HR 3049
Tenants’ Right to Organize Act
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Bill overview
The Tenants’ Right to Organize Act aims to strengthen tenants’ ability to form and participate in organizations to improve their living conditions. It provides legal protections for tenants and tenant organizers, requiring public housing agencies and property owners to recognize and engage with tenant organizations. The bill also establishes a process for enforcing these rights and provides funding for tenant outreach and training. Specifically, it expands rights for housing choice voucher holders and low-income housing tax credit projects.
Key provisions
- Recognizes the right of tenants to establish and participate in tenant organizations.
- Requires public housing agencies and property owners to engage with and consider concerns raised by tenant organizations.
- Protects tenants and organizers from retaliation for organizing activities.
- Establishes a protocol for enforcing tenant organizing rights, including a complaint process and potential administrative remedies.
- Provides funding for tenant outreach and training programs.
- Expands rights for tenants in LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) projects.
- Authorizes annual funding of $40 per unit for resident councils.
- Requires public housing agencies to notify tenants of their organizing rights.
Who is affected
- Tenants
- Public Housing Agencies
- Property Owners
- Low-Income Housing Developers
- Housing Voucher Recipients
Notable changes
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
Becca [D-VT-At Large] Balint
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 3049
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To amend the United States Housing Act of 1937 and the Internal Revenue Code to promote the establishment of tenant organizations, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Tenants’ Right to Organize Act
.
It is the sense of the Congress that all members of a household receiving tenant-based rental assistance have the right to decent, safe, stable, and sanitary housing.
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:
has the right to establish, operate, and participate in a legitimate tenant organization for the purpose of addressing issues related to their living environment, which includes—
the terms and conditions of their tenancy; and
activities related to housing and community development;
may not be retaliated against for asserting such rights.
Each public housing agency shall—
give reasonable consideration to concerns raised by legitimate tenant organizations;
if a public housing agency has an exemption under section 5(b)(3), soliciting feedback not less than once each year;
with respect to exigent poor housing conditions, respond in writing to the feedback not later than 30 days after receiving such feedback; and
seek resident advisory board appointments from legitimate tenant organizations.
Each owner shall—
give reasonable consideration to concerns raised by legitimate tenant organizations; and
Each public housing agency and each owner may not—
interfere with the right of any tenant to establish and operate a legitimate tenant organization; and
retaliate against any tenant or tenant organizer because of their association with or participation in activities related to a legitimate tenant organization.
Distributing leaflets in lobby areas.
Placing leaflets at or under doors of tenants.
Distributing leaflets in common areas.
Initiating contact with tenants.
Conducting door-to-door surveys of tenants to ascertain interest in establishing a legitimate tenant organization and to offer information about tenant organizations.
Assisting tenants with participation in tenant organization activities.
Convening regularly scheduled tenant organization meetings in a space on-site and accessible to tenants, in a manner that is fully independent of representatives of the public housing agency or the owner, unless invited by the tenant organization to specific meetings to discuss a specific issue or issues.
creating a resident advisory board or resident council; and
appointing tenants to serve on a resident advisory board or resident council.
Speaking to the public, including the media, elected officials, and government agencies.
Formulating a response to a request by the owner or public housing agency for approval of rent increases or other discretionary decisions affecting residents.
interfere with the right of tenants to establish and operate a legitimate tenant organization; or
retaliate against any tenant or tenant organizer because of their association with or participation in activities related to a legitimate tenant organization.
Each public housing agency and owner shall make available the use of any community room or other available space appropriate for meetings within the building or project when requested by a legitimate tenant organization and used for activities related to the establishment or operation of a legitimate tenant organization.
adverse actionmeans, in response to a tenant’s exercise of rights described in this paragraph—
the termination or non-renewal of a lease;
the termination of assistance under this section;
a decrease or delay in services provided to the tenant by the owner or public housing agency;
an unplanned increase of rent or fees;
the threat or initiation of a lawsuit against a lessee;
a violation of tenant privacy; or
the harassment of a tenant or tenant organizers.
legitimate tenant organizationmeans, in a building or project with 3 or more families receiving assistance under this section, an organization that—
is representative of all tenants in the building or project;
is completely independent from a public housing agency, owner, landlord, management of the building or development, and any representatives of such entities;
has been established for the purpose described in subparagraph (A); and
includes newly formed resident organizing committees, which do not require specific structures, written by-laws, elections, or resident petitions.
tenantmeans a family or any member of a family that receives assistance under this section.
The term tenant organizer
means an individual who—
assists tenants in establishing and operating a legitimate tenant organization; and
is not an employee or representative of current or prospective owners or agents or the owners.
