[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5516 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5516
To establish a new Housing and Urban Development grant program to
provide community land trusts and other community-based housing
organizations an incentive to convert vacant housing into readily
available housing for unhoused individuals.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 12, 2024
Mr. Booker introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a new Housing and Urban Development grant program to
provide community land trusts and other community-based housing
organizations an incentive to convert vacant housing into readily
available housing for unhoused individuals.
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 ``Vacant Property for the Unhoused
Act''.
SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Community land trust.--The term ``community land
trust'' means a nonprofit organization--
(A) the primary purpose of which is the development
and maintenance of housing that is permanently
affordable to low- and moderate-income persons;
(B) that is not sponsored or controlled by a for-
profit organization;
(C) that uses a lease, covenant, agreement, or
other enforceable mechanisms to require housing and
related improvements on land held by the nonprofit
organization to be affordable to low- and moderate-
income persons for not less than 30 years; and
(D) that retains a right of first refusal or
preemptive right to purchase the housing and related
improvements on land held by the nonprofit organization
to maintain long-term affordability.
(2) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means a
community land trust or other community-based housing
organization, including a housing cooperative, mutual housing
association, resident-owned community, or other model
emphasizing community control, ownership, and representation.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(4) Supportive services.--The term ``supportive services''
has the meaning given the term in section 401 of the McKinney-
Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11360).
(5) Unhoused individual.--The term ``unhoused individual''
has the meaning given the term ``homeless individual'' in
section 103(a) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 11302).
(6) Vacant housing.--The term ``vacant housing'' means a
vacant residential property.
(b) Finding; Purpose.--
(1) Finding.--Congress finds that the persistence of
homelessness, despite the abundance of vacant houses in the
United States, presents an opportunity for community land
trusts and other community-based housing organizations to
utilize their vacant housing resources to create long-term,
stable housing for unhoused individuals.
(2) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to reduce
homelessness by providing grants to community land trusts and
other community-based housing organizations to convert vacant
housing into readily available housing for individuals
experiencing homelessness.
(c) Vacant Property For The Unhoused Grant Program.--
(1) Grants for filling vacant housing.--During the 5-
fiscal-year period beginning with the first full fiscal year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
carry out a program under which the Secretary awards grants to
eligible entities to assist the eligible entities in creating
pilot programs that use creative solutions to convert vacant
housing, where safe and practicable, into long-term, stable
housing for use by unhoused individuals who seek to utilize the
existing housing stock.
(2) Priority.--In awarding grants under paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall prioritize--
(A) applicants located in jurisdictions with a high
rate of homelessness, as determined by the Secretary
using data from the most recent Annual Homeless
Assessment Report;
(B) applicants that provide or connect residents
with supportive services, including job training,
health care, and education;
(C) applicants that demonstrate meaningful
community representation, including representation
within the eligible entity, of--
(i) unhoused individuals or formerly
unhoused individuals;
(ii) residents of the community in which
the eligible entity operates; and
(iii) people who work at or own businesses
in the community in which the eligible entity
operates;
(D) applicants that operate programs with extended
affordability covenants and mechanisms that support
long-term affordability; and
(E) applicants--
(i) that implement equitable tenant
screening practices that limit the use of
eviction history and other exclusionary
criteria in ways that prioritize housing access
for unhoused individuals; and
(ii) whose protocols remove barriers and
emphasize an individual's ability to sustain
housing rather than punitive criteria.
(3) Application.--
(A) In general.--An eligible entity desiring a
grant under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary
an application at such time, in such manner, and
containing or accompanied by such information, as the
Secretary may reasonably require.
(B) Contents.--An application submitted under
subparagraph (A) shall include an assurance that the
eligible entity will use the grant to convert housing
for the purpose of providing long-term, stable housing
to unhoused individuals.
(4) Eligible uses of funds.--An eligible entity that
receives a grant under paragraph (1) may use the grant funds to
establish long-term, stable housing for use by unhoused
individuals by--
(A) converting vacant residential property in the
possession of the eligible entity;
(B) covering costs associated with upgrades to
increase the habitability of vacant housing; or
(C) covering costs associated with long-term
maintenance and upkeep of housing that has been
converted under subparagraph (A).
(5) Annual report.--The Secretary shall submit an annual
report to Congress regarding the use of funds under this
section and the success of the grant program carried out under
this section.
(6) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out
this section.
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