[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5990 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5990
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish
a pilot program to provide grants to implementing organizations to
administer a whole-home repairs program for eligible homeowners and
eligible landlords, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 7, 2025
Ms. Williams of Georgia (for herself and Mr. Downing) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish
a pilot program to provide grants to implementing organizations to
administer a whole-home repairs program for eligible homeowners and
eligible landlords, 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 ``Whole-Home Repairs Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. WHOLE-HOME REPAIRS PILOT PROGRAM.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Affordable unit.--The term ``affordable unit'' means a
unit for which the monthly rental payment is not more than 30
percent of the gross income of an individual earning at or
below 80 percent of the area median income, as defined by the
Secretary.
(2) Assisted unit.--The term ``assisted unit'' means a unit
that undergoes repair or rehabilitation work through a whole-
home repairs program administered by an implementing
organization under this section.
(3) Eligible homeowner.--The term ``eligible homeowner''
means a homeowner--
(A) with a household income that--
(i) is not more than 80 percent of the area
median income; or
(ii) meets the income eligibility
requirements for receiving assistance or
benefits under a specified program, as defined
in paragraph (11); and
(B) who is--
(i) an owner of record as evidenced by a
publicly recorded deed and occupies the home on
which repairs are to be conducted as their
principal residence;
(ii) an owner-occupant of the manufactured
home on which repairs are to be conducted; or
(iii) an owner who can demonstrate an
ownership interest in the property on which
repairs are to be conducted, including a person
who has inherited an interest in that property.
(4) Eligible landlord.--The term ``eligible landlord''
means an individual--
(A) who owns, as determined by the relevant
implementing organization, fewer than 10 eligible
rental properties, with a majority of affordable units
and not more than 50 total units, operated as primary
residences in which a majority ownership interest is
held by the individual, the spouse of the individual,
or the dependent children of the individual, or any
closely held legal entity controlled by the individual,
the spouse of the individual, or the dependent children
of the individual, either individually or collectively;
and
(B) who agrees to the provisions described in
subsection (b)(3).
(5) Eligible rental property.--The term ``eligible rental
property'' means a residential property that--
(A) is leased, or offered exclusively for lease, as
a primary residence by an eligible landlord; and
(B) includes affordable units.
(6) Forgivable loan.--The term ``forgivable loan'' means a
loan--
(A) made to an eligible landlord;
(B) that is secured by a lien recorded against a
residential property; and
(C) that may be forgiven by the implementing
organization not later than the date that is 3 years
after the completion of the repairs if the eligible
landlord has maintained compliance with the loan
agreement described in subsection (b)(3).
(7) Implementing organization.--The term ``implementing
organization''--
(A) means a unit of general local government or a
State that--
(i) will administer a whole-home repairs
program through an agency, department, or other
entity; or
(ii) enter into agreements with 1 or more
local governments, municipal authorities, other
governmental authorities, including a tribally
designated housing entity, or qualified
nonprofit organizations, to administer a whole-
home repairs program as a subrecipient; and
(B) does not include a redundant entity in a
jurisdiction already served by a grantee under
subsection (b).
(8) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Native American
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25
U.S.C. 4103).
(9) Qualified nonprofit.--The term ``qualified nonprofit''
means a nonprofit organization that--
(A) has received funding, as a recipient or
subrecipient, through--
(i) the Community Development Block Grant
program under title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5301 et seq.);
(ii) the HOME Investment Partnerships
program under subtitle A of title II of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq.);
(iii) the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction
grant program under section 1011 of the
Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction
Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 4852) or a grant under
the Healthy Homes Initiative administered by
the Secretary pursuant to sections 501 and 502
of the Housing and Urban Development Act of
1970 (12 U.S.C. 1701z-1, 1701z-2);
(iv) the Self-Help and Assisted
Homeownership Opportunity program authorized
under section 11 of the Housing Opportunity
Program Extension Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 12805
note);
(v) a rural housing program under title V
of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et
seq.); or
(vi) the Neighborhood Reinvestment
Corporation established under the Neighborhood
Reinvestment Corporation Act (42 U.S.C. 8101 et
seq.);
(B) has coordinated, performed, or otherwise been
engaged in weatherization, lead remediation, or home-
repair work for not less than 2 years;
(C) has been certified by the Environmental
Protection Agency, or by a State authorized by the
Environmental Protection Agency to administer a
certification program, as--
(i) eligible to carry out activities under
the lead renovation, repair and painting
program; or
(ii) a Home Certification Organization
under the Energy Star program established by
section 324A of the Energy Policy and
Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a) or the
WaterSense program under section 324B of that
Act (42 U.S.C. 6294b), or recognized or
otherwise approved by the Environmental
Protection Agency as a Home Certification
Organization under either of those programs; or
(D) is a community development financial
institution, as defined in section 103 of the Community
Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of
1994 (12 U.S.C. 4702).
