# Dignity Act

# A BILL

To establish a comprehensive national system to prevent and resolve homelessness through permanent housing, housing stabilization, integrated health and rehabilitation services, homelessness prevention, community reintegration, responsible stewardship of public funds, and enforceable resident protections.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

## SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Dignity Act”.

## SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Funding and program-year conventions.

TITLE I—NATIONAL FRAMEWORK, ELIGIBILITY, AND GOVERNING PRINCIPLES
Sec. 101. Findings.
Sec. 102. Purposes.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
Sec. 104. Eligibility.
Sec. 105. Prioritization and access.
Sec. 106. Housing first and separation of housing from treatment.
Sec. 107. National goals and capacity targets.
Sec. 108. Governing rules of construction.

TITLE II—FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION, REGIONAL PLANNING, AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY
Sec. 201. Office of housing stability and dignity.
Sec. 202. Interagency coordination.
Sec. 203. State, tribal, and regional dignity plans.
Sec. 204. Direct local awards and nonparticipating jurisdictions.
Sec. 205. Allocation of expansion resources.
Sec. 206. Federal and local workforce capacity.
Sec. 207. National resident advisory council.
Sec. 208. Delivery authorities and technical assistance.
Sec. 209. Coordination with existing programs.
Sec. 210. National needs, land, workforce, and cost report.

TITLE III—PREVENTION, TENANT PROTECTION, AND STRUCTURAL DRIVERS OF HOMELESSNESS
Sec. 301. Housing stability and eviction prevention grants.
Sec. 302. Housing legal assistance.
Sec. 303. Good-cause protection in covered assisted tenancies.
Sec. 304. Rental fee transparency.
Sec. 305. Tenant screening and record correction.
Sec. 306. Deposits, late fees, and utility continuity.
Sec. 307. Habitability, anti-harassment, and anti-retaliation.
Sec. 308. Protection against predatory housing-related finance.
Sec. 309. Institutional discharge-prevention agreements.
Sec. 310. Preservation of affordable housing and community stability.

TITLE IV—OUTREACH, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND BRIDGE HOUSING
Sec. 401. Community outreach teams.
Sec. 402. Twenty-four-hour navigation and placement.
Sec. 403. Bridge housing program.
Sec. 404. Minimum emergency accommodation standards.
Sec. 405. Medical respite and recuperative care.
Sec. 406. Encampment response and use of funds.
Sec. 407. Identification, property, transport, and reunification.
Sec. 408. Disaster and seasonal surge capacity.

TITLE V—PERMANENT HOUSING, RESTORATION, RESPONSIBILITY, AND TRANSITION
Sec. 501. Dignity permanent housing program.
Sec. 502. Lease rights and continuity.
Sec. 503. Restoration period and rent progression.
Sec. 504. Income, hardship, and recertification.
Sec. 505. Individual restoration plans.
Sec. 506. Earned savings and transition assistance.
Sec. 507. Reduced-rent continuation.
Sec. 508. Over-income transition and responsible move-on.
Sec. 509. Permanent supportive housing.
Sec. 510. Portable housing assistance.
Sec. 511. Household choice and family unity.
Sec. 512. Resident responsibilities and program integrity.

TITLE VI—LAND, CONSTRUCTION, HOUSING STANDARDS, AND DIGNITY VILLAGES
Sec. 601. Capital development program.
Sec. 602. Land acquisition and site due diligence.
Sec. 603. Federal property.
Sec. 604. Factory-built housing and manufacturing capacity.
Sec. 605. Minimum dwelling size and bedroom standards.
Sec. 606. Accessibility and adaptable design.
Sec. 607. Village size, choice, and integration.
Sec. 608. Land-area planning and infrastructure.
Sec. 609. Common facilities and neighborhood connections.
Sec. 610. Community safety and de-escalation.
Sec. 611. Building quality, energy, and resilience.
Sec. 612. Construction delivery, inspection, and warranty.
Sec. 613. Long-term asset stewardship.
Sec. 614. Labor, apprenticeship, and safe employment.

TITLE VII—HEALTH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, ADDICTION TREATMENT, AND REHABILITATION
Sec. 701. Dignity health access grants.
Sec. 702. Medicaid and other payer coordination.
Sec. 703. Mental health and mobile crisis services.
Sec. 704. Substance-use treatment and withdrawal management.
Sec. 705. Long-term rehabilitation.
Sec. 706. Case management and service intensity.
Sec. 707. Qualifications, supervision, and staff protection.
Sec. 708. Informed consent and treatment autonomy.
Sec. 709. Public health, disability, and essential care.
Sec. 710. Clinical quality and incident review.

TITLE VIII—EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, FINANCIAL STABILITY, AND COMMUNITY LIFE
Sec. 801. Dignity-to-work program.
Sec. 802. Education and credential access.
Sec. 803. Childcare and family support.
Sec. 804. Community reconnection hubs.
Sec. 805. Resident leadership and social enterprise.
Sec. 806. Financial capability and asset building.
Sec. 807. Transportation and digital access.
Sec. 808. Post-transition follow-up.

