[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10465 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10465
To study the need for, and the feasibility and cost of, establishing a
national residential rental registry, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 18, 2024
Ms. Blunt Rochester (for herself and Ms. Waters) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, and Ways
and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To study the need for, and the feasibility and cost of, establishing a
national residential rental registry, 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 ``Know Who Owns Your Home Act of
2024''.
SEC. 2. STUDY AND REPORT OF NATIONAL RESIDENTIAL RENTAL REGISTRY.
(a) Study.--The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, acting
through the Office of Policy Development and Research and in
consultation with the Bureau of the Census of the Department of
Commerce, shall conduct a study about establishing a national
residential rental registry of publicly and privately owned residential
rental properties for the purposes of documenting the following in a
manner that protects personally identifiable information when
relevant--
(1) the sizes of such properties, which shall be measured
by the number of dwelling units in a property and the number of
bedrooms in each dwelling unit;
(2) the locations of such properties, which shall include
the street addresses of such properties;
(3) the ownership of such properties, which shall include
whether the property is--
(A) publicly owned residential rental property,
which term shall have such meaning as the Secretary
considers appropriate for purposes of this section, but
which shall include--
(i) public housing (as such term is defined
in section 3(b) of the United States Housing
Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)));
(ii) housing that remains publicly owned
for purposes of relocation and replacement of
housing units that are demolished or disposed
of pursuant to section 18 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437p);
(iii) mixed-finance projects within the
meaning given such term in section 35 of the
United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C.
1437z-7);
(iv) housing assisted under the HOME
Investment Partnerships program under title II
of the Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable
Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12721 et seq.);
(v) housing assisted under AIDS Housing
Opportunities program under subtitle D of title
VIII of the Cranston-Gonzalez National
Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12901 et
seq.); and
(vi) housing owned or controlled by any
State or locality; or
(B) privately owned residential rental property,
including owner-occupied properties, which term shall
have such meaning as the Secretary considers
appropriate for purposes of this section, but which
shall include--
(i) housing for which rental assistance is
provided under section 8 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f);
(ii) any property that has a Federally
backed mortgage loan or Federally backed
multifamily mortgage loan;
(iii) any housing project for which
assistance has been converted under the rental
assistance demonstration program under the
heading ``Rental Assistance Demonstration'' in
title II of the Transportation, Housing and
Urban Development, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2012 (division C of Public
Law 112-55; 125 Stat. 673); and
(iv) any other rental assistance program
and housing owned under a joint public-private
partnership structure;
(4) whether the property receives Federal or State tax
credits or subsidies, or is otherwise assisted under a Federal,
State, or local housing program;
(5) whether the property is subject to Federal, State, or
local use restrictions relating to affordability;
(6) in the case of a property receiving the low-income
housing tax credit under section 42 of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, the zoning history of such property to the extent
publicly available, which shall include whether or not re-
zoning was required for its development;
(7) unless a property is owner-occupied, the identity of
the owner of the property, which shall include--
(A) the identity of the ultimate beneficial owner
or owners, including persons who exercise effective
control of the property, and the manner in which
ownership is structured;
(B) whether such owner is part of a limited
liability company or large investor, which terms shall
have such meaning as the Secretary considers
appropriate for purposes of this section, except that
the Secretary shall consider whether defining as a
``large investor'' any person or entity that own 50 or
more rental dwelling units is appropriate for purposes
of this section; and
(C) information regarding contacting the owners in
their capacity as owners, including business electronic
mail addresses and business phone numbers;
(8) the identity of the manager, lessee, or other person or
entity having legal authority to lease dwelling units in the
property and contact information regarding such person or
entity, including electronic mail addresses and phone numbers;
(9) the contact information regarding a local emergency
contact in the event the owner cannot be reached, such as for a
property manager, including electronic mail addresses and phone
numbers;
(10) the average monthly rent for dwelling units in each
property, disaggregated by the size of the unit, as measured by
the number of bedrooms in the unit, for each year that the
registry is maintained;
(11) the accessibility of the dwelling units and the public
and common use areas at the property, as required under titles
II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
U.S.C. 12131 et seq.), section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (29 U.S.C. 794), the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et
seq.), and any other applicable law;
(12) to the degree practicable, the age of the property;
(13) the types of utility connections and whether the
utility is master-metered for the property or sub-metered for
each unit, and whether the owner or tenant is responsible for
utility charges;
(14) to the degree practicable, an analysis of the effects
of trying to collect average monthly utility costs for the
dwelling units in the property; and
(15) information related to fair housing and civil rights,
including whether the property is located in a racially or
ethnically concentrated area, including racially or ethnically
concentrated areas of poverty.
