Sec. 203. Strategy and investment in rural housing
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Title V of the Housing Act of 1949 ( 42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.), as amended by section 202 of this Act, is amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall carry out a program under this section for the preservation and revitalization of multifamily rental housing projects financed with loans under sections 514, 515, and 516. On an annual basis, the Secretary shall provide written notice to each owner of a property financed under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 that will mature within the 4-year period beginning upon the provision of such notice, setting forth the options and financial incentives that are available to facilitate the extension of the loan term or the option to decouple a rental assistance contract pursuant to subsection (f).
For each property financed with a loan made or insured under section 514, 515, or 516, not later than the date that is 2 years before the date that such loan will mature, the Secretary shall provide written notice to each household residing in such property that informs them of the date of the loan maturity, the possible actions that may happen with respect to the property upon such maturity, and how to protect their right to reside in Federally assisted housing after such maturity.
If the Secretary fails to provide households with the notice required under subparagraph (A), the residents shall be held harmless from rent increases until the required notice period elapses. Notice under this paragraph shall be provided in plain English and shall be translated to other languages in the case of any property located in an area in which a significant number of residents speak such other languages, consistent with guidance issued by the Secretary in accordance with Executive Order 13166 ( 42 U.S.C. 2000d–1 note; relating to access to services for persons with limited English proficiency).
Under the program under this section, the Secretary may restructure such existing housing loans, as the Secretary considers appropriate, for the purpose of ensuring that such projects have sufficient resources to preserve the projects to provide safe and affordable housing for low-income residents and farm laborers, by— reducing or eliminating interest; deferring loan payments; subordinating, reducing, or reamortizing loan debt; and providing other financial assistance, including advances, payments, and incentives (including the ability of owners to obtain reasonable returns on investment) required by the Secretary.
When the Secretary offers to restructure a loan pursuant to subsection (c), the Secretary shall offer to renew the rental assistance contract under section 521(a)(2) for a 20-year term that is subject to annual appropriations, provided that the owner agrees to bring the property up to such standards that will ensure its maintenance as decent, safe, and sanitary housing for the full term of the rental assistance contract. As part of the preservation and revitalization agreement for a project, the Secretary shall obtain a restrictive use agreement that obligates the owner to operate the project in accordance with this title.
Except when the Secretary enters into a 20-year extension of the rental assistance contract for the project, the term of the restrictive use agreement for the project shall be consistent with the term of the restructured loan for the project. If the Secretary enters into a 20-year extension of the rental assistance contract for a project, the term of the restrictive use agreement for the project shall be extended for 20 years. The Secretary may terminate the 20-year use restrictive use agreement for a project prior to the end of its term if the 20-year rental assistance contract for the project with the owner is terminated at any time for reasons outside the owner’s control.
If the Secretary determines that a maturing loan for a project cannot reasonably be restructured in accordance with subsection
(c)and the project was operating with rental assistance under section 521, the Secretary may renew the rental assistance contract, notwithstanding any provision of section 521, for a term, subject to annual appropriations, of not less than 10 years but not more than 20 years. Any agreement to extend the term of the rental assistance contract under section 521 for a project shall obligate the owner to continue to maintain the project as decent, safe and sanitary housing and to operate the development in accordance with this title, except that rents shall be based on the lesser of— the budget-based needs of the project; or the operating cost adjustment factor as a payment standard as provided under section 524 of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 ( 42 U.S.C. 1437 note). At the time of an agreement to extend the term of rental assistance contract under section 521, the initial rent shall established as conventional rents for comparable units by appraisal or market study. Residents of projects originally financed with a loan made or insured under section 514 or 515 that has matured shall be eligible for voucher assistance under section 542 if a rental assistance contract under section 521 is not extended beyond the term of the underlying loan made or insured under section 514 or 515. If the Secretary determines that additional voucher funds under section 542 are needed, funds for the revitalization program under this section may be used for those vouchers for any low-income household (including those not receiving rental assistance) residing in a property financed with a loan under this section that has been prepaid after September 30, 2005. Under the program under this section, the Secretary may provide grants to qualified nonprofit organizations, public housing agencies, and tribal housing authorities to provide technical assistance, including financial and legal services, to borrowers under loans under this title for multifamily housing to facilitate the acquisition of such multifamily housing properties in areas where the Secretary determines there is a risk of loss of affordable housing. The Secretary shall not categorically exclude previously initiated acquisitions from the provision of technical assistance funding under this subsection. After the loan or loans for a rental project originally financed under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516 have matured or have been prepaid and the owner has chosen not to restructure the loan pursuant to subsection (c), a tenant residing in such project shall have 18 months prior to loan maturation or prepayment to transfer the rental assistance assigned to the tenant’s unit to another rental project originally financed under section 515 or both sections 514 and 516, and the owner of the initial project may rent the tenant’s previous unit to a new tenant without income restrictions. Of any amounts made available for the program under this section for any fiscal year, the Secretary may use not more than $1,000,000 for administrative expenses for carrying out such program. The Secretary— shall not carry out any policy reducing the number of full-time equivalent employees of the Rural Housing Service without explicit authorization in an Act of Congress; shall produce, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this section, a comprehensive, actionable, and measurable staffing plan to increase staffing levels at rural development field offices to levels sufficient to approve ownership transfers of multifamily housing projects under section 515 of this Act within 90 days of receipt of the transfer; shall hire and on-board not less than 100 full-time equivalent employees of the Rural Housing Service in each of fiscal years 2021, 2022, and 2023; and shall delegate primary and final hiring authority to each Rural Development State Director for all vacant Rural Housing Service staff positions until the Secretary certifies that the staff vacancy rate for the Rural Housing Service in the respective State is under 3 percent. There is authorized to be appropriated for the program under this section $220,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2030. Of amounts authorized to be appropriated for each fiscal year under paragraph (1)— $10,000,000 shall be set aside and allocated for activities carried out under subsection (h); and $10,000,000 shall be set aside and allocated for activities carried out under subsection (k). . Section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 ( 42 U.S.C. 1485 ) is amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall establish a multifamily preservation and revitalization program to preserve and revitalize multifamily housing projects financed under section 514, 515, or 516. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may— with respect to the loans provided under sections 514, 515, and 516— reduce or eliminate interest; defer loan payments; and subordinate, reduce, or reamortize loan debt; and provide other financial assistance, including— advances; and payments and incentives (including the ability of owners to obtain reasonable returns on investment). In exchange for assistance provided pursuant to this subsection, the Secretary shall enter into a restrictive use agreement with the property owner to ensure that the property remains subject to low-income use restrictions for an additional period of time consistent with the terms of the restructuring. If the Secretary determines that additional funds for the revitalization program under this subsection are needed, funds for the rural housing voucher program under section 542 may be used for the revitalization program under this subsection. .
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- 42 USC 2000d–1
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Sec. 203
Strategy and investment in rural housing
Cite42 USC 2000d–1
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