TITLE IX—TARGETED PATHWAYS FOR POPULATIONS FACING HEIGHTENED BARRIERS
Sec. 901. Foster-youth housing continuity.
Sec. 902. Reentry from incarceration.
Sec. 903. Hospital, treatment, and nursing-facility transitions.
Sec. 904. Survivors of violence and trafficking.
Sec. 905. Veterans and military transitions.
Sec. 906. Older adults and persons with disabilities.
Sec. 907. Rural, frontier, and tribal systems.
Sec. 908. Youth, family rejection, and other access barriers.

TITLE X—RESIDENT RIGHTS, PRIVACY, DUE PROCESS, AND ENFORCEMENT
Sec. 1001. Express individual rights.
Sec. 1002. Data minimization and consent.
Sec. 1003. Information security and interoperability.
Sec. 1004. Automated decision systems.
Sec. 1005. Grievances and independent advocacy.
Sec. 1006. Termination, eviction, and emergency action.
Sec. 1007. Administrative enforcement and successor operators.
Sec. 1008. Civil enforcement.
Sec. 1009. Private action and judicial review.
Sec. 1010. Federalism, immunity, and tribal remedies.

TITLE XI—APPROPRIATIONS, FISCAL CONTROLS, PROCUREMENT, AND LONG-TERM STEWARDSHIP
Sec. 1101. Dignity housing and stability fund.
Sec. 1102. Capital appropriations.
Sec. 1103. Operating appropriations.
Sec. 1104. Indexing and limited transfers.
Sec. 1105. Full-cost budgeting and cost controls.
Sec. 1106. Procurement, beneficial ownership, and fraud prevention.
Sec. 1107. Reserves, maintenance, and renewal.
Sec. 1108. Additionality and no duplicate payment.
Sec. 1109. Renewal priority and revenue treatment.
Sec. 1110. Fiscal reporting and independent audit.

TITLE XII—IMPLEMENTATION, EVALUATION, CORRECTIVE ACTION, AND REVIEW
Sec. 1201. Effective dates and transition.
Sec. 1202. Rulemaking.
Sec. 1203. Implementation milestones.
Sec. 1204. Performance measures.
Sec. 1205. Independent evaluation.
Sec. 1206. Corrective action and limited waivers.
Sec. 1207. Congressional review.
Sec. 1208. Savings, severability, and protection of existing rights.

## SEC. 3. FUNDING AND PROGRAM-YEAR CONVENTIONS.

(a) Program years.—The first program year shall be the first Federal fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of this Act. Each succeeding Federal fiscal year shall constitute the next program year.

(b) Base-year amounts.—Dollar amounts specified in this Act are base-year amounts at the 2026 price level and shall be adjusted only as expressly provided in section 1104. The reference period for indexing is the 12-month period ending June 30, 2026.

(c) Initial implementation appropriation.—Of the base-year amount appropriated for the first program year under section 1103(a)(1), $300,000,000 shall be available on the date of enactment of this Act for staffing, planning, emergency continuity, rulemaking, and establishment of financial controls. That amount is appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated and shall remain available through the end of the second program year. The amount otherwise becoming available on the first day of the first program year shall be reduced, dollar for dollar, by the amount made available under this subsection. No separate or additional $300,000,000 appropriation is authorized by this subsection.

(d) Separate accounting.—Each responsible Federal agency and covered recipient shall separately account for capital commitments, operating assistance, cash outlays, resident contributions, third-party reimbursements, and asset-renewal expenditures.

(e) Financing.—This Act does not establish a tax or a dedicated revenue source. An agency report under this Act may not characterize the appropriations as deficit-neutral without an enacted financing measure or an official budget estimate supporting that characterization.

(f) Availability limitation.—Except for the advance appropriation under subsection (c), appropriations for a program year shall become available on the first day of that program year. Neither a national goal nor an appropriation for a subsequent program year authorizes an obligation before budget authority is available.

# TITLE I—NATIONAL FRAMEWORK, ELIGIBILITY, AND GOVERNING PRINCIPLES

## SEC. 101. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that—

(1) preventing homelessness and enabling people to obtain and retain safe housing serve the general welfare;

(2) a national response must address both the immediate absence of housing and the conditions that cause repeated housing loss;

(3) housing programs require adequate land, infrastructure, construction capacity, operations, maintenance, health services, and qualified personnel;

(4) housing stability, recovery, employment, educational attainment, and community participation are distinct outcomes requiring coordinated but separately accountable interventions;

(5) the availability of housing may not depend on a subjective judgment that an applicant has become sufficiently deserving;

(6) public assistance may reasonably require accurate eligibility information, income-based contributions, responsible use of a dwelling, and compliance with lawful tenancy obligations;

(7) disability, persistent poverty, relapse, caregiving, or lack of available employment may not be treated as fraud or moral failure; and

(8) public investment shall be protected through durable affordability restrictions, transparent procurement, independent oversight, and enforceable standards.

