagraph
(F), by inserting after occupied unit,
the
following:
and if a public housing agency is
unable to make payments under the contract to the immediate successor in
interest after foreclosure, due to action or inaction by the successor in
interest, including the rejection of payments or the failure of the successor
to maintain the unit in compliance with paragraph (8), or an inability to
identify the successor, the agency may use funds that would have been used to
pay the rental amount on behalf of the family—(i)to
pay for utilities that are the responsibility of the owner under the lease or
applicable law, after taking reasonable steps to notify the owner that it
intends to make payments to a utility provider in lieu of payments to the
owner, except prior notification shall not be required in any case in which the
unit will be or has been rendered uninhabitable due to the termination or
threat of termination of service, in which case the public housing agency shall
notify the owner within a reasonable time after making such payment; or
(ii)for the family’s
reasonable moving costs, including security deposit
costs.
;
(2)by striking
except that this provision and the provisions related to foreclosure in
subparagraph (C) shall not
in subparagraph (F) and inserting the
following:
The
provisions related to foreclosure in subparagraphs (C) and
(F);
and
(3)in the matter
after and below subparagraph (F), as amended by paragraph (2) of this
subsection, by adding after the period at the end the following: For
purposes of subparagraphs (C) and (F), the term immediate successor in
interest includes a purchaser who purchases a property from an immediate
successor in interest.
.
(b)Section
704 of division A of the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (42 U.S.C. 1437f
note; Public Law 111–22; 123 Stat. 1662) is amended—
(1)by striking
This title, and any amendments made by this title are
and
inserting Section 702 is
; and
(2)by striking
this title
and inserting such section
.
22.Study to
identify obstacles to using vouchers in federally subsidized housing
projects
(a)The
Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study of (1) the
housing voucher program authorized under section 8(o) of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), and (2) other federally subsidized
housing programs, to determine whether any statutory, regulatory, or
administrative provisions of the housing voucher program or of other federally
subsidized housing programs, or policies and practices of housing owners or
public housing agencies or other agencies, may have the effect of making
occupancy by voucher holders in federally subsidized housing projects more
difficult to obtain than occupancy by non-voucher holders. In conducting the
study required under this subsection the Comptroller General shall determine if
any gaps exist in the statute, regulations, or administration of the housing
voucher program or of other federally subsidized housing programs and policies
and practices of housing owners or public housing agencies or other agencies
that, if addressed, could eliminate or reduce obstacles to voucher holders in
seeking occupancy in federally subsidized housing projects. Such study shall
include data on the use of housing vouchers in federally subsidized housing
projects.
(b)As
used in this section, the term federally subsidized housing
projects includes projects assisted pursuant to the HOME investment
partnerships program under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.) and those projects receiving
the benefit of low-income housing credits under section 42 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 42).
(c)Not
later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller
General shall report to Congress the findings from the study required under
subsection (a) and any recommendations for statutory, regulatory, or
administrative changes.
23.Interagency Council
on Homelessness
(a)Section 202(e) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11312), as amended by section 1004 of division B of
Public Law 111–22, is amended by striking Chairman
and inserting
Chairperson
.
(b)Section
203 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11313), as amended
by section 1004 of Public Law 111–22, is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a)—
(A)in paragraph (13),
by striking paragraph (7)
and inserting paragraph
(10)
;
(B)by redesignating paragraphs (6), (7), (8),
(9) (as added by section 1004(a)(3)(D) of Public Law 111–22; 123 Stat. 1667),
(9) (as so redesignated by section 1004(a)(3)(A) of Public Law 111–22; 123
Stat. 1667), (10), (11), (12), and (13) as paragraphs (9), (10), (11), (12),
(13), (14), (15), (16), and (17) respectively;
(C)in paragraph (1),
by inserting which shall set forth actions to accomplish the goal of
ending homelessness,
after National Strategic Plan to End
Homelessness,
;
(D)in paragraph (3),
by inserting before the semicolon at the end the following: and ensure
that related programs and activities to assist homeless individuals of Federal
agencies are coordinated with each other
; and
(E)by inserting after paragraph (5) the
following new paragraphs:
(6)make recommendations, in the reports
submitted pursuant to subsection (c) on—
(A)long-term goals
for the Congress to reduce homelessness; and
(B)legislative
strategies for the Congress to achieve such goals;
(7)evaluate the Federal role in interacting
and coordinating with State and local entities that address
homelessness;
(8)conduct research
and develop methods—
(A)through
consultation with State and local agencies, to improve coordination between the
Council and Federal agencies in existence upon the date of enactment of the
Interagency Council on Homelessness Reform
Act of 2011 that specifically deal with homelessness; and
(B)to minimize the
period during which individuals remain
homeless;
;
and
(2)in subsection (c),
by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
(3)The Council shall
prepare and transmit to the President and the Congress a biennial report
detailing the efforts of the Council to address homelessness.
(4)The Council shall make each report submitted to the
Congress pursuant to paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection, and the
national plan and updates of such plan submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of
subsection (a), publicly available, including through posting on a World Wide
Web site maintained by the
Council.
.
(c)Authorization of
appropriationsSection 208 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless
Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11318), as amended by section 1004 of division B of
Public Law 111–22, is amended by striking fiscal years 2011
and
inserting each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016
.
24.Study of effects
of section 8 program on HUD budget and programsThe Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study to identify and analyze the effects that the rental
assistance program under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437f) has on the other programs administered by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development and on the overall budget for the Department of
Housing and Urban Development. Not later than the expiration of the 6-month
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller
General shall submit a report to the Congress setting forth the results and
conclusions of the study under this section.