If a building or project has a written policy favoring canvassing, any tenant organizer who is not a tenant shall be afforded the same privileges and rights of access as any other uninvited outside parties in the normal course of operations of the building or project.
If a building or project does not have a consistently enforced, written policy against canvassing, the building or project shall be treated as if it has a policy favoring canvassing.
Section 42(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
In the case of any qualified low-income housing project which is an applicable project, families occupying rent-restricted units in such project shall have the same right as families described in section 8(o)(23)(B)(i), (ii) and (iii) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
In the case of any applicable project, such project shall not be treated as a qualified low-income housing project for purposes of this section unless—
each owner of such project meets requirements which are the same as the requirements of clauses (i) and (iii) of subparagraph (C) and subparagraph (D) of section 8(o)(23) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, and
each State housing credit agency meets requirements which are the same as the requirements of clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (C) and subparagraph (D) of such section.
For purposes of this paragraph, the term applicable project
means—
any project which is placed in service after the date of enactment of this Act; and
any project—
which was placed in service on or before the date of enactment of such Act; and
for which the date of enactment of such Act occurred before the end of the compliance period for such project.
Each State housing credit agency shall notify each tenant living at a qualified low-income housing project of the right to organize as described in paragraph (10) annually.
The Secretary shall require each State housing credit agency—
that has implemented a standard lease, lease addendum, or other guidance to owners of a qualified low-income housing project, to amend that document to include language affirming lessees’ right to organize provided for in this paragraph; or
that performs lease-based evaluations of low income-housing tax credit compliance to include in that evaluation a requirement to include a written affirmation of the tenant’s right to organize as provided for in this paragraph.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out this paragraph.
The amendment made by this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing of the Department of Housing and Urban Development shall, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, establish a protocol for the enforcement of paragraph (23) of section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)(23)), as added by section 3 of this Act, and paragraph (10) of section 42(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by section 4 of this Act, that—
reflects or integrates the existing enforcement protocol for tenants protected under section 202 of the Housing and Community Development Amendments Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 1715z–1b), where possible;
creates a mechanism for administrative complaints to be filed, cataloged, and investigated regarding public housing agencies, State housing credit agencies, owners, landlords, management, and their representatives’ alleged violation of their obligation not to interfere with the right of tenants to establish and operate a legitimate tenant organization, which shall—
provide families a remedy when the agency determines a violation of the obligation not to interfere with the right of tenants to establish and operate a legitimate tenant organization;
include an independent investigation of tenant and advocate allegations of abuse;
keep tenants informed about the progression of any complaint; and
provide confidentiality if necessary, including in cases where alleged abuse is extreme and targeted;
prohibits withholding the tenant-based assistance under such section 8(o) or the denial of the right to occupy an assisted unit or a rent-restricted unit, or any other right or privilege required to be provided as a condition of the tenant-based assistance or the project being treated as a qualified low-income housing project until such complaint is closed; and
if relevant, appropriately refers complaints related to potential violation of fair housing laws to the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Tenants may file an action at law or in equity, in Federal or State court, including for injunctive relief, to enforce the various provisions of this Act.
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives a quarterly report on the enforcement of this section that—
provides all data at both the property-level and jurisdiction-level; and
includes—
the volume of outstanding complaints;
the average response time to an initial complaint;
the average time it takes to close a complaint; and
information about the type of issues reported by tenants that necessitated enforcement action.
Paragraph (3) of section 514(f) of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (42 U.S.C. 1437f note) is amended—
in subparagraph (A)—
in the first sentence—
by striking not more than
and inserting not less than
;
by inserting for predevelopment assistance to enable such transfers,
after owners),
; and
by striking of low-income housing for which project-based rental assistance is provided at below market rent levels and may not be renewed (including transfer of developments to tenant groups, nonprofit organizations, and public entities), for tenant services
and inserting the following: and improvement of low-income housing for which project-based rental assistance, public housing subsidies, low-income housing tax credits, Federal or State subsidized loans, enhanced vouchers under section 8(t) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, or project-based vouchers under section 8(o) of such Act are provided or proposed
; and
outreach and training of tenants by eligible entities; and
the provision of technical assistance by eligible entities to tenant groups.
To be eligible for a grant under this subparagraph, an entity shall be a nonprofit organization that—
has not less than 2 years of experience with the organization and provision of assistance to tenants; and
is independent from any owners, prospective purchasers, or any agents thereof of a residential development.
The Secretary may provide assistance and training to recipients of amounts under subparagraph with respect to—
administrative and fiscal management; and
compliance with any Federal requirements.
The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, provide each resident council, as described in section 964.100 of title 24, Code of Federal Regulations, $40 per unit per year, to be increased annually to keep pace with inflation.