(10) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Housing and Urban Development.
(11) Specified program.--For purposes of paragraph
(3)(A)(ii), the term ``specified program'' means any of the
following:
(A) The Medicaid program established under title
XIX of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et
seq.).
(B) The State Children's Health Insurance Program
established under title XXI of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.).
(C) The supplemental security income benefits
program established under title XVI of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et seq.).
(D) The supplemental nutrition assistance program
established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2011 et seq.).
(E) The temporary assistance for needy families
program established under part A of title IV of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
(12) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) each State of the United States;
(B) the District of Columbia;
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(D) any territory or possession of the United
States; and
(E) an Indian tribe.
(13) Tribally designated housing entity.--The term
``tribally designated housing entity'' has the meaning given
the term in section 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance
and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103).
(14) Whole-home repairs.--The term ``whole-home repairs''
means modifications, repairs, or updates to homeowner or
renter-occupied units to address--
(A) physical and sensory accessibility for
individuals with disabilities and older adults, such as
bathroom and kitchen modifications, installation of
grab bars and handrails, guards and guardrails, lifting
devices, ramp additions or repairs, sidewalk addition
or repair, or doorway or hallway widening;
(B) habitability and safety concerns, such as
repairs needed to ensure residential units are fit for
human habitation and free from defective conditions or
health and safety hazards; or
(C) energy and water efficiency, resilience, and
weatherization.
(b) Pilot Program.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a pilot
program to provide grants to implementing organizations to
administer a whole-home repairs program for eligible homeowners
and eligible landlords.
(2) Use of funds.--An implementing organization that
receives a grant under this subsection--
(A) shall provide grants to eligible homeowners to
implement whole-home repairs not covered by other
Federal home repair programs and up to a maximum amount
per unit, which maximum amount should--
(i) reflect local construction costs and
the level of repairs needed in each unit; and
(ii) be calculated and approved by the
Secretary;
(B) shall provide loans, which may be forgivable,
to eligible landlords to implement whole-home repairs
not covered by other Federal home repair programs for
individual affordable units, public and common use
areas within the property, and common structural
elements up to a maximum amount per unit, area, or
element, as applicable, which maximum amount should--
(i) reflect local construction costs; and
(ii) be calculated and approved by the
Secretary;
(C) shall evaluate, or provide assistance to
eligible homeowners and eligible landlords to evaluate,
whole-home repair program funds provided under this
subsection with Federal, State, and local home repair
programs to provide the greatest benefit to the
greatest number of eligible landlords and eligible
homeowners and avoid duplication of benefits and
redundancies;
(D) shall ensure that--
(i) all repairs funded or facilitated
through an award under this subsection have
been completed;
(ii) if repairs are not completed and the
plan for whole-home repairs is not updated to
reflect the new scope of work, that the loan or
grant is repaid on a prorated basis based on
completed work; and
(iii) any unused grant or loan balance is
returned to the implementing organization, and
is reused by the implementing organization for
a new whole-home repair grant or loan under
this subsection;
(E) may use not more than 5 percent of the awarded
funds to carry out related functions, including
workforce training for home repair professions, which
shall be related to efforts to increase the number of
home repairs performed and approved by the Secretary;
(F) may use not more than 10 percent of the awarded
funds for administrative expenses; and
(G) shall comply with Federal accessibility
requirements and standards under applicable Federal
fair housing and civil rights laws and regulations,
including section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
(29 U.S.C. 794).