25.Housing innovation
program
(a)Title I of the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.) is amended by adding at the
end the following new section:
37.Housing
innovation program
(a)The
purpose of this section is to establish a program under which public housing
agencies are given the flexibility to design, and the Secretary is given the
responsibility to evaluate, innovative approaches to providing housing
assistance that—
(1)increase housing
opportunities for low-, very low-, and extremely low-income families, including
preserving, modernizing, rehabilitating, reconfiguring, or replacing public
housing at risk of physical deterioration or obsolescence, developing
additional affordable housing, providing supportive housing, and increasing the
number of families receiving tenant-based rental assistance;
(2)provide financial
incentives and other support mechanisms to families to obtain employment and
increase earned income, and achieve economic self-sufficiency, while protecting
very low- and extremely low-income families from increased rent burdens;
(3)utilize funds in a
more effective or cost-efficient manner, including achieving energy,
administrative, and other cost savings;
(4)leverage other
Federal, State, and local funding sources, including the low-income housing tax
credit program, to expand and preserve affordable housing opportunities,
including public housing;
(5)test alternative
rent-setting policies to determine whether rent determinations can be
simplified and administrative cost savings can be realized while protecting
extremely low- and very low-income families from increased rent burdens;
(6)are subject to
rigorous evaluation to test the effectiveness of such innovative approaches;
and
(7)are developed with
the support of the local community and with the substantial participation of
affected residents.
(b)
(1)
(A)Priority
strategy agenciesThe
Secretary shall carry out a housing innovation program under this section under
which the Secretary shall designate such number of public housing agencies,
which shall not exceed 60, to participate in the housing innovation program as
may be necessary, in conjunction with agencies approved for continued program
participation pursuant to subsection (c), to demonstrate the effectiveness of
the priority strategies identified in subsection (d)(2).
(B)Additional
program agenciesThe Secretary shall also designate such number
of additional agencies, which shall not exceed 20, to participate in the
program under the terms of subsection (i) as may be necessary to demonstrate
other innovative strategies as the Secretary or applicants may propose.
(C)Transfer of
existing MTW agenciesThe Secretary shall also approve and
transfer into the program existing MTW agencies pursuant to subsection
(c).
(2)The Secretary may carry out the housing
innovation program under this section only during the 10-year period beginning
on the date of the enactment of the Section 8
Voucher Reform Act of 2011.
(c)Participation of
existing MTW agencies
(1)Subject to the
requirements of paragraph (2), all existing MTW agencies shall be designated to
participate in the program.
(2)Conditions of
participationThe Secretary
shall approve and transfer into the housing innovation program under this
section each existing MTW agency that the Secretary determines—
(A)is not in default
under such agreement;
(B)is meeting the
goals and objectives of its moving to work plan; and
(C)with respect to
any agency that has been audited by the Inspector General of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development and that the Inspector General has determined was
not complying with program rules, is currently complying with such rules; the
Secretary shall provide an agency that the Secretary determines is not in
compliance a reasonable period of time to achieve such compliance.
(3)Any agency approved for transfer into the housing
innovation program may, at its option, be subject to the provisions of
subsection (d)(3), in lieu of an agreement currently in place with the
Secretary for participation in the Moving to Work program. Each agency shall,
within two years after the date of the enactment of the
Section 8 Voucher Reform Act of
2011, make changes to its policies that were implemented before
such date of enactment in order to comply with the requirements of this
section. Existing MTW agencies shall not be required to comply with any
requirements under subsection (d).
(d)
(1)Proposals;
selection processIn addition
to agencies participating in the program pursuant to subsection (c), the
Secretary shall, within 12 months after such date of enactment, select public
housing agencies to participate in the program pursuant to a competitive
process that meets the following requirements:
(A)Any public housing agency may be selected
to participate in the program, except that not more than 5 agencies that are
near-troubled under the public housing assessment system and/or section 8
management assessment program may be selected, and except that any agency that
is a troubled agency under either such assessment program or for which the
Secretary has hired an alternative management entity for such agency or has
taken possession of all or any part of such agency’s public housing program
shall not be eligible for participation. Any near-troubled public housing
agency participating in the program shall remain subject to the requirements of
this Act governing tenant rent contributions, eligibility, and continued
participation, and may not adopt policies described in subsection (e)(4)
(relating to rents and requirements for continued occupation and
participation).
(B)The process provides, to the extent
possible based on eligible agencies submitting applications and taking into
account existing MTW agencies participating pursuant to subsection (c), for
representation among agencies selected of agencies having various
characteristics, including both large and small agencies, agencies serving
urban, suburban, and rural areas, and agencies in various geographical regions
throughout the United States, and which may include the selection of agencies
that only administer the voucher program under section 8(o).
(C)Any agency
submitting a proposal under this paragraph shall have provided notice to
residents and the local community, not later than 30 days before the first of
the two public meetings required under subparagraph (D).
(D)The agency
submitting a proposal shall hold two public meetings to receive comments on the
agency’s proposed application, on the implications of changes under the
proposal, and the possible impact on residents.
(E)The process
includes criteria for selection, as follows:
(i)The extent to
which—
(I)if proposal is for
the purpose of carrying out the priority strategy under paragraph (2)(A) of
this subsection, the proposal is likely to achieve the purposes of increasing
housing opportunities for low-, very low-, and extremely low-income families,
including preserving, modernizing, rehabilitating, reconfiguring, or replacing
public housing at risk of physical deterioration or obsolescence, developing
additional affordable housing, providing supportive housing, or increasing the
number of families receiving tenant-based rental assistance, or a combination
of these purposes;
(II)if the proposal is for the purpose of
carrying out the priority strategy under paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection,
the proposal is likely to achieve the purposes of families obtaining
employment, increasing earned income, or achieving economic self-sufficiency,
while protecting extremely low- and very low-income families from increased
rent burdens;
(III)if the proposal
is for the purpose of carrying out an innovative strategy under paragraph
(2)(C) of this subsection, the proposal is likely to utilize funds in a more
effective or cost-efficient manner, including achieving energy, administrative,
or other cost-savings; or
(IV)if the proposal
is for the purpose of carrying out an innovative strategy pursuant to
subsection (b)(1)(B), the proposal is likely to achieve the goals and
objectives of such strategy.
