Housing Accountability Act of 2019

This bill provides statutory authority for the requirement for an entity receiving low-income housing assistance payments for existing public housing units to maintain decent, safe, and sanitary conditions for any structure covered under a payment contract.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) shall develop a process by which a Performance-Based Contract Administrator shall, on a semiannual basis, conduct a survey of the tenants of each such structure to identify consistent or persistent problems with the structure's physical condition or its manager's performance.

A structure shall be referred to HUD for remediation if the administrator identifies such a problem based on the survey or any other observation made by the administrator during the normal course of business.

HUD may impose a penalty on the structure's owner if the structure does not satisfactorily meet this bill's requirements or is repeatedly referred to HUD for remediation by an administrator through the process. Collected amounts shall be used solely for supporting safe and sanitary conditions at applicable structures or for HUD designated tenant relocation, with priority given to tenants of the penalized structure.

This bill shall not apply to voucher program property.