(3) Loan agreement.--In a loan agreement with an eligible
landlord under this subsection, an implementing organization
shall include provisions establishing that the eligible
landlord shall, for each eligible rental property for which a
loan is used to fund repairs under this subsection--
(A) comply with Federal accessibility requirements
and standards under applicable Federal fair housing and
civil rights laws and regulations, including section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794);
and
(B)(i) if the landlord is renting the assisted
units available in the eligible rental property to
tenants receiving tenant-based rental assistance under
section 8(o) of the United States Housing Act of 1937
(42 U.S.C. 1437f(o)), under another tenant-based rental
assistance program administered by the Secretary or the
Secretary of Agriculture, or under a tenant-based
rental subsidy provided by a State or local government,
comply with the program requirements under the relevant
tenant-based rental assistance program; or
(ii) if the eligible landlord is not renting to
tenants receiving rental-based assistance as described
in clause (i)--
(I)(aa) offer to extend the lease of
current tenants on current terms, other than
the terms described in subclause (iv) for not
less than 3 years beginning after the
completion of the repairs, unless the lease is
terminated due to failure to pay rent,
performance of an illegal act within the rental
unit, or a violation of an obligation of
tenancy that the tenants failed to correct
after notice; and
(bb) if the tenant of an assisted unit
moves out of the assisted unit at any point in
the 3-year period following the loan agreement,
maintain the unit as an affordable unit for the
remainder of the 3-year period;
(II) provide documentation verifying that
the property, upon completion of approved
renovations, has met all applicable State and
local housing and building codes;
(III) attest that the landlord has no known
serious violations of renter protections that
have resulted in fines, penalties, or judgments
during the preceding 10 years; and
(IV) cap annual rent increases for each
assisted unit at 5 percent of base rent or
inflation, whichever is lower, for not less
than 3 years beginning after the completion of
the repairs.
(4) Application.--
(A) In general.--An implementing organization
desiring an award under this subsection shall submit to
the Secretary an application that includes--
(i) the geographic scope of the whole-home
repairs program to be administered by the
implementing organization, including the plan
to address need in any rural, suburban, or
urban area within a jurisdiction;
(ii) a plan for selecting subrecipients, if
applicable;
(iii) how the implementing organization
plans to execute the coordination of Federal,
State, and local home repair programs,
including programs administered by the
Department of Energy or the Department of
Agriculture, to increase efficiency and reduce
redundancy;
(iv) available data on the need for
affordable and quality housing within the
geographic scope of the whole-home repairs
program, and any plans to preserve
affordability through the term of the award;
(v) how the implementing organization plans
to process and verify applications for grants
from eligible homeowners and applications for
loans from eligible landlords; and
(vi) such other information as the
Secretary requires to determine the ability of
an applicant to carry out a program under this
subsection.
(B) Considerations.--In making awards under this
subsection, the Secretary shall--
(i) with respect to applications submitted
by States other than the District of Columbia
and the territories of the United States,
prioritize those applications with a
demonstrated plan to--
(I) make a good faith effort to
implement the pilot program in every
jurisdiction; and
(II) provide non-metropolitan
areas, or subrecipients serving non-
metropolitan areas if applicable, with
a share of total funds commensurate to
their population;
(ii) aim to select applicants so that the
awardees collectively span diverse geographies,
with an intent to understand the impact of the
pilot program under this subsection in urban,
suburban, rural, and Tribal settings; and
(iii) not disqualify implementing
organizations that were awarded grants under
the pilot program in prior application cycles.
(5) Program information.--The Secretary shall make
available to grant recipients under this subsection information
regarding existing Federal programs for which grant recipients
may coordinate or provide assistance in coordinating
applications for those programs in accordance with paragraph
(2)(C).
(6) Grant number.--In each year in which an award is made
under this subsection, the Secretary shall award assistance
to--
(A) not less than 2, and not more than 10,
implementing organizations, as application numbers and
funding permit; and
(B) not more than 1 implementing organization in
any State.
(7) Loans that are not forgiven.--If a loan made by an
implementing organization under paragraph (2)(B) is not
forgiven, the loan repayment funds shall be reused by the
implementing organization for a new whole-home repair grant or
loan under this subsection.
(8) Supplement, not supplant.--Amounts awarded under this
subsection to implementing organizations shall supplement, not
supplant, other Federal, State, and local funds made available
to those entities.