(ii)The extent to
which the proposal generally identifies statutory provisions and existing rules
and regulations that impede achievement of the goals and objectives of the
proposal and an explanation of why a waiver of such statutory provisions,
rules, and regulations is necessary to achieve such goals and
objectives.
(iii)The extent to
which the agency has a successful history of implementing or has expertise in
strategies similar to those set forth in the agency’s proposal.
(iv)The extent of
commitment and funding for carrying out the proposal by local and State
government agencies and nonprofit organizations, including the provision of
additional funding and other services, and the extent of support for the
proposal by residents, resident advisory boards, and members of the local
community.
(v)Such other factors
as the Secretary may establish, in consultation with participating agencies and
agencies interested in participating in the program, program stakeholders, and
any entity conducting evaluations pursuant to subsection (f).
(2)For purposes of the first sentence of paragraph
(b)(1), the following are priority strategies:
(A)Increasing
housing opportunitiesA
strategy of development of increasing housing opportunities for low-, very
low-, and extremely low-income families, including preserving, modernizing,
rehabilitating, reconfiguring, or replacing public housing at risk of physical
deterioration or obsolescence, developing additional affordable housing,
providing supportive housing, or increasing the number of families receiving
tenant-based rental assistance, or a combination of these purposes, and which
may include leveraging other Federal, State, and local funding sources.
(B)Rent reforms and
family self-sufficiencyA strategy to implement rent reforms and
other self-sufficiency incentives or resources, which shall be designed to help
families obtain employment, increase their earned income, or achieve economic
self-sufficiency, while protecting extremely low- and very low-income families
from increased rent burdens.
(C)A strategy to utilize funds in a more
effective or cost-efficient manner, including achieving energy, administrative,
or other cost-savings.
(3)After selecting
agencies under this subsection, the Secretary shall promptly amend the
applicable annual contributions contracts of such agencies to provide
that—
(A)subject to
compliance with all program rules under this section, such agencies may
implement any policies and activities that are not inconsistent with this
section, without specifying such policies and activities in such amendment and
without negotiating or entering into any other agreements with the Secretary
specifying such policies and activities; and
(B)the policies and
activities to be implemented by an agency under the program in a given year
shall be described in and subject to the requirements of the annual plan under
subsection (e)(11).
(4)Maintaining
participation rateIf, at any time after the initial selection
period under paragraph (1), the number of public housing agencies participating
in the program falls below the number selected pursuant to paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall promptly solicit applications from and select public housing
agencies to participate in the program under the terms and conditions for
application and selection provided in this section to increase the number of
participating agencies to the number initially selected pursuant to paragraph
(1).
(e)
(1)
(A)To carry out a
housing innovation program under this section, the participating agency may use
amounts provided to the agency from the Operating Fund under section 9(e),
amounts provided to the agency from the Capital Fund under section 9(d), and
amounts provided to the agency for voucher assistance under section 8(o). Such
program funds may be used for any activities that are authorized by section
8(o) or 9, or for other activities that are not inconsistent with this section,
which may include, without limitation—
(i)providing capital
and operating assistance, and financing for housing previously developed or
operated pursuant to a contract between the Secretary and such agency;
(ii)the acquisition,
new construction, rehabilitation, financing, and provision of capital or
operating assistance for low-income housing (including housing other than
public housing) and related facilities, which may be for terms exceeding the
term of the program under this section in order to secure other financing for
such housing;
(iii)costs of site
acquisition and improvement, providing utility services, demolition, planning,
and administration of activities under this paragraph;
(iv)housing
counseling for low-income families in connection with rental or homeownership
assistance provided under the program;
(v)safety, security,
law enforcement, and anti-crime activities appropriate to protect and support
families assisted under the program;
(vi)tenant-based
rental assistance, which may include the project-basing of such
assistance;
(vii)appropriate and
reasonable financial assistance that is required to preserve low-income housing
otherwise assisted under programs administered by the Secretary or under State
or local low-income housing or public housing programs; and
(viii)family
self-sufficiency activities for low-income families in connection with rental
or homeownership assistance provided under the program.
(B)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a participating
agency may combine and use program funds for any activities authorized under
this section, except that a participating agency may use funds provided for
assistance under section 8(o) for activities other than those authorized under
section 8(o) only if (i) in the calendar year prior to its participation in the
program, the agency utilized not less than 95 percent of such funds allocated
for that calendar year for such authorized activities or 95 percent of its
authorized vouchers; or (ii) after approval to participate in the program, the
agency achieves such utilization for a 12-month period. Such limitation shall
not apply to participating agencies approved by the Secretary to combine funds
from sections 8 and 9 of the Act prior to enactment of this section. A public
housing agency that uses funds provided from assistance under section 8(o) for
activities not authorized under such subsection may not terminate assistance to
families assisted under such subsection on the grounds of inadequate funding to
the extent such inadequacy is caused by such use of funds for purposes not
authorized under section 8(o).
(2)In carrying out the housing innovation program under this
section, each participating agency shall continue to assist—
(A)not less than
substantially the same number of eligible low-income families under the program
as it assisted in the base year for the agency; and
(B)a comparable mix
of families by family size, subject to adjustment to reflect changes in the
agency’s waiting list, except that the Secretary may approve exceptions to such
requirements for up to 3 years based on modernization or redevelopment
activities proposed in an annual plan submitted and approved in accordance with
paragraph (11).
