Res. No. 308

Resolution calling Congress to pass and the President to sign, H.R.202, the Landlord Accountability Act of 2017.

By Council Members Chin, Reynoso and Ayala

Whereas, According to the Urban Institute, no county in the United States has the supply of affordable housing that meets the housing demand for low income households; and

Whereas, Data from the 2015 American Housing Survey shows that over 50 percent of renters in the United States pay 30 percent or more of their current income towards housing costs; and

Whereas, There is currently a need for the  Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCV), which is a federal housing program, to assist very low-income families, the elderly and disabled to find  affordable housing; and

Whereas, The local public housing agencies (PHA), such as the New York City Housing Authority or the New York City Housing Preservation and Development, receive their funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to administer HCV; and

Whereas, The recipient of the housing choice voucher is responsible to find a home within the HCV spending limits and the property owner is paid directly by the PHA on behalf of the recipient; and

Whereas, Some property owners refuse to offer available housing units due to the source of income tenants planned to use for their rental payment but a few states and local municipalities, such as New York City, have made this form of discrimination illegal; and

Whereas, HUD released a report titled, “The Impact of Source of Income Laws on Voucher Utilization and Locational Outcomes” to  compared the utilization rates of public housing authorities that have laws that prohibit discrimination based on the source of income with public housing authorities that do not have such laws; and  ; and

Whereas, The HUD  report reviewed before and after the enactment of the law  and found that these anti-discrimination laws appear to have made a substantial difference in voucher utilization rates and modest differences in the locations where the vouchers were utilized; and

Whereas, H.R.202, sponsored by Representative Nydia Velazquez, currently pending in the United States House of Representatives, would amend the Fair Housing Act to make it unlawful for a  property owners to deny tenancy because a current or prospective tenant holds a housing voucher for rental assistance; and

Whereas, H.R 202, known as the Landlord Accountability Act of 2017, establishes civil monetary penalties if the property owner has intentions to disqualify their units for federal housing programs; and

Whereas, H.R 202 would establishes a new multifamily housing complaint resolution program to have the necessary staffing to handle the volumes of calls from voucher holders, and

Whereas, H.R 202 would requires HUD to disclose on their website information the complaints received and resolved from HCV recipients, and

Whereas, H.R 202 would also amend the Internal Revenue Code to establish a tax credit incentive for maintenance to property owners who own at least 5 units and have at least 3 tenants with HCV, and

Whereas, H.R 202 would also require owners of multifamily buildings to display notice describing tenants’ rights under the federal housing voucher program; and

Whereas, H.R. 202 would also establish a grant program at HUD to support local programs that protect tenants from harassment; now, therefore, be it

Resolved,  That the Council of the City of New York calls upon Congress to pass and the President to sign, H.R.202, the Landlord Accountability Act of 2017

JLC

LS 8443/ Res 1407/2018

LS 853/4009

2/9/2018 6:35 PM