## SEC. 102. PURPOSES.

The purposes of this Act are—

(1) to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring;

(2) to establish housing as the starting point for stabilization rather than a reward for completing treatment;

(3) to maintain a safe pathway from street outreach through temporary placement to permanent housing;

(4) to provide a multiyear restoration period followed by appropriate movement toward independence, reduced-rent continuation, or permanent supportive housing;

(5) to prevent eviction, institutional discharge to homelessness, family separation caused solely by housing deprivation, and repeated displacement;

(6) to expand dignified, accessible, efficient housing, including factory-built housing and appropriately integrated villages;

(7) to develop the workforce and institutional systems required for implementation; and

(8) to protect residents, surrounding communities, workers, and taxpayers through clear rights, responsibilities, and accountability.

## SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ADJUSTED INCOME.—The term “adjusted income” means household income calculated under section 504.

(2) AREA MEDIAN INCOME.—The term “area median income” means the median family income for an area, adjusted for household size, as determined annually by the Secretary using the methodology applied under section 3(b)(2) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)(2)).

(3) APPROPRIATE PLACEMENT.—The term “appropriate placement” means a placement that is actually available and reasonably responsive to household size, disability, safety, medical needs, family unity, and applicable reasonable-accommodation requirements.

(4) BRIDGE HOUSING.—The term “bridge housing” means temporary indoor accommodation connected to an active permanent-housing placement process.

(5) BUSINESS DAY.—The term “business day” means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or Federal legal holiday. Unless expressly stated otherwise, a period specified in days means calendar days.

(6) COVERED ASSISTED TENANCY.—The term “covered assisted tenancy” means a residential tenancy supported by assistance under this Act, or a tenancy to which section 303(d) applies. A tenancy covered solely by section 303(d) is subject to the provisions specified in that subsection and does not, solely by reason of that coverage, become eligible for financial assistance under this Act.

(7) COVERED INSTITUTION.—The term “covered institution” means a Federal hospital, correctional facility, psychiatric facility, foster-care agency, residential treatment facility, nursing facility, or comparable Federal institution; or a non-Federal institution of such a type that accepts discharge-prevention or transition assistance under this Act. The duties of a non-Federal institution attach to the activities and participants supported by the accepted assistance.

(8) COVERED RECIPIENT.—The term “covered recipient” means a non-Federal public agency, Tribal entity, nonprofit organization, housing owner, contractor, subrecipient, or other person receiving or administering assistance under this Act. A pass-through award does not relieve a recipient of responsibility for applicable award conditions. Solely for the provisions made applicable by section 303(d), the term includes an owner or operator accepting assistance described in that subsection.

(9) DEPARTMENT.—The term “Department” means the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

(10) DIGNITY VILLAGE.—The term “Dignity Village” means a planned residential neighborhood financed under this Act, ordinarily serving 150 to 300 residents, with individual dwellings and shared service infrastructure, subject to section 607. A bridge village is a temporary setting governed by title IV and is not permanent housing.

(11) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term “eligible household” means a household that meets section 104.

(12) FAIR MARKET RENT.—The term “fair market rent” means the applicable gross monthly rent, including the utility allowance, published by the Secretary under section 8(c)(1) of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f(c)(1)), for the appropriate dwelling size and market area.

(13) FUND.—The term “Fund” means the Dignity Housing and Stability Fund established by section 1101.

(14) HOUSEHOLD.—The term “household” means an individual or a group voluntarily seeking to maintain a residence together, including spouses, partners, relatives, and a parent or guardian with children. No person may be compelled to form a household with an unrelated person.

(15) NET NEW CAPACITY.—The term “net new capacity” means additional usable housing or assistance capacity after subtracting displaced units, duplicative subsidies, and capacity previously counted under this Act. Preservation of an occupied dwelling shall be reported separately from net new capacity.

(16) OFFICE.—The term “Office” means the Office of Housing Stability and Dignity established by section 201.

(17) PERMANENT HOUSING.—The term “permanent housing” means a dwelling occupied under a renewable residential lease without a predetermined termination date based solely on the duration of homelessness assistance.

(18) PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.—The term “permanent supportive housing” means permanent housing combined with continuing services for a household whose disability, health, functional, or other substantial support needs warrant that assistance.

(19) PROGRAM YEAR.—The term “program year” has the meaning given that term in section 3(a).

(20) RESTORATION PERIOD.—The term “restoration period” means the initial period of enhanced stabilization assistance under section 503. The term does not describe a mandatory expiration of tenancy.

(21) SECRETARY.—The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, except where another officer is expressly identified.

(22) STATE.—The term “State” means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and each other territory or possession of the United States.

(23) TRIBE.—The term “Tribe” means an Indian tribe, as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304(e)), or a tribally designated housing entity, as defined in section 4 of the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103), acting within its lawful authority.