Determinations with respect to the
number of families required to be served shall be adjusted to reflect any
allocation of additional vouchers under section 8(o), any change in annual
voucher proration factor, or such other appropriate adjustments as the
Secretary may establish. For purposes of subparagraphs (A) and (B), the term
base year means, with respect to existing MTW agencies, the first
full calendar year prior to approval for entry into the moving to work
demonstration. The Secretary shall monitor and enforce compliance with the
requirements of subparagraph (A) on an annual basis.(3)Each agency that is approved for program participation
pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (B) of subsection (b)(1) shall comply with all
provisions of this Act except those statutory provisions and existing rules and
regulations generally identified in the application for participation in the
program, except that the Secretary may approve requests by an agency to waive
compliance with other statutes, regulations, and rules pursuant to this Act,
consistent with other program rules, if the Secretary determines that such a
request would further the goals and objectives identified in the application
for participation in the program (taking into consideration public and resident
input pursuant to the procedure under paragraph (4)) or would further the
purposes identified in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of subsection (f)(1).
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, families receiving
assistance under this section shall retain the same rights of judicial review
of agency action as they would otherwise have had if the agency were not
participating in the program, and each participating agency, including existing
MTW agencies that are approved for transfer into the program pursuant to
subsection (c), shall comply with the following provisions of this Act:
(A)Subsections
(a)(2)(A) and (b)(1) of section 16 (relating to targeting for new admissions in
the public housing and voucher programs).
(B)Section 2(b)
(relating to tenant representatives on the public housing agency board of
directors).
(C)Section 3(b)(2)
(relating to definitions for the terms low-income families and
very low-income families).
(D)Section 5(A)(e)
(relating to the formation of and consultation with a resident advisory
board).
(E)Sections 6(f)(1)
and 8(o)(8)(B) (relating to compliance of units assisted with housing quality
standards or other codes).
(F)Sections 6(c)(3),
6(c)(4)(i), and 8(o)(6)(B) (relating to rights of public housing applicants and
existing procedural rights for applicants under section 8(o)).
(G)Section 6(k)
(relating to grievance procedures for public housing tenants) and comparable
procedural rights for families assisted under section 8(o).
(H)Section 6(l)
(relating to public housing lease requirements), except that for units assisted
both with program funds and low-income housing tax credits, the initial lease
term may be less than 12 months if required to conform lease terms with such
tax credit requirements.
(I)Section 7 (relating to designation of
housing for elderly and disabled households), except that a participating
agency may make such designations (at initial designation or upon renewal) for
a term of up to 5 years if the agency includes in its annual plan under
paragraph (11) an analysis of the impact of such designations on affected
households and such designation is subject to the program evaluation. Any
participating agency with a designated housing plan that was approved under the
moving to work demonstration may continue to operate under the terms of such
plan for a term of 5 years (with an option to renew on the same terms for an
additional 5 years) if it includes in its annual plan an analysis of the impact
of such designations on affected households and is subject to evaluation under
subsection (f).
(J)Subparagraphs (C) through (E) of section
8(o)(7) and section 8(o)(20) (relating to lease requirements and eviction
protections for families assisted with tenant-based assistance).
(K)Section
8(o)(13)(B) (relating to a percentage limitation on project-based assistance),
except that for purposes of this subparagraph such section shall be applied by
substituting 50 percent
for 20 percent
, and all
voucher funding that is used for non-tenant based assistance purposes shall
count towards this calculation.
(L)Section 8(o)(13)(E) (relating to resident
choice for tenants of units with project-based vouchers), except with respect
to—
(i)in
the case of agencies participating in the moving to work demonstration, any
housing assistance payment contract entered into before or within 2 years after
the enactment of this section;
(ii)project-based
vouchers that replace public housing units;
(iii)not more than 10
percent of the vouchers available to the participating agency upon entering the
housing innovation program under this section; and
(iv)any project-based
voucher program that is subject to evaluation under subsection (f).
Notwithstanding the exceptions
under this subparagraph, an agency may not eliminate resident choice under
section 8(o)(13)(E) for more than 25 percent of its authorized vouchers.(M)Section 8(r)
(relating to portability of voucher assistance), except that a participating
agency may receive funding for portability obligations under section 8(dd) in
the same manner as other public housing agencies.
(N)Sections 8(ee) and
6(u) (relating to records, certification and confidentiality regarding domestic
violence).
(O)Subsections (a)
and (b) of section 12 (relating to payment of prevailing wages).
(P)Section 18
(relating to demolition and disposition of public housing).
(Q)Requirements
regarding—
(i)establishment of
resident councils and jurisdiction-wide resident organizations;
(ii)public housing
agency support for such councils and organizations; and
(iii)involvement of
such councils and organizations in public housing agency operations;
as
authorized under sections 3(c)(2), 6(c)(5)(C), and 9(e) and implemented by
applicable regulations.(4)Rents and
requirements for continued occupancy or participation
(A)Before adopting any
policy pursuant to participation in the housing innovation program under this
section that would make a material adverse change to the requirements of this
Act regarding tenant rents or contributions, or conditions of continued
occupancy or participation, a participating agency shall complete each of the
following actions:
(i)The agency shall
conduct an impact analysis of the proposed policy on families the agency is
assisting under the program under this section and on applicants on the waiting
list, including analysis of the incidence and severity of rent burdens greater
than 30 percent of adjusted income on households of various sizes and types and
in various income tiers, that would result, if any, without application of the
hardship provisions. The analysis with respect to applicants on the waiting
list may be limited to demographic data provided by the applicable consolidated
plan, information provided by the Secretary, and other generally available
information. The proposed policy, including provisions for addressing hardship
cases and transition provisions that mitigate the impact of any rent increases
or changes in the conditions of continued occupancy or participation, and data
from this analysis shall be made available for public inspection and copying,
on request, and for access through the Internet, for at least 60 days in
advance of the public meeting described in clause (ii).
(ii)The agency shall
hold a public meeting regarding the proposed change, including the hardship
provisions, which may be combined with a public meeting on the draft annual
plan under paragraph (11) or the annual report under subsection (h)(2).
(iii)The board of
directors or other similar governing body of the agency shall approve the
change in public session.
