Public Housing Fire Safety Act

The Public Housing Fire Safety Act would create a new, competitive grant program under HUD to help public housing agencies install automatic sprinkler systems in certain older public housing projects. These projects are labeled “exempted public housing projects,” meaning they are not newly constructed multifamily properties and are not subject to specific Fire Prevention and Control Act requirements. The bill also requires HUD to report on sprinkler presence during public housing inspections and to prepare a Congress-wide report within three years with recommendations to improve fire safety in exempted projects. Importantly, the bill does not require agencies to install sprinklers in exempted projects; it simply authorizes grants, lays out definitions, and provides for oversight and funding. The program would be funded through an annual appropriation of $25 million to the Capital Fund for 2025–2034, in addition to existing Capital Fund appropriations, with a prohibition on using these grants for rebuilt multifamily properties.