## SEC. 104. ELIGIBILITY.

(a) Housing eligibility.—A household is eligible for housing assistance if it—

(1) lacks a fixed, regular, safe, and adequate nighttime residence;

(2) resides in a place not intended for habitation;

(3) is staying in emergency or transitional accommodation because it lacks permanent housing;

(4) will lose its housing within 60 days and lacks resources or a safe alternative;

(5) is fleeing violence, trafficking, abuse, or a credible threat to safety; or

(6) will leave a covered institution without safe housing.

(b) Prevention eligibility.—Prevention assistance may also serve a household with income not exceeding 80 percent of area median income that faces a documented substantial risk of homelessness. The Secretary may permit assistance above that threshold following a disaster, serious medical event, or comparable emergency.

(c) Documentation.—Self-attestation shall establish provisional eligibility when documents are unavailable. A recipient shall assist with verification and may not delay emergency protection solely because identification or income records are missing.

(d) Criminal history.—An arrest, conviction, incarceration history, or supervision status may not by itself establish ineligibility. Current, individualized safety risks and independently applicable lawful placement restrictions may be considered.

(e) No local residency minimum.—A recipient may not require a minimum period of local residence. It may coordinate regional responsibility without denying immediate safety assistance.

(f) Program-specific eligibility irrespective of immigration status.—Notwithstanding sections 401 and 411 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611 and 1621), section 214 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 1436a), or any other Federal restriction on public-benefit eligibility based on citizenship or immigration status, assistance financed exclusively under this Act shall be available without regard to such status. A recipient combining funding sources shall separately identify costs charged to this Act and shall comply with the eligibility restrictions of each other funding source. This subsection does not confer immigration status, employment authorization, or eligibility for another Federal program.

## SEC. 105. PRIORITIZATION AND ACCESS.

(a) Recipients shall maintain a publicly described prioritization system considering imminent danger, unsheltered exposure, children’s needs, disability, medical vulnerability, violence, duration of homelessness, and impending institutional discharge.

(b) No assessment instrument shall treat a person as less eligible because the person cannot communicate symptoms, lacks records, or declines to disclose trauma.

(c) An individual facing an immediate threat to life or serious physical harm shall receive emergency response before ordinary administrative screening.

(d) Prioritization may not depend on expected employability, likelihood of producing favorable performance statistics, willingness to participate in research, or political or religious affiliation.

(e) A household denied assistance shall receive a written explanation, information about available alternatives, and review rights under title X.

(f) Waiting lists shall preserve priority during hospitalization, short-term incarceration, displacement, or reasonable inability to maintain electronic contact.

## SEC. 106. HOUSING FIRST AND SEPARATION OF HOUSING FROM TREATMENT.

(a) Admission to housing may not require sobriety, employment, treatment completion, medication adherence, or acceptance of a particular service provider.

(b) Housing staff shall offer services assertively and repeatedly, using respectful engagement, without converting treatment participation into a lease condition.

(c) A resident may decline a service while retaining tenancy, subject to ordinary lease requirements and section 512.

(d) A service provider may not threaten homelessness to obtain consent to treatment, release of medical information, labor, religious participation, or research.

(e) This section does not prohibit lawful action addressing actual violence, serious property damage, or another material tenancy violation, provided that reasonable accommodation, less restrictive alternatives, and title X procedures are observed.

(f) Nothing in this Act authorizes involuntary clinical treatment or detention beyond authority otherwise established by law.

## SEC. 107. NATIONAL GOALS AND CAPACITY TARGETS.

(a) National goals.—Using the last complete national point-in-time count published before enactment as the baseline for percentage reductions, the national goals are to—

(1) reduce unsheltered homelessness by at least 50 percent within five program years and 90 percent within ten;

(2) make an appropriate indoor placement offer within seven days after confirmed outreach engagement, with immediate response to life-threatening conditions;

(3) reduce returns to homelessness and the duration of homelessness;

(4) prevent discharge from covered institutions to unsheltered homelessness; and

(5) increase stable income, educational participation, health access, and community connection without penalizing people unable to work.

(b) The initial eight-year capacity targets are—

(1) 600,000 additional permanent dwellings produced, acquired, or rehabilitated;

(2) 250,000 additional concurrent portable household subsidies; and

(3) 100,000 additional or substantially converted bridge, respite, or clinically appropriate temporary spaces.

(c) Existing occupied supportive housing may not be counted as newly created capacity.

(d) These targets establish planning and accountability duties. They do not create an individual entitlement to an unavailable unit or authorize expenditure beyond appropriations.

## SEC. 108. GOVERNING RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.

(a) Housing assistance may not confer ownership of a dwelling unless a separately authorized shared-equity or ownership transaction expressly provides otherwise.

(b) Continued support shall reflect continuing need and objective eligibility, not an assumption that every household requires lifelong subsidy.

(c) A household may not be made homeless solely because a restoration period has ended.

