On February 4, Representative Phil Roe (R-TN) introduced the “Fairness in Public Housing Act of 2016,” H.R. 4485, to “ensure that public housing dwelling units are occupied by low income families.”
The bill would mandate that public housing agencies terminate the tenancy of public housing residents whose incomes are determined to surpass 125% of the area median income at the annual income review, unless there are no families on the waiting list or applying for such housing. The tenancy termination would take place 90 days after the income determination.
The income threshold under H.R. 4485 is similar to that included in H.R. 3700, the “Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act,” which addresses the tenancy of those whose incomes exceed 120% of the area median income. H.R. 3700, however, would allow tenancy of such households to continue for two consecutive years, at which point residents could pay either the fair market rent or the combined amount of public housing operating and capital costs for the unit, whichever is greater. H.R. 3700 has passed the House and been referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
HUD currently is seeking comments in advance of proposed rulemaking on the “over-income” issue (see Memo, 2/8/2016). The issue surfaced last year with a report by HUD’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that found that 25,226 households living in public housing had income greater than the maximum allowed to qualify for initial admission to public housing. Representative Poe had requested the OIG report (see Memo, 8/3/2015).
H.R. 4485 currently has no cosponsors and has been referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Read the text of H.R. 4485 the bill at: http://1.usa.gov/1V764Sa