(iv)The agency shall
obtain approval from the Secretary of the annual plan or plan amendment. The
Secretary may approve a plan or amendment containing a material change to the
requirements of this Act regarding tenant rents or contributions, or conditions
of continued occupancy or participation, only if the agency agrees that such
policy may be included as part of the national evaluation.
(B)After adopting a policy described in subparagraph (A), a
program agency shall complete each of the following actions:
(i)The agency shall
provide adequate notice to residents, which shall include a description of the
changes in the public housing lease or participation agreement that may be
required and of the hardship or transition protections offered.
(ii)In the case of
any additional requirements for continued occupancy or participation, the
agency shall execute a lease addendum or participation agreement specifying the
requirements applicable to both the resident and the agency. A resident may
bring a civil action to enforce commitments of the agency made through the
lease addendum or participation agreement.
(iii)The agency shall
reassess rent, subsidy level, and policies on program participation no less
often than every two years, which shall include preparing a revised impact
analysis, and make available for public inspection and copying, on request, and
for access through the Internet, the results of such reassessment and impact
analysis. The requirement under this clause may be met by sufficiently detailed
interim reports, if any, by the national evaluating entity.
(iv)The agency shall
include in the annual report under subsection (h)(2) information sufficient to
describe any hardship requests, including the number and types of requests
made, granted, and denied, the use of transition rules, and adverse impacts
resulting from changes in rent or continued occupancy policies, including
actions taken by the agency to mitigate such impacts and impacts on families no
longer assisted under the program.
(C)Applicability to
existing MTW agenciesAn
existing MTW agency that, before the date of the enactment of this section,
implemented material changes to the requirements of this Act regarding tenant
rents or contributions, or conditions of continued occupancy or participation,
as part of the moving to work demonstration shall not be subject to
subparagraph (A) with regard to such previously implemented changes, but shall
comply with the requirements of subparagraph (B)(ii) and provide the evaluation
and impact analysis required by subparagraph (B)(iii) by the end of the second
agency fiscal year ending after such date of enactment.
(5)Prohibition
against decrease in program fundsThe amount of program funds a
participating agency receives shall not be diminished by its participation in
the housing innovation program under this section.
(6)A participating agency
may not adopt rent policies that result in families making substantially higher
rent payments than would customarily be made by families of comparable income
under the program under which assistance is provided.
(7)A participating agency
may implement time limits on the term of housing assistance received by
families under the program only if—
(A)such limits are
for a period of time not shorter than 5 years; and
(B)enforcement of
such limits is suspended for any period of time during which the unemployment
rate in the area exceeds 10 percent.
(8)A participating agency may condition the receipt of
housing assistance by families under the program on requirements relating to
the employment status or related activities of one or more family members only
if—
(A)such requirements
are consistent with the program for block grants to States for temporary
assistance for needy families under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act;
(B)the agency
establishes reasonable hardship exemptions; and
(C)enforcement of such requirements is
suspended for any period of time during which the unemployment rate in the area
exceeds 10 percent.
(9)Submission of
informationAs part of the annual report required under
subsection (h)(2), each participating agency shall submit information annually
to the Secretary regarding families assisted under the program of the agency
and comply with any other data submissions required by the Secretary for
purposes of evaluation of the program under this section.
(10)Public and
resident participationEach
participating agency shall provide opportunities for resident and public
participation in the annual plan under paragraph (11), as follows:
(A)
(i)Each year, the agency shall provide notice
to the low-income families it serves under the programs authorized by this
section as to the impact of proposed policy changes and program initiatives and
of the schedule of resident advisory board and public meetings for the annual
plan.
(ii)The
agency shall hold at least one meeting with the resident advisory board
(including representatives of recipients of assistance under section 8) to
review the annual plan for each year.
(B)With respect to each annual plan, the agency shall hold
at least one annual public meeting to obtain comments on the plan, which may be
combined with a meeting to review the annual report. In the case of any agency
that administers, in the aggregate, more than 15,000 public housing units and
vouchers, or that operates in more than one county, the agency shall hold
additional meetings in locations that promote attendance by residents and other
stakeholders.
(C)Before adoption of any annual plan, and not less
than 30 days before the public meeting required under subparagraph (A)(ii) with
respect to the plan, the agency shall make the proposed annual plan available
for public inspection and copying, on request, and for access through the
Internet. The annual plan shall be made available for public inspection not
less than 30 days before approval by the board of directors (or other similar
governing body) of the agency and shall remain publicly available.
(D)Before submitting an annual plan or annual report to the
Secretary, the plan or report, as applicable, shall be approved in a public
meeting by the board of directors or other governing body of the agency.
(11)
(A)For
each year that a participating agency participates in the housing innovation
program under this section, the agency shall submit to the Secretary, in lieu
of all other planning requirements, an annual plan under this paragraph.
(B)Each
annual plan shall include the following information:
(i)A
list and description of all program initiatives and generally applicable policy
changes, including references to affected provisions of law or the implementing
regulations affected.
(ii)A
description and comparison of changes under the housing innovation program of
the agency from the plan for such program for the preceding year.
(iii)A description of
property redevelopment or portfolio repositioning strategies and proposed
changes in policies or uses of funds required to implement such
strategies.
(iv)Documentation of
public and resident participation sufficient to comply with the requirements
under paragraphs (4) and (10), including a copy of any recommendations
submitted in writing by the resident advisory board of the agency and members
of the public, a summary of comments, and a description of the manner in which
the recommendations were addressed.
(v)Certifications by
the agency that—
(I)the annual plan
will be carried out in conformity with title VI of the Civil Rights Act of
1964, the Fair Housing Act, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the rules,
standards, and policies in the approved plan;
(II)the agency will
affirmatively further fair housing; and
(III)the agency has
complied and will continue to comply with its obligations under the national
evaluation.
