National Housing Law Project Housing Law Bulletin

Proposed New Restrictions on Occupancy in Designated Housing and Changes in Public and Section 8 Housing Lease Termination and Expedited Grievance Procedure

House Action

H.R. 117 would confer on public housing authorities (PHAs) the authority to establish occupancy standards for all public and Section 8 housing to deny admission to any individual who either "currently illegally uses a controlled substance" or with a "history of illegal use of a controlled substance or use of alcohol, or current use of alcohol," where such use gives the PHA "reasonable cause for the agency to believe that the occupancy of such individual may interfere with the health, safety or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents."²

Designated Housing

Admissions. The measure would completely rewrite Section 7 of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended. Among the changes is the application of the above admission restrictions to housing designated for elderly and disabled families. Under the revised statute, PHAs would be allowed discretion concerning rehabilitation only in the case of senior citizens. In considering whether to admit an elderly person with a history of such use, the PHA is given discretion to consider the person's present conduct with respect to the use of drugs or alcohol, his or her successful completion of a supervised rehabilitation program, or other successful rehabilitation and whether the applicant is currently enrolled in such a program. The implication is that for non-elderly disabled applicants, the rehabilitation aspects of PHA discretion are less expansive.

Evictions. The bill also creates a new section on standards for evictions from designated housing. It adds a section mandating eviction of individuals currently illegally using a controlled substance or alcohol on the same "reasonable cause to believe" basis as established for denying eligibility for housing assistance, discussed above. It also provides that the statute may not be used to require PHAs to evict other household members from housing designated for elderly and disabled families, if those members are not current alcohol or illegal substance users or who have no such history.

Displacement. The bill retains the provision in current law generally prohibiting displacement of any tenant when a project is designated for elderly or disabled use. Persons displaced as a result of the designation of their housing for elderly or disabled use must be promptly notified of the designation and given an option to be relocated to comparable housing — including Section 8 — and a comparable rent and provided moving expenses.

HUD Review of Designation Plan. Designation must be preceded by a plan prepared by the PHA and submitted to HUD for review. Among other things, the plan must include a justification for the designation in accordance with the local Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (CHAS), a description of the population to be served, and supportive services to be provided. HUD has 60 days to review this statutorily mandated designation plan. If, within 60 days of the plan's submission to HUD, the Department fails to notify the PHA that its plan is not in compliance with the law's requirements, the plan goes into effect nevertheless. This effectively could allow many buildings to be converted to elderly and/or disabled use without adequate opportunity to challenge the designation.

Public Housing and Section 8

New Lease Termination and Expedited Grievance Procedure. In addition to revising existing law on designated housing, the bill changes the public housing lease and grievance procedure to eliminate the requirement that only "criminal" activity be grounds for an expedited grievance procedure.³ Currently, criminal activity that threatens the health, safety or rights of peaceful enjoyment of other tenants or drug-related criminal activity is grounds for terminating a tenancy, and tenants are afforded due process rights with respect to a termination or eviction, regardless of state law. H.R. 117 would grant PHAs the right to terminate a public housing tenancy for any activity that poses a threat to the health or safety of other residents or project/management employees, or of "persons residing in the immediate vicinity of the premises."⁴ The same changes are made for the Section 8 program.⁵

Senate Action

The Senate amendment is part of the pending reauthorization bill, which has not yet been scheduled for floor action.

1. H.R. 117, H.R. REP. NO. 281, 104th Cong., 1st Sess. (Oct. 24, 1995).
2. 141 CONG. REC. H 10649 (Oct. 24, 1995).
3. H.R. 117, § 4(a), amending Section 6(k) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
4. H.R. 117, § 4(b), amending Section 6(l) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
5. H.R. 117, § 4(c), amending Section 8(d)(1)(B) of the United States Housing Act of 1937.
6. S. 1260, Public Housing Reform and Empowerment Act, 104th Cong., 1st Sess. (reported from Committee on Oct. 26, 1995).