(9) Streamlining program delivery and ensuring
efficiency.--To the extent possible, in carrying out the pilot
program under this subsection, the Secretary shall--
(A) endeavor to improve efficiency of service
delivery, as well as the experience of and impact on
the taxpayer, by encouraging programmatic collaboration
and information sharing across Federal, State, and
local programs for home repair or improvement,
including programs administered by the Department of
Agriculture; and
(B) enhance collaboration and cross-agency
streamlining efforts that reduce the burdens of
multiple income verification processes and applications
on the eligible homeowner, the eligible landlord, the
implementing organization, and the Federal Government,
including by establishing assistance application
procedures for income eligibility under this subsection
that recognize income eligibility determinations for
assistance using any of the criteria under subsection
(a)(3)(A) that have been used for assistance
applications during the 1-year period preceding the
date on which an eligible homeowner or eligible
landlord applies for assistance under this subsection.
(10) Reporting requirements.--
(A) Annual report.--An implementing organization
that receives a grant under this subsection shall
submit to the Secretary an annual report on initial
funding that includes--
(i) the number of units served, including
reporting on both homeownership and rental
units, as well as accessible units;
(ii) the average cost per unit for
modifications or repairs and the nature of
those modifications or repairs, including
reporting on accessibility and both
homeownership and rental units;
(iii) the number of applications received,
served, denied, or not completed, disaggregated
by geographic area;
(iv) the aggregated demographic data of
grant recipients, which may include data on
income range, urban, suburban, and rural
residency, age, and racial and ethnic identity;
(v) the aggregated demographic data of loan
recipients, which may include data on income
range, urban, suburban, and rural residency,
age, and racial and ethnic identity;
(vi) an affirmation that the implementation
organization has complied with the applicable
regulations, including compliance with Federal
accessibility requirements;
(vii) in the first year of receiving a
grant, and as certified in subsequent reports,
a comprehensive plan to prevent waste, fraud,
and abuse in the administration of the pilot
program, which shall include, at a minimum--
(I) a policy enacted and enforced
by the implementing organization to
monitor ongoing expenditures under this
subsection and ensure compliance with
applicable regulations;
(II) a policy enacted and enforced
by the implementing organization to
detect and deter fraudulent activity,
including fraud occurring in individual
projects and patterns of fraud by
parties involved in the expenditure of
funds under this subsection;
(III) a statement setting forth any
violations detected by the implementing
organization during the previous
calendar year, including details about
steps taken to achieve compliance and
any remedial measures; and
(IV) a certification by the chief
executive or most senior compliance
officer of the organization that the
organization maintains sufficient staff
and resources to effectively carry out
the above-mentioned policies; and
(viii) such other information as the
Secretary may require.
(B) Reporting requirement alignment.--To limit the
costs of implementing the pilot program under this
subsection, the Secretary shall endeavor, to the extent
possible, to structure reporting requirements such that
they align with the data reporting requirements in
place for funding streams that implementing
organizations are likely to use in partnership with
funding from this subsection, including the reporting
requirements under--
(i) the Community Development Block Grant
program under title I of the Housing and
Community Development Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.
5301 et seq.);
(ii) the HOME Investment Partnerships
program under subtitle A of title II of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing
Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et seq.);
(iii) the Weatherization Assistance Program
for low-income persons established under part A
of title IV of the Energy Conservation and
Production Act (42 U.S.C. 6861 et seq.); and
(iv) the Native American Housing Assistance
and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C.
4101 et seq.).
(C) Pilot program period reports.--Not less
frequently than twice during the period in which the
pilot program established under this subsection
operates, the Office of Inspector General of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development shall
complete an assessment of the implementation of
measures to ensure the fair and legitimate use of the
pilot program.
(D) Summary to congress.--The Secretary shall
submit to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial
Services of the House of Representatives an annual
report providing a summary of the data provided under
subparagraphs (A) and (C) during the 1-year period
preceding the report and all data previously provided
under those subparagraphs.
(11) Funding.--The Secretary--
(A) is authorized to use up to $30,000,000 of funds
made available as provided in appropriations Acts for
programs administered by the Office of Lead Hazard
Control and Healthy Homes to carry out the pilot
program under this subsection; and
(B) shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations
and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on
Appropriations and the Committee on Financial Services
of the House of Representatives a report on the
appropriations accounts from which the Secretary will
derive the funding under subparagraph (A).
(12) Environmental review.--A grant under this subsection
shall be--
(A) treated as assistance for a special project for
purposes of section 305(c) of the Multifamily Housing
Property Disposition Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C.
3547); and
(B) subject to the regulations promulgated by the
Secretary to implement such section.
(13) Termination.--The pilot program established under this
subsection shall terminate on October 1, 2031.
<all>