(b) Elements.--In conducting the study under subsection (a), the
Secretary shall--
(1) analyze and assess--
(A) the need for establishing a national
residential rental registry;
(B) the feasibility of establishing and maintaining
such a registry;
(C) the cost of establishing such a registry;
(D) the necessity of additional data sharing
between agencies;
(E) any privacy considerations;
(F) any benefits to tenants, governments, and
landlords; and
(G) any potential benefits to existing data
collection efforts by the Department of Housing and
Urban Development;
(2) identify the types and extent of existing rental
information collected and available and any gaps in the
availability of such information;
(3) consider and recommend whether owners should register
new rental properties to the registry within 30 to 60 days, or
some other period, after initial entry or registration of a
property to the rental market and appropriate time periods for
registration to the registry of changes in ownership of rental
properties;
(4) consider and recommend data collection methods, self-
reporting methods, and opportunities for sharing data with the
Department of the Treasury;
(5) consider and recommend whether information in the
registry should be updated annually or at some other frequency;
(6) consider and recommend means to engage State and local
governments in ensuring that property owners register their
rental properties to the registry and update such information,
such as by gathering information and enforcing data collection
through--
(A) property inspections;
(B) local rental registries;
(C) certificates of occupancy; and
(D) building permits;
(7) develop a methodology to identify rental properties
that merit additional attention, such as residential rental
properties that--
(A) receive a Federal or State tax credit or other
subsidy or assistance, or is subject to affordability-
related use restrictions, that are expiring within 5
years;
(B) have tenants who are experiencing--
(i) significant rent increases in an amount
of 5 percent or more of the previous rent, or
such other percentage as the Secretary
considers appropriate for purposes of this
section; or
(ii) frequent rent increases occurring
twice or more often within any 12-month period
or occurring with such other frequency as the
Secretary considers appropriate for purposes of
this section;
(C) use tenant screening scores and reports, or
price setting algorithms, provided by third parties;
(D) have habitability issues;
(E) have fair housing or civil rights complaints or
violations; and
(F) have any other such indicator as the Secretary
may provide;
(8) consider the impact of the rental registry on public
housing agencies and persons who reside in public housing
projects;
(9) consider and recommend the products that may be
produced or used, if any, to access or condense the registry's
information, such as a user-friendly map and database, and how
to ensure all products are accessible for individuals with
disabilities and persons with limited English proficiency;
(10) evaluate and recommend education and outreach methods
that may be necessary to engage property owners who have
smaller portfolios or that own and operate fewer units to
register with the registry;
(11) evaluate and recommend education and outreach methods
that may be necessary to engage owners of rental manufactured
housing units and owners of rental lots for manufactured
housing units to register with the registry; and
(12) consider and recommend methods of validating and
verifying information submitted to the registry and penalties
for non-compliance with procedures and requirements relating to
the registry.
(c) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit a report to the
Congress containing the results and conclusions of such study, and
shall make such report available on a public website of the Department.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.
(e) Definitions.--In this Act:
(1) Federally backed mortgage loan.--The term ``Federally
backed mortgage loan'' includes any loan (other than temporary
financing such as a construction loan) that--
(A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien on
residential real property (including individual units
of condominiums and cooperatives) designed principally
for the occupancy of from 1 to 4 families, including
any such secured loan, the proceeds of which are used
to prepay or pay off an existing loan secured by the
same property; and
(B) is made in whole or in part, or insured,
guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way, by
any officer or agency of the Federal Government or
under or in connection with a housing or urban
development program administered by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development or a housing or related
program administered by any other such officer or
agency, or is purchased or securitized by the Federal
Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National
Mortgage Association.
(2) Federally backed multifamily mortgage loan.--The term
``Federally backed multifamily mortgage'' loan includes any
loan (other than temporary financing such as a construction
loan) that--
(A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien on
residential multifamily real property designed
principally for the occupancy of 5 or more families,
including any such secured loan, the proceeds of which
are used to prepay or pay off an existing loan secured
by the same property; and
(B) is made in whole or in part, or insured,
guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in any way, by
any officer or agency of the Federal Government or
under or in connection with a housing or urban
development program administered by the Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development or a housing or related
program administered by any other such officer or
agency, or is purchased or securitized by the Federal
Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or the Federal National
Mortgage Association.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
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