Study and Report of National Residential Rental Registry

(a)

Study

The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, acting through the Office of Policy Development and Research and in consultation with the Bureau of the Census of the Department of Commerce, shall conduct a study about establishing a national residential rental registry of publicly and privately owned residential rental properties for the purposes of documenting the following in a manner that protects personally identifiable information when relevant—(1)the sizes of such properties, which shall be measured by the number of dwelling units in a property and the number of bedrooms in each dwelling unit;(2)the locations of such properties, which shall include the street addresses of such properties;(3)the ownership of such properties, which shall include whether the property is—(A)publicly owned residential rental property, which term shall have such meaning as the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of this section, but which shall include—(i)public housing (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)));(ii)housing that remains publicly owned for purposes of relocation and replacement of housing units that are demolished or disposed of pursuant to section 18 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437p);(iii)mixed-finance projects within the meaning given such term in section 35 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437z–7);(iv)housing assisted under the HOME Investment Partnerships program under title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.);(v)housing assisted under AIDS Housing Opportunities program under subtitle D of title VIII of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et seq.); and(vi)housing owned or controlled by any State or locality; or(B)privately owned residential rental property, including owner-occupied properties, which term shall have such meaning as the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of this section, but which shall include—(i)housing for which rental assistance is provided under section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f);(ii)any property that has a Federally backed mortgage loan or Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan;(iii)any housing project for which assistance has been converted under the rental assistance demonstration program under the heading Rental Assistance Demonstration in title II of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2012 (division C of Public Law 112–55; 125 Stat. 673); and(iv)any other rental assistance program and housing owned under a joint public-private partnership structure;(4)whether the property receives Federal or State tax credits or subsidies, or is otherwise assisted under a Federal, State, or local housing program;(5)whether the property is subject to Federal, State, or local use restrictions relating to affordability;(6)in the case of a property receiving the low-income housing tax credit under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the zoning history of such property to the extent publicly available, which shall include whether or not re-zoning was required for its development;(7)unless a property is owner-occupied, the identity of the owner of the property, which shall include—(A)the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner or owners, including persons who exercise effective control of the property, and the manner in which ownership is structured;(B)whether such owner is part of a limited liability company or large investor, which terms shall have such meaning as the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of this section, except that the Secretary shall consider whether defining as a large investor any person or entity that own 50 or more rental dwelling units is appropriate for purposes of this section; and(C)information regarding contacting the owners in their capacity as owners, including business electronic mail addresses and business phone numbers;(8)the identity of the manager, lessee, or other person or entity having legal authority to lease dwelling units in the property and contact information regarding such person or entity, including electronic mail addresses and phone numbers;(9)the contact information regarding a local emergency contact in the event the owner cannot be reached, such as for a property manager, including electronic mail addresses and phone numbers;(10)the average monthly rent for dwelling units in each property, disaggregated by the size of the unit, as measured by the number of bedrooms in the unit, for each year that the registry is maintained;(11)the accessibility of the dwelling units and the public and common use areas at the property, as required under titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12131 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), and any other applicable law;(12)to the degree practicable, the age of the property;(13)the types of utility connections and whether the utility is master-metered for the property or sub-metered for each unit, and whether the owner or tenant is responsible for utility charges;(14)to the degree practicable, an analysis of the effects of trying to collect average monthly utility costs for the dwelling units in the property; and(15)information related to fair housing and civil rights, including whether the property is located in a racially or ethnically concentrated area, including racially or ethnically concentrated areas of poverty.(b)

Elements

In conducting the study under subsection (a), the Secretary shall—(1)analyze and assess—(A)the need for establishing a national residential rental registry;(B)the feasibility of establishing and maintaining such a registry; (C)the cost of establishing such a registry;(D)the necessity of additional data sharing between agencies;(E)any privacy considerations;(F)any benefits to tenants, governments, and landlords; and(G)any potential benefits to existing data collection efforts by the Department of Housing and Urban Development;(2)identify the types and extent of existing rental information collected and available and any gaps in the availability of such information;(3)consider and recommend whether owners should register new rental properties to the registry within 30 to 60 days, or some other period, after initial entry or registration of a property to the rental market and appropriate time periods for registration to the registry of changes in ownership of rental properties;(4)consider and recommend data collection methods, self-reporting methods, and opportunities for sharing data with the Department of the Treasury;(5)consider and recommend whether information in the registry should be updated annually or at some other frequency;(6)consider and recommend means to engage State and local governments in ensuring that property owners register their rental properties to the registry and update such information, such as by gathering information and enforcing data collection through—(A)property inspections;(B)local rental registries;(C)certificates of occupancy; and(D)building permits;(7)develop a methodology to identify rental properties that merit additional attention, such as residential rental properties that—(A)receive a Federal or State tax credit or other subsidy or assistance, or is subject to affordability-related use restrictions, that are expiring within 5 years;(B)have tenants who are experiencing—(i)significant rent increases in an amount of 5 percent or more of the previous rent, or such other percentage as the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of this section; or(ii)frequent rent increases occurring twice or more often within any 12-month period or occurring with such other frequency as the Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of this section;(C)use tenant screening scores and reports, or price setting algorithms, provided by third parties;(D)have habitability issues;(E)have fair housing or civil rights complaints or violations; and(F)have any other such indicator as the Secretary may provide;(8)consider the impact of the rental registry on public housing agencies and persons who reside in public housing projects;(9)consider and recommend the products that may be produced or used, if any, to access or condense the registry’s information, such as a user-friendly map and database, and how to ensure all products are accessible for individuals with disabilities and persons with limited English proficiency;(10)evaluate and recommend education and outreach methods that may be necessary to engage property owners who have smaller portfolios or that own and operate fewer units to register with the registry;(11)evaluate and recommend education and outreach methods that may be necessary to engage owners of rental manufactured housing units and owners of rental lots for manufactured housing units to register with the registry; and(12)consider and recommend methods of validating and verifying information submitted to the registry and penalties for non-compliance with procedures and requirements relating to the registry.(c)

Report

Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress containing the results and conclusions of such study, and shall make such report available on a public website of the Department.(d)

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.(e)

Definitions

In this Act:(1)

Federally Backed Mortgage Loan

The term Federally backed mortgage loan includes any loan (other than temporary financing such as a construction loan) that—(A)is secured by a first or subordinate lien on residential real property (including individual units of condominiums and cooperatives) designed principally for the occupancy of from 1 to 4 families, including any such secured loan, the proceeds of which are used to prepay or pay off an existing loan secured by the same property; and(B)is made in whole or in part, or insured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way, by any officer or agency of the Federal Government or under or in connection with a housing or urban development program administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or a housing or related program administered by any other such officer or agency, or is purchased or securitized by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National Mortgage Association.(2)

Federally Backed Multifamily Mortgage Loan

The term Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan includes any loan (other than temporary financing such as a construction loan) that—(A)is secured by a first or subordinate lien on residential multifamily real property designed principally for the occupancy of 5 or more families, including any such secured loan, the proceeds of which are used to prepay or pay off an existing loan secured by the same property; and(B)is made in whole or in part, or insured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way, by any officer or agency of the Federal Government or under or in connection with a housing or urban development program administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or a housing or related program administered by any other such officer or agency, or is purchased or securitized by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National Mortgage Association.(3)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.