Sending Office: Honorable Steve Cohen
Sent By:
Don.Andres@mail.house.gov
Request for Cosponsor(s)
Housing Accountability Act
Dear Colleague:
We encourage you to become an original co-sponsor of our bicameral, bipartisan legislation to improve the quality and management of Section 8 and subsidized housing, the Housing Accountability Act of 2017, which was
introduced earlier this year by Senators Rubio (R-FL) and Nelson (D-FL) S. 73.
The legislation does four major things:
- First, it codifies in law—rather than through regulation or contract—that subsidized property owners have to maintain safe and sanitary conditions at their properties.
- Second, it establishes a process for independent contract administrators to survey tenants twice a year in order to identify persistent problems relating to the physical condition of the properties or the performance of the building’s management.
Currently, HUD requires tenants to file complaints with the building’s management—who may not be responsive or may use the threat of eviction to intimidate tenants. The survey would act as a check on management, as well as on the property owners.
- Third, the bill would create a new penalty for owners that fail to maintain safe and sanitary conditions, or are repeatedly referred to HUD for remediation under the tenant survey established under the bill.
- Lastly, the bill requires HUD to issue a report examining the capitalization of all subsidized properties in the country, and scrutinizing the use of taxpayer funds for purposes unrelated to the subsidized property. Some landlords pocket
the subsidy they get from HUD, instead of using the funds to ensure a safe and sanitary environment at their properties.
For too long,
property managers like Global Ministries have taken advantage of HUD’s lack of effective oversight and over dependence on often unreliable third-party property inspections, and as a result continue to force our nation’s most vulnerable to
live in squalor with impunity. Recent investigations have revealed several such housing projects where there were instances of mold, structural deficiencies, leaky water and gas pipes, water damage, roach infestations, window damage, and lead poisoning.
This bill seeks to put an end to these malpractices, hold federally-subsidized property managers to account, and provide HUD the authority and directive to ensure that public housing projects are suitable homes for all families, children, and hardworking
Americans.
We urge you to become an original cosponsor of the Housing Accountability Act of 2017. If you would like to cosponsor or have any questions, please contact
Don.Andres@mail.house.gov (Cohen), or
Kyle.Glenn@mail.house.gov (Ross).
Sincerely,
STEVE COHEN (TN-09) DENNIS ROSS (FL-15)
Member of Congress Member of Congress
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