[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8378 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8378

To modify the reasonable requirements that may be imposed on pet owners 
           living in public housing, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 20, 2026

  Mr. Lawler (for himself, Mr. Crow, Ms. Titus, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. 
  Tlaib, Ms. Malliotakis, and Ms. Underwood) introduced the following 
    bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To modify the reasonable requirements that may be imposed on pet owners 
           living in public housing, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Pets Belong with Families Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON BREED RESTRICTIONS.

    Section 31 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437z-3) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following:
    ``(b) Reasonable Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--The reasonable requirements referred to 
        in subsection (a) may include--
                    ``(A) requiring payment of a pet deposit by a 
                tenant owning or having pets, except that--
                            ``(i) the pet deposit--
                                    ``(I) shall not exceed 10 percent 
                                of the tenant's monthly base rent; and
                                    ``(II) shall be amortized over not 
                                less than 3 months as part of a 
                                tenant's rental payments; and
                            ``(ii) any amount of a pet deposit that is 
                        unused at the termination of the tenancy shall 
                        be reimbursed to the tenant within 30 days of 
                        vacating a dwelling unit;
                    ``(B) limitations on the number of animals in a 
                dwelling unit or building, based on unit size or other 
                relevant conditions;
                    ``(C) prohibitions on certain species of animals 
                prohibited by State or local law; and
                    ``(D) prohibitions on any individual animal that is 
                declared a threat to public health and safety by a 
                court of competent jurisdiction or whose ownership is 
                otherwise prohibited by State or local law.
            ``(2) Prohibition on withholding.--A public housing agency 
        may not withhold a pet deposit described in paragraph (1) for 
        damage unrelated to the pet, including due to ordinary wear and 
        tear.
            ``(3) Limitation.--The reasonable requirements described in 
        subsection (a) shall not include any prohibition based on the 
        breed, size, or weight of an animal.''.
                                 <all>