Landlord Accountability Act of 2025
The Landlord Accountability Act of 2025 would overhaul fair housing law to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on source of income, including use of Section 8 rental vouchers, and to expand enforcement, penalties, and landlord accountability around voucher tenants. The bill adds a broad “source of income” protected category, broadens fair housing protections to cover voucher users and other forms of income, creates new penalties for landlords who intentionally disqualify units or leave units vacant to discriminate, and funds additional enforcement mechanisms, complaint processing, public reporting, and tenant rights outreach. It also introduces tax incentives for eligible landlords who maintain voucher-using properties, requires public display of tenant rights information, and provides grants to support tenant harassment prevention. The overall aim is to reduce landlord discrimination against voucher holders and improve protections and remedies for tenants using housing assistance. Key provisions include: defining “source of income” to include vouchers and various forms of government and other income; new penalties for intentional disqualification and for keeping vacant units; a national program to resolve voucher-related complaints; increased HUD enforcement resources and public reporting; a new tax credit (the Low-Income Housing Maintenance Credit) for eligible landlords with voucher-using tenants; required tenant-rights displays and model notices; and grants to support tenant harassment prevention. The act assigns funding through 2035 for enforcement and awareness, with specific caps and conditions. The sponsor noted is Representative Velázquez, and the bill would require regulatory implementation by HUD.
Key Points
- 1Prohibits housing discrimination based on source of income, including current or future use of Section 8 vouchers and related forms of housing assistance; expands protection to other income sources as defined by the act.
- 2Establishes penalties for landlords who intentionally make a unit unsuitable for federal housing programs or who keep units vacant to force tenants out, including civil penalties and damages to tenants.
- 3Creates a national complaint resolution program and increases HUD staff and resources to handle voucher-related complaints; requires public disclosure of complaints and annual reporting to Congress.
- 4Introduces the Low-Income Housing Maintenance Credit (Section 45AA) to incentivize landlords to maintain properties with voucher-using tenants, with per-unit, per-building, and per-taxpayer caps; eligibility hinges on voucher-using occupancy and rent controls linked to fair market rents.
- 5Requires landlords to display tenant-rights notices and provides a model notice; imposes civil penalties for failure to display, with a cure period; establishes a 60-day lead time after final rule publication before the notices apply.
- 6Provides grants for tenant harassment prevention programs to support legal aid, counseling, intervention, and other supportive services, with federal funding and a cap on the federal share.
- 7Expands protections in related sections (including intimidation prevention) to cover source-of-income discrimination and authorizes ongoing appropriations for enforcement and awareness programs.