(vi)A description of the agency’s local asset
management strategy for public housing properties, which shall be in lieu of
any other asset management, project based management or accounting, or other
system of allocating resources and costs to participating agency assets or cost
centers that the Secretary may otherwise impose under this Act.
(C)If
the agency proposes to make material changes in policies or initiatives in the
plan during the year covered by the plan, the agency shall consult with the
resident advisory board for the agency established pursuant to section 5A(e)
and the public regarding such changes before their adoption.
(D)
(i)The Secretary shall review and approve or
disapprove each annual plan submitted to the Secretary within 45 days after
such submission. The Secretary, directly or through the public housing agency,
shall make information relating to such approval or disapproval available to
all members of the Resident Advisory Board of the public housing agency.
(ii)Standards for
disapprovalThe Secretary may disapprove a plan only if—
(I)the Secretary
reasonably determines, based on information contained in the annual plan or
annual report, that the agency is not in compliance with the requirements of
this section;
(II)the annual plan
or most recent annual report is not consistent with other reliable information
available to the Secretary; or
(III)the annual plan
or annual report or the agency’s activities under the program are not otherwise
in accordance with applicable law.
(iii)If a submitted
plan is not disapproved within 45 days after submission, the plan shall be
considered to be approved for purposes of this section. The preceding sentence
shall not preclude judicial review regarding such compliance pursuant to
chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code, or an action regarding such
compliance under section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (42
U.S.C. 1983).
(f)Evaluation of
performance
(1)The Secretary shall
conduct detailed evaluations of all public housing agencies participating in
the program under this section—
(A)to determine the
level of success of each public housing agency in achieving the goals and
objectives of the application to participate in the program;
(B)to determine the level of success of
different types of proposals in achieving the priority strategies of subsection
(d)(2) or other innovative strategies identified pursuant to subsection (b)(1);
and
(C)to identify
program models that can be replicated by other agencies to achieve such
success.
(2)Evaluations under this subsection shall be conducted
utilizing rigorous research methodology which shall incorporate, where
appropriate and to the extent funding is available, the following:
(A)Comparison of the
impact on families to similar types of families not subject to such
policies.
(B)Comparisons of
alternative strategies for advancing common goals.
(C)An examination of
the costs, outputs, and outcomes of tested strategies.
(D)A process
evaluation that examines the challenges faced in implementing tested strategies
and how those challenges were overcome.
(E)A qualitative
examination of the impacts of tested strategies on affected families, including
families on agency waiting lists.
(F)An examination of
the impact of tested strategies on the housing needs and conditions of the
jurisdiction in which the agency works.
(G)Appropriate
sensitivity to the costs that evaluation places on participating agencies,
including a recognition that smaller agencies may have more difficulty than
larger agencies in responding to data requests.
(3)The Secretary shall establish an Advisory Council to
provide input on the policies and strategies to be tested in evaluations under
this subsection, data collection protocols, and other matters related to the
success of the evaluation, and to assist the evaluating entity and the
Secretary in interpreting the findings and formulating recommendations to the
Congress to be included in the final report. The Secretary may also establish a
separate Technical Advisory Group to provide input on technical issues
associated with the evaluation.
(4)
(A)The Secretary shall
submit three reports to the Congress, as provided in subparagraph (B),
evaluating the programs of all public housing agencies participating in the
program under this section and all agencies participating in the moving to work
demonstration. Each such report shall include findings and recommendations for
any appropriate legislative action.
(B)The
reports under this paragraph shall include—
(i)an
initial report, which shall be submitted before the expiration of the 2-year
period beginning on the date on which additional agencies are approved for
participation pursuant to subsection (d);
(ii)an interim
report, which shall be submitted before the expiration of the 4-year period
beginning on such date of approval; and
(iii)a final report, which shall be submitted
before the expiration of the 10-year period beginning on the date of the
enactment of the Section 8 Voucher Reform Act
of 2011.
(5)The Secretary may contract out the responsibilities under
this paragraphs (1) and (2) to an independent entity that is qualified to
perform such responsibilities.
(6)The Secretary or the
evaluating entity, as applicable, shall establish performance measures, which
may include—
(A)a baseline
performance level against which program activities may be evaluated; and
(B)performance
measures for each of the five purposes identified in paragraphs (1) through (5)
of subsection (a).
(g)Impact of policy
on families being assisted
(1)If an evaluation of an
agency pursuant to subsection (f)(1)(A) includes evidence that a policy adopted
by an agency is or has been harmful to families assisted by the agency, the
Secretary may, after the publication of either the initial or the interim
report pursuant to subsection (f)(4)(B), require such agency to take
appropriate actions to modify such policy to ameliorate such harm.
(2)The
Secretary may not take such action unless the Secretary has made a
determination that such policy is causing or has caused measurable harm to
families currently or previously assisted, based on a reduction in the overall
number of families receiving housing assistance, noncompliance with the
provision of subsection (e)(6) (relating to rent burdens), specific types of
families losing their housing assistance, a reduction in the number of
affordable rental housing units operated by the agency, noncompliance with the
requirements of subsection (e)(3)(A) (relating to targeting), or a combination
of such factors.
(3)Advice and
opportunity to contestBefore taking such action, the Secretary
shall advise the agency and give the agency a fair opportunity to contest such
determination or action. If an agency contests such a determination or action,
the Secretary shall provide an opportunity for interested parties to submit
additional relevant evidence.
(h)Recordkeeping,
reports, and audits
(1)Each
public housing agency participating in the program under this section shall
keep such records as the Secretary may prescribe as reasonably necessary to
disclose the amounts and the disposition of amounts under the program, to
ensure compliance with the requirements of this section, and to measure
performance.
(2)In lieu of all other reporting
requirements, each such agency participating in the program shall submit to the
Secretary an annual report in a form and at a time specified by the Secretary.