(d) Federal civil-rights, labor, environmental, consumer-protection, and privacy laws remain applicable unless this Act expressly provides otherwise.

(e) Conditions imposed on States or local governments under this Act attach to assistance newly provided under this Act, except where a provision expressly establishes prospective requirements for another newly accepted Federal housing benefit.

(f) No agency may waive a statutory right by issuing guidance, changing a scoring instrument, or conditioning a grant award.

# TITLE II—FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION, REGIONAL PLANNING, AND INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY

## SEC. 201. OFFICE OF HOUSING STABILITY AND DIGNITY.

(a) There is established within the Department an Office of Housing Stability and Dignity.

(b) Direction.—The Office shall be headed by a Director appointed by the Secretary as an inferior officer, subject to the supervision and removal authority of the Secretary. The Director may exercise only authority lawfully delegated by the Secretary and may not exercise independent regulatory or adjudicatory authority.

(c) The Office shall administer housing and capital assistance, establish national standards, approve plans, manage fiscal controls, coordinate oversight, and maintain the national needs model.

(d) The Office shall include functions for housing development, property operations, prevention, civil rights, data protection, resident advocacy, workforce planning, and program evaluation.

(e) The Secretary may establish regional implementation teams and interagency details.

(f) The Office shall publish a single administrative manual identifying responsible agencies, application procedures, deadlines, grant conditions, and appeal routes.

## SEC. 202. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.

(a) Coordination.—The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, established under section 201 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11311), shall coordinate Federal implementation of this Act. If the Council ceases to exist or is otherwise unable to perform that function, the Secretary shall perform the coordination duties assigned to the Council by this Act. No termination of the Council shall terminate the programs, appropriations, or protections established by this Act.

(b) Participating agencies shall include the Departments of Housing and Urban Development, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Transportation, and the Treasury; the Social Security Administration; the General Services Administration; the Office of Management and Budget; the Federal Trade Commission; and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

(c) Each agency shall designate an accountable senior official within 30 days after enactment.

(d) Within 180 days, the Council shall publish a joint implementation plan assigning duties, funding channels, data boundaries, and dispute-resolution procedures.

(e) No interagency agreement may transfer statutory responsibility without authority or make a resident responsible for resolving an agency funding dispute.

(f) An agency failing to meet an assigned milestone shall submit a corrective schedule to the Council and Congress.

## SEC. 203. STATE, TRIBAL, AND REGIONAL DIGNITY PLANS.

(a) An applicant for formula assistance shall submit an initial plan within 270 days after enactment or within 180 days after becoming an applicant.

(b) A plan shall identify—

(1) current homelessness and projected inflows;

(2) available and missing housing capacity by household type;

(3) land, infrastructure, construction, and acquisition opportunities;

(4) health and service capacity;

(5) workforce requirements;

(6) prevention and institutional-discharge arrangements;

(7) community-integration and accessibility measures;

(8) capital and thirty-year operating estimates;

(9) procurement and anti-fraud systems; and

(10) annual implementation targets.

(c) Plans shall be developed with residents, people with lived experience, local governments, service providers, labor representatives, disability organizations, and affected neighborhoods.

(d) The Secretary shall approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove a complete plan within 90 days, stating specific reasons.

(e) A plan shall be updated annually and comprehensively revised every five years.

## SEC. 204. DIRECT LOCAL AWARDS AND NONPARTICIPATING JURISDICTIONS.

(a) A State’s refusal to participate may not prevent an otherwise eligible local government, Tribe, public housing agency, or nonprofit consortium from receiving assistance directly.

(b) Direct applicants shall demonstrate lawful authority to undertake the proposed activity and compliance with applicable land-use requirements.

(c) The Secretary shall establish nonoverlapping service areas and reconciliation procedures to prevent duplicate allocations for the same households.

(d) A local recipient may not be required to obtain a State endorsement unrelated to a legally necessary State approval.

(e) Direct awards may not displace a Tribe’s authority or permit a local government to exercise jurisdiction it otherwise lacks.

(f) If a recipient materially fails to administer an award, the Secretary may transfer administration to a qualified successor under section 1007.

## SEC. 205. ALLOCATION OF EXPANSION RESOURCES.

(a) After providing for continuing tenancy commitments, national administration, and expressly reserved functions, expansion resources shall be distributed as follows:

(1) 65 percent by formula.

(2) 20 percent through competitive awards.

(3) 5 percent through a Tribal set-aside.

(4) 5 percent through a rural and frontier set-aside.

(5) 5 percent for emergency surges and exceptional regional need.

(b) Formula.—For each indicator, the Secretary shall calculate the service area's share of the national total, using the most recent reliable and comparable data. The formula shall combine those shares with the following weights:

(1) 45 percent to unsheltered homelessness;

(2) 20 percent to sheltered homelessness;

(3) 15 percent to severe housing-cost burden among extremely low-income renters;

(4) 10 percent to school-identified homelessness; and

(5) 10 percent to projected institutional exits without housing.

(c) The Secretary shall publish methods for eliminating duplication, substituting audited estimates where data are incomplete, and adjusting awards for regional costs.

(d) Improved outcomes may not automatically reduce renewal funding for occupied housing.

(e) Competitive criteria shall reward readiness, cost-effectiveness, integration, accessibility, durable affordability, and service adequacy—not merely the lowest initial construction price.

## SEC. 206. FEDERAL AND LOCAL WORKFORCE CAPACITY.

(a) By the end of the second program year, the Secretary shall maintain at least 500 full-time-equivalent positions dedicated principally to implementation, administration, technical assistance, inspection, or oversight of this Act.

(b) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall maintain at least 250 such positions.

(c) The Secretaries of Labor, Education, Justice, Veterans Affairs, and Transportation, and the heads of other participating agencies, shall publish funded staffing plans sufficient to perform assigned duties.

(d) Temporary hiring authorities shall preserve merit-system principles, conflict-of-interest rules, and qualification requirements.

(e) Local awards shall include reasonable costs of recruitment, supervision, paid training, leave coverage, retention, and workforce development.

(f) A funded position requiring professional licensure may not be filled by an unlicensed person through a waiver of this Act.

(g) Volunteers and peer workers shall supplement, not substitute for, required clinical or safety personnel.

## SEC. 207. NATIONAL RESIDENT ADVISORY COUNCIL.

(a) The Secretary shall establish a 21-member advisory council, at least 12 members of which shall have experienced homelessness.

(b) Membership shall reflect family, youth, disability, rural, Tribal, veteran, survivor, and older-adult perspectives.

(c) Members shall receive reasonable compensation and reimbursement, with benefits counseling concerning any effect of compensation.

(d) The Council shall review proposed standards, resident complaints, performance measures, and community-integration practices.

(e) Its recommendations and agency responses shall be public, except for protected personal information.

(f) Advisory status.—The Council may not decide individual eligibility, adjudicate disputes, direct procurement awards, or exercise binding regulatory authority. Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, shall apply to the Council. Notwithstanding section 1013 of that title, the Council shall continue for the duration of the programs under this Act.

## SEC. 208. DELIVERY AUTHORITIES AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

(a) Award authority.—From amounts made available under title XI, the Secretary may provide grants, cooperative agreements, and direct technical assistance for activities authorized by this Act and may transfer amounts under section 1101. Each other Federal agency head assigned a program under this Act may make grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for that program from amounts transferred for that purpose. Each award shall state the funded activity, applicable conditions, responsible administrator, performance period, and available remedies.

(b) Construction and acquisition recipients may use lawful design-build, construction-management, master-purchase, and modular procurement methods.

(c) The Department shall maintain model contracts, accessibility specifications, lifecycle-cost tools, and standard inspection protocols.

(d) Technical assistance shall be available before application and during project delivery, including for organizations without prior Federal grant experience.

(e) Assistance may not be conditioned on purchasing a proprietary platform, using a particular manufacturer, or retaining a designated consultant.

(f) This section does not authorize Federal loan guarantees or other credit assistance requiring a separate credit-subsidy appropriation.

(g) Assignment of service programs.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, the Secretary shall administer housing, prevention, and resident-support activities; the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall administer clinical and health activities under sections 405 and 701 through 710 and childcare activities under section 803; the Secretary of Labor shall administer section 801; and the Secretary of Education shall administer section 802. The Secretary shall administer transportation and community activities under sections 804 through 808 in consultation with the Secretaries of Transportation, Labor, and Education, as appropriate.

## SEC. 209. COORDINATION WITH EXISTING PROGRAMS.

(a) Recipients shall coordinate with existing homelessness, public housing, veterans, disability, health, education, workforce, nutrition, and income-support programs.

(b) The Secretary shall publish a funding crosswalk identifying which program may lawfully pay each category of cost.

(c) A participant may not lose Dignity assistance merely because another agency has not completed an eligibility determination.

(d) Providers shall pursue available reimbursement without delaying urgent care or duplicating payment.

(e) Existing assistance may not be terminated solely to shift a household into this Act.

(f) Agencies shall establish consent-based referral and application assistance, but may not create a single unrestricted database of housing, medical, education, and justice records.

## SEC. 210. NATIONAL NEEDS, LAND, WORKFORCE, AND COST REPORT.

(a) Within one year after enactment and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall publish a national needs and cost report.

(b) The report shall separately estimate—

(1) point-in-time homelessness;

(2) annual entries, exits, and returns;

(3) household composition and dwelling requirements;

(4) existing occupied capacity, actual vacancies, and unusable inventory;

(5) prevention need;

(6) land and infrastructure requirements;

(7) capital, operating, clinical, staffing, maintenance, and renewal costs; and

(8) unmet need under existing appropriations.

(c) Projections shall cover one, five, ten, and thirty years and distinguish constant dollars, nominal dollars, budget authority, outlays, and financing costs.

(d) Assumptions, uncertainty ranges, data limitations, and regional differences shall be disclosed.

(e) The Secretary shall request supplemental resources when projected needs exceed funded capacity. The report may not authorize expenditure beyond appropriations or reduction of minimum standards.

# TITLE III—PREVENTION, TENANT PROTECTION, AND STRUCTURAL DRIVERS OF HOMELESSNESS

## SEC. 301. HOUSING STABILITY AND EVICTION PREVENTION GRANTS.

(a) The Secretary shall make grants for rental arrears, utility arrears, short-term rent assistance, deposits, mediation, relocation, and other documented interventions necessary to prevent homelessness.

(b) Ordinary assistance may cover up to six months of prospective housing costs and twelve months of arrears. Additional assistance may be approved upon an individualized determination that it is less costly and more effective than displacement.

(c) Payment to a landlord shall require acknowledgment of the covered debt’s satisfaction and withdrawal of any eviction claim based solely on that debt.

(d) A landlord’s refusal to cooperate may not automatically bar assistance; recipients may use another lawful payment or relocation method.

(e) Applicants facing imminent eviction or utility loss shall receive an initial decision within five business days.

(f) Assistance may not require a waiver of legal claims, confidentiality concerning unlawful conduct, or acceptance of an unlawful lease term.

## SEC. 302. HOUSING LEGAL ASSISTANCE.

(a) The Secretary shall fund legal representation and advice concerning eviction, unlawful lockout, benefits, housing discrimination, unsafe conditions, debt-related housing loss, and record correction.

(b) Participating jurisdictions shall offer representation to income-eligible tenants in covered assisted tenancies facing involuntary displacement.

(c) Grants may support court-based assistance, rural legal services, disability advocacy, and survivor representation.

(d) Counsel shall remain professionally independent of the landlord, property manager, and funding recipient.

(e) A tenant may not be required to accept a settlement as a condition of receiving assistance.

(f) Legal assistance under this section does not create a general Federal requirement that a State fund counsel outside the scope of its accepted award.

## SEC. 303. GOOD-CAUSE PROTECTION IN COVERED ASSISTED TENANCIES.

(a) Good cause required.—An owner or operator may terminate or refuse to renew a covered assisted tenancy only for—

(1) material nonpayment after required assistance, hardship review, and an opportunity to cure;

(2) a serious or repeated material violation of a lawful lease term;

(3) intentional, material eligibility fraud;

(4) a demonstrable, direct threat to the health or safety of another person, or a substantial risk of serious damage to property, established by individualized evidence and not reasonably remediable through accommodation or a less restrictive response; or

(5) lawful withdrawal of a property from residential use after compliance with relocation duties and applicable affordability covenants.

(b) Lease expiration.—Expiration of a lease term, without a ground described in subsection (a), does not constitute good cause.

(c) Assistance under this Act.—This section applies to each tenancy supported by assistance under this Act beginning on the date the assistance is first provided.

(d) Prospective conditions on other Federal housing assistance.—For rental housing not assisted under this Act, an owner accepting a new or renewed Federal rental subsidy, Federal multifamily mortgage insurance or guarantee, or Federal rental-housing capital award after the effective date of implementing regulations shall comply with this section, section 305(b) through (f), sections 306 and 307, and section 1006, as enforceable under sections 1007 through 1010. The Federal agency administering the assistance shall include express notice of these conditions before acceptance. The conditions shall apply to the subsidized tenancy or, for project-level assistance, to rental tenancies in the assisted property, during the term of that assistance and any applicable affordability restriction. Acceptance does not impose the eligibility or contribution rules of title V on another Federal program or authorize the impairment of an existing Federal contract before its renewal or modification by agreement.

(e) Exclusions and administration.—This section does not apply solely because a lender holds federally insured deposits or because an owner receives a tax deduction generally available to property owners. The Secretary shall issue implementing regulations jointly with, or after consultation with, each Federal agency administering assistance described in subsection (d). For a tenancy covered solely by subsection (d), the tenant contribution under section 306 means the tenant's share calculated under the governing assistance program, and the impartial hearing required by section 1006 may be provided by the administering agency or an independent designee.

## SEC. 304. RENTAL FEE TRANSPARENCY.

(a) In a rental transaction offered through interstate commerce or materially affecting interstate commerce, a housing provider shall disclose before accepting an application—

(1) total recurring mandatory charges;

(2) all one-time mandatory charges;

(3) refundable deposits;

(4) optional services and their prices; and

(5) the conditions for any future charge.

(b) Advertising a rent that excludes an unavoidable landlord-imposed fee is prohibited.

(c) An application or screening fee may not exceed actual reasonable cost or $35 per adult applicant, whichever is less, adjusted under section 1104.

(d) A provider may not collect a screening fee when no unit of the advertised type is reasonably expected to be available.

(e) A reusable screening report issued within the previous 30 days shall be accepted if it meets published accuracy and identity-verification standards. Additional verification shall be at the provider’s expense unless the applicant requests a materially different service.

(f) Administration.—The Federal Trade Commission shall administer this section and section 305(a), (d), and (e), including by rules issued under section 553 of title 5, United States Code. A violation of either provision by a person within the Commission's jurisdiction shall be treated as a violation of a rule defining an unfair or deceptive act or practice under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). The Commission may use the powers and remedies available under that Act, subject to its jurisdictional limits. The Attorney General may enforce the duties established by this section against any person to whom they apply under section 1008, including a person outside the Commission's jurisdiction. Nothing in this subsection authorizes administrative assessment of the additional civil penalties established by section 1008.

(g) Covered transactions.—This section applies to a residential rental transaction offered in or affecting interstate commerce, including through an interstate listing service, payment network, or tenant-screening service. An owner, agent, or screening provider may not evade a limit by dividing a mandatory charge among related persons or relabeling it as an optional charge.

## SEC. 305. TENANT SCREENING AND RECORD CORRECTION.

(a) Notice and correction opportunity.—Before taking adverse action based in whole or in part on a screening report, a provider subject to section 304 shall give the applicant the report, the specific proposed adverse reason, and notice of the right to dispute material inaccuracies. The provider shall allow at least 10 business days after receipt to seek correction and shall consider timely submitted corrections before making a final decision. The provider need not hold the particular unit during that period but shall preserve the applicant's original priority for a reasonably comparable available unit, without an additional application fee. The provider shall give any adverse-action notice independently required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.).

(b) A covered assisted tenancy may not be denied solely because of prior homelessness, medical debt, insufficient credit history, an eviction filing that did not result in an adverse judgment, a sealed record, or an arrest without conviction.

(c) Criminal-history review shall consider the nature, recency, relevance, rehabilitation evidence, and current circumstances of the applicant.

(d) Report corrections.—A screening provider receiving credible evidence of a material inaccuracy shall investigate promptly and, upon verification, correct the report and notify each housing provider to whom it furnished the inaccurate report during the preceding 60 days. This subsection does not extend a shorter deadline or limit a broader notification duty under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

(e) Automated recommendations may not replace individualized review when required by this Act.

(f) This section supplements, and does not diminish, rights under other consumer-reporting or civil-rights law.

## SEC. 306. DEPOSITS, LATE FEES, AND UTILITY CONTINUITY.

(a) In a covered assisted tenancy—

(1) a security deposit may not exceed one month of the tenant’s required rent;

(2) a late fee may not be imposed until seven days after payment is due;

(3) a late fee may not exceed the lesser of $25 or 3 percent of the tenant’s monthly share;

(4) no late fee shall result from a delayed governmental subsidy payment; and

(5) fees may not compound.

(b) A deposit shall be returned, less documented lawful deductions, within 21 days after surrender of possession.

(c) Ordinary wear, necessary accessibility modifications, and damage caused by conditions the owner failed to repair may not be charged to the tenant.

(d) A recipient shall arrange emergency utility assistance or safe relocation when interruption would create a substantial health risk.

(e) Nothing in this section requires a utility to continue unsafe service.

## SEC. 307. HABITABILITY, ANTI-HARASSMENT, AND ANTI-RETALIATION.

(a) A covered recipient may not use threats, repeated intrusive inspections, utility interruption, removal of doors or locks, false debt claims, or other harassment to force a resident to leave.

(b) Retaliation for requesting repairs, reporting misconduct, organizing tenants, obtaining counsel, or requesting accommodation is prohibited.

(c) A life-threatening defect shall be addressed immediately and made safe within 24 hours. A serious habitability defect shall ordinarily be corrected within seven days, and an ordinary repair within 30 days.

(d) Where repair cannot safely be completed within the applicable period, the recipient shall provide an appropriate temporary placement without additional charge.

(e) A resident may not be charged rent for a period in which the recipient fails to provide either a habitable dwelling or an appropriate substitute.

(f) Disputes shall be resolved under title X without requiring the resident to surrender the dwelling.

## SEC. 308. PROTECTION AGAINST PREDATORY HOUSING-RELATED FINANCE.

(a) A covered recipient or its contractor may not condition housing on—

(1) obtaining a loan or credit product;

(2) purchasing a credit-building, rent-reporting, or deposit-replacement product;

(3) assigning future public benefits;

(4) granting access to a bank account beyond a revocable payment authorization; or

(5) paying for unnecessary financial counseling.

(b) A provider marketing a rental-payment advance through a program under this Act shall disclose the total cost, repayment schedule, annual percentage rate where applicable, default consequences, and available no-cost alternatives.

(c) A recipient may not receive referral compensation from a lender, debt-settlement business, or screening vendor serving its residents.

(d) Enforcement.—The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall administer this section with respect to consumer financial products and services within its jurisdiction, using its otherwise applicable statutory powers. The Secretary shall enforce grant and tenancy conditions, and the Attorney General may seek the remedies provided in section 1008. This subsection does not expand the Bureau's