H.R. 3049 — Tenants’ Right to Organize Act

This section establishes tenant rights under the Housing Choice Voucher program (i.e., tenant-based Section 8 rental assistance) to form, operate, and participate in legitimate tenant organizations addressing tenancy terms, living conditions, and housing development; authorizes tenants to speak publicly on housing issues; and prohibits public housing agencies (PHAs) and owners from interfering or retaliating against such activities. PHAs and owners must recognize tenant organizations, consider their concerns, and permit protected activities (e.g., distributing leaflets, door-to-door surveys, on-site meetings, and public speaking) without prior permission. PHAs must additionally solicit feedback (e.g., on agency plans), respond in writing within 60 days (or 30 days for exigent conditions), notify tenants of these rights, and seek resident board appointments from tenant organizations; owners must allow tenant organizers to assist in organization efforts. PHAs and owners must provide accessible meeting space upon request, with owners permitted to charge reasonable fees. An adverse action against a tenant organizer within 180 days of protected activity creates a rebuttable presumption of retaliation.

This section establishes requirements modeled on the Section 8 resident organizations provisions (42 U.S.C. §1437f(o)(23)) for tenant organizations in applicable low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) projects—i.e., those placed in service after enactment and existing projects still within their 15-year compliance period—conditioning qualified project status on (1) granting rent-restricted tenants rights to organize, (2) owners recognizing tenant organizations and providing meeting space and information, and (3) state housing credit agencies facilitating organization and resolving disputes. State housing credit agencies must notify tenants annually of these rights and either amend standard leases or addendums or incorporate affirmations of the rights into lease-based compliance evaluations. The section authorizes appropriations to the Secretary for implementation and applies to taxable years beginning after enactment.

This section directs the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in coordination with the Treasury Secretary, to establish by one year after enactment an enforcement protocol for tenant protections against interference with establishing and operating legitimate tenant organizations under new provisions of section 8(o)(23) of the U.S. Housing Act of 1937 (tenant-based rental assistance) and section 42(g)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code (low-income housing tax credit properties). The protocol must (1) reflect or integrate, where possible, the existing enforcement mechanism under section 202 of the Housing and Community Development Amendments Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 1715z–1b) (i.e., protections for tenants in HUD-assisted projects for the elderly or persons with disabilities); (2) create a complaint mechanism for public housing agencies, state housing credit agencies, owners, landlords, and their representatives, including remedies, independent investigations, tenant notifications, and confidentiality for extreme cases; (3) prohibit withholding tenant-based assistance, denying occupancy or other rights in assisted or rent-restricted units until complaints are resolved; and (4) refer potential fair housing violations to HUD's Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. This section further establishes a private right of action for tenants in federal or state court, including for injunctive relief, to enforce the Act's provisions; and requires the HUD Secretary to submit quarterly reports to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services detailing complaint volumes and types, average response and closure times, and data at both property and jurisdiction levels.

This section revises funding under sec. 514(f)(3)(A) of the Multifamily Assisted Housing Reform and Affordability Act of 1997 (i.e., for tenant participation, services, and capacity building to facilitate transfers and preservation of at-risk multifamily properties with project-based Section 8 rental assistance) by (1) requiring a minimum amount (from not more than), (2) adding predevelopment assistance to enable property transfers to tenant groups, nonprofits, or public entities, and (3) expanding eligible housing to include properties with public housing subsidies, low-income housing tax credits, federal or state subsidized loans, enhanced vouchers under Section 8(t), or project-based vouchers under Section 8(o). The section also adds subparagraph (D) to establish a grant program—required to be implemented within one year of enactment—for nonprofit organizations to provide tenant outreach, training, and technical assistance to tenant groups, with eligibility limited to entities having at least two years of tenant assistance experience and independence from property owners or purchasers; requires expedited funding of not less than $1 million via interagency agreement with the Corporation for National and Community Service in the year of enactment; authorizes flexible grants for underserved areas and national or regional organizations; makes funds available across fiscal years; and mandates quarterly reports on uses.

This section directs the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to provide $40 per unit per year to each resident council in public housing (i.e., resident organizations as defined in 24 CFR 964.100), not later than one year after enactment of this Act, with annual increases to account for inflation.