Each annual report shall include the following information:
(A)A description,
including an annual consolidated financial report, of the sources and uses of
funds of the agency under the program, which shall account separately for funds
made available under section 8 and subsections (d) and (e) of section 9, and
shall compare the agency’s actions under the program with its annual plan for
the year.
(B)An annual audit
that complies with the requirements of Circular A–133 of the Office of
Management and Budget, including the OMB Compliance Supplement.
(C)A description of
each hardship exception requested and granted or denied, and of the use of any
transition rules.
(D)Documentation of
public and resident participation sufficient to comply with the requirements
under paragraph (7).
(E)A comparison of
income and the sizes and types of families assisted by the agency under the
program compared to those assisted by the agency in the base year.
(F)Every two years,
an evaluation of rent policies, subsidy level policies, and policies on program
participation.
(G)A description of
any ongoing local evaluations and the results of any local evaluations
completed during the year.
(3)Access to
documents by secretaryThe Secretary shall have access for the
purpose of audit and examination to any books, documents, papers, and records
that are pertinent to assistance in connection with, and the requirements of,
this section.
(4)Access to
documents by the Comptroller GeneralThe Comptroller General of the United
States, or any of the duly authorized representatives of the Comptroller
General, shall have access for the purpose of audit and examination to any
books, documents, papers, and records that are pertinent to assistance in
connection with, and the requirements of, this section.
(5)Reports
regarding evaluationsThe Secretary shall require each public
housing agency participating in the program under this section to submit to the
Secretary such information as the Secretary considers appropriate to permit the
Secretary to evaluate (pursuant to subsection (f)) the performance and success
of the agency in achieving the purposes of the program.
(i)Additional
program agenciesIn participating in the program under the terms
of this subsection, the public housing agencies designated for such
participation shall be subject to the requirements of this section, and the
additional following requirements:
(1)Applicability of
certain existing provisionsSuch agencies shall be subject to the
provisions of—
(A)subsections (a)
and (b) of section 3; and
(B)section 8(o),
except for paragraph (11) and except as the requirements of section 8(o) are
modified by subsection (e)(3) of this section.
(2)Such agencies may not impose time limits on the term of
housing assistance received by families under the program.
(3)Such agencies may not condition the receipt of housing
assistance by families under the program on the employment status of one or
more family members.
(4)
(A)Such agencies may
not demolish or dispose of any dwelling unit of public housing operated or
administered by such agency (including any uninhabitable unit and any unit
previously approved for demolition) except pursuant to a plan for replacement
of such units in accordance with, and approved by the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development pursuant to, subparagraph (B).
(B)The Secretary may not approve a plan that provides
for demolition or disposition of any dwelling unit of public housing referred
to in subparagraph (A) unless—
(i)such plan provides
for outreach to public housing agency residents in accordance with paragraph
(5);
(ii)not later than 60
days before the date of the approval of such plan, such agency has convened and
conducted a public hearing regarding the demolition or disposition proposed in
the plan;
(iii)such plan
provides that for each such dwelling unit demolished or disposed of, such
public housing agency will provide an additional dwelling unit through—
(I)the acquisition or
development of additional public housing dwelling units; or
(II)the acquisition,
development, or contracting (including through project-based assistance) of
additional dwelling units that are subject to requirements regarding
eligibility for initial or continued occupancy, tenant contribution toward
rent, and long-term affordability restrictions which are comparable to public
housing units, except that no household may be prevented from occupying a
replacement dwelling unit provided pursuant to clause (iii) except to the
extent specifically provided by any other provision of Federal law (including
subtitle F of title V of the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of
1998 (42 U.S.C. 13661 et seq.; relating to safety and security in public and
assisted housing), subtitle D of title VI of the Housing and Community
Development Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13611 et seq.; relating to preferences for
elderly and disabled residents), and section 16(f) of this Act (42 U.S.C.
1437n(f); relating to ineligibility of persons convicted of methamphetamine
offenses));
(iv)such plan provides for a right, and
implementation of such right, to occupancy of additional dwelling units
provided in accordance with clause (iii), for households who, as of the time
that dwelling units demolished or disposed of were vacated to provide for such
demolition or disposition, were occupying such dwelling units;
(v)such plan provides
that the proposed demolition or disposition and relocation will be carried out
in a manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing, as described in
subsection (e) of section 808 of the Civil Rights Act of 1968;
(vi)such plan
provides for a mixed-income development on the site of the original public
housing, with at least one-third of all dwelling units being provided through
the development of additional public housing dwelling units, except that upon a
showing by the agency, if the Secretary determines that such location is
infeasible, an agency may locate such a development in areas within the
jurisdiction of the agency having low concentrations of poverty; and
(vii)to the extent
that such plan provides for the provision of replacement or additional dwelling
units, or redevelopment, in phases over time, such plan provides that the ratio
of dwelling units described in subclauses (I) and (II) of clause (iii) that are
provided in any such single phase to the total number of dwelling units
provided in such phase is not less than the ratio of the aggregate number of
such dwelling units provided under the plan to the total number of dwelling
units provided under the plan.
(C)Subparagraphs (B) and (D) of section 8(o)(13) of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(13)) shall not apply with
respect to vouchers used to comply with the requirements of subparagraph
(B)(iii) of this paragraph.
(D)The
Secretary shall provide for the appropriate field offices of the Department to
monitor and supervise the enforcement of this paragraph and plans approved
under this paragraph and to consult, regarding such monitoring and enforcement,
with resident councils of, and resident of public housing operated or
administered by, the agency.
(5)Comprehensive
outreach planNo program
funds of such agencies may be use to demolish or dispose of any public housing
dwelling units except in accordance with a comprehensive outreach plan for such
activities, developed by the agency in conjunction with the residents of the
public housing agency, as follows:
(A)The plan shall be
developed by the agency and a resident task force, which may include members of
the Resident Council, but may not be limited to such members, and which shall
represent all segments of the population of residents of the agency, including
single parent-headed households, the elderly, young employed and unemployed
adults, teenage youth, and disabled persons.
