[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3371 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3371
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to create a
database of owners of properties receiving tenant-based assistance, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 2, 2020
Mr. Hawley introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to create a
database of owners of properties receiving tenant-based assistance, 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 ``Bad Landlord Database Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. OVERSIGHT OF LANDLORD COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSING QUALITY
STANDARDS.
Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437f) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(ee) Housing Choice Voucher Landlord Database.--
``(1) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall, in
cooperation with all public housing agencies, create a database
of owners of properties receiving tenant-based assistance,
which shall include--
``(A) a comprehensive list of all properties owned
by each owner that are receiving or have previously
received tenant-based assistance;
``(B) for each property listed under subparagraph
(A), the identity of any private individual or entity
that has the legal right to lease or sublease dwelling
units within the property;
``(C) a comprehensive list of all actions taken by
the Secretary and any public housing agency against an
owner for violations of the terms of a housing
assistance payments contract related to the property or
of the housing quality standards established under
subsection (o)(8)(B); and
``(D) a comprehensive list of all previous or
ongoing litigation related to the programs authorized
under subsection (o) between the owner and any public
housing agency.
``(2) Public disclosures.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall maintain and
make available to the public a list, using information
from the database established under paragraph (1), of
all owners of properties receiving tenant-based
assistance, which shall include--
``(i) the identity of any private
individual or entity that has the legal right
to lease or sublease dwelling units within each
property;
``(ii) all actions described to in
paragraph (1)(C); and
``(iii) all litigation described in
paragraph (1)(D).
``(B) Privacy.--Any information made available
under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) shall be made available in a manner
that protects the privacy of current and former
tenants of the properties; and
``(ii) shall not include, and where
appropriate shall redact, the addresses of the
properties and dwelling units owned by the
owners or other personally identifiable
information of tenants.
``(3) Penalty.--Any property owner who knowingly provides
misleading or inconsistent information to the Secretary or
public housing agencies, or to units of general local
government or other entities approved by the Secretary to
conduct inspections under subsection (o)(11), relating to the
database established under paragraph (1) with the intent to
undermine transparency or avoid sanction, shall be guilty of a
violation of section 1012 of title 18, United States Code, and
shall be prohibited thereafter from being awarded any contract
by the Federal Government.
``(4) Inspector general.--
``(A) Investigations.--The Inspector General of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development may
investigate any suspected or alleged effort by an owner
to circumvent the data collection needs identified by
the Secretary to carry out this subsection by providing
misleading or inconsistent information.
``(B) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the Inspector
General of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development shall issue a report documenting obstacles
to maintaining consistent records within the database
established under paragraph (1), including--
``(i) deficiencies in information
submissions by owners;
``(ii) inconsistent documentation by public
housing agencies; and
``(iii) legal restructuring or renaming of
ownership entities by owners with the intent to
evade transparency.
``(5) Audits and assessments.--Not later than 2 years after
the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall--
``(A) audit the performance of public housing
agencies with the requirements under this subsection;
and
``(B) update the section 8 management assessment
program of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development to consider compliance with the
requirements under this subsection.''.
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