(B)The votes and
agreements regarding the plan shall involve—
(i)in the case of any
public housing agency that administers 250 or fewer public housing dwelling
units, not less than 10 percent of affected residents; and
(ii)in the case of any public housing agency
that administers more than 250 public housing dwelling units, not less than 25
affected residents.
(C)The plan shall provide for and describe
outreach efforts to inform residents of the program under this subsection,
including a door-to-door information program, monthly newsletters to each
resident household, monthly meetings dedicated solely to every aspect of the
proposed development, including redevelopment factors, which shall include the
one-for-one replacement requirement under paragraph (4), resident rights to
return, the requirements of the program under this subsection, new resident
support and community services to be provided, opportunities for participation
in architectural design, and employment opportunities for residents, which
shall make available at least 30 percent of the total hours worked at all such
employment, and shall also make available at least 25 percent of unskilled jobs
in demolition activities and 25 percent of unskilled jobs in construction
activities related to the redevelopment project, including job training,
apprenticeships, union membership assistance.
(D)The plan shall
provide for regularly scheduled monthly meeting updates and a system for filing
complaints about any aspect of the redevelopment process.
(j)For
purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)The term
existing MTW agency means a public housing agency that as of the
date of the enactment of the Section 8
Voucher Reform Act of 2011 has an existing agreement with the
Secretary pursuant to the moving to work demonstration, or is authorized to
enter into such an agreement under section 230 of the Transportation, Housing
and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public
Law 110–161; 121 Stat. 2438), section 236 of the Transportation, Housing and
Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2009 (Division I of
Public Law 111–8; 123 Stat. 981), section 232 of the Transportation, Housing
and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010 (Division
A of Public Law 111–117; 123 Stat. 3105), or the Continuing Appropriations Act,
2011 (Public Law 111–242; 124 Stat. 2607), as amended.
(2)The term base year means, with respect to a
participating agency, the agency fiscal year or calendar year, as appropriate,
most recently completed prior to selection and approval for participation in
the housing innovation program under this section.
(3)Moving to work
demonstrationThe term
moving to work demonstration means the moving to work
demonstration program under section 204 of the Departments of Veterans Affairs
and Housing and Urban Development, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act,
1996 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note).
(4)The term participating agencies means
public housing agencies designated and approved for participation, and
participating, in the housing innovation program under this section.
(5)The term program funds means, with respect to
a participating agency, any amounts that the agency is authorized, pursuant to
subsection (e)(1), to use to carry out the housing innovation program under
this section of the agency.
(6)The
term residents means, with respect to a public housing agency,
tenants of public housing of the agency and participants in the voucher or
other housing assistance programs of the agency funded under section 8(o), or
tenants of other units owned by the agency and assisted under this
section.
(k)Resident
technical assistance
(1)Authorization of
appropriationsThere is
authorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years 2012 through 2016
$10,000,000, for providing capacity building and technical assistance to
enhance the capabilities of low-income families assisted or eligible for
assistance under the program under this section to participate in the process
for establishment and revision of annual plans under this section for
participating agencies, including review and comment on impact analyses and
demolition or disposition proposals.
(2)Criteria for
award of fundsThe Secretary
shall publish the criteria to be used to award funds on a competitive basis, in
an amount appropriate to the number of households affected by the program of
the participating agency or agencies that such participating agency assists, to
local, regional, State, or national organizations that—
(A)(i)have members who are
predominantly low-income;
(ii)have low-income individuals on
their boards of directors; or
(iii)directly work with or represent
low-income individuals;
(B)have the legal, policy, and development
expertise to provide such assistance or will subcontract for such services;
and
(C)have a
demonstrated capacity to manage similar grants.
(3)
(A)Ineligibility;
nonliabilityPublic housing
agencies shall not be eligible to receive funds under this subsection, and
shall not be liable for the action of any grantee.
(B)Cooperation with
granteesPublic housing agencies participating in the program
under this section shall cooperate with grantees receiving technical assistance
funds under this subsection, to assist such grantees to reach families assisted
under the program.
(l)Authorization of
appropriations for evaluationsThere is authorized to be
appropriated $15,000,000 to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for
the purpose of conducting the evaluations required under subsection
(f)(1).
.
(b)Not later than 48
months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of
the United States shall submit a report to the Congress on the extent to which
the public housing agencies participating in the housing innovation program
under section 37 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 are meeting the goals
and purposes of such program, as identified in subsection (a) of such section
37.
26.Study of use of
income databases to reduce subsidy errorsThe Comptroller General of the United States
shall conduct a study to identify databases regarding incomes of families and
individuals that may be used in connection with the voucher program for rental
assistance under section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42
U.S.C. 1437f(o)), the public housing program under such Act, and project-based
rental assistance programs under section 8 of such Act to reduce errors in
subsidy amounts provided on behalf of recipients of assistance under such
programs and to determine how best to utilize such databases for such purpose.
In conducting such study, the Comptroller General shall analyze and consider
the use of income information maintained in the National Directory of New Hires
database of the Department of Health and Human Services. Not later than the
expiration of the 9-month period beginning on the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Comptroller General shall submit a report to the Congress setting for
the results and conclusions of the study under this section.
27.Except as otherwise
specifically provided in this Act—
(1)sections 3, 4, 6,
and 7 of this Act and the amendments made by such sections shall take effect on
January 1, 2012, except that the Secretary may delay such effective date for
any one or more of sections 3, 4, and 7 to January 1, 2013, upon a
determination by the Secretary that such extension is necessary to provide
program participants sufficient time to make adjustments to the changes made by
such sections; and
(2)all other
provisions of this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall take effect
upon the issuance by the Secretary of implementing regulations, as appropriate,
or by notice, which shall be issued not later than the expiration of the
12-month period beginning upon the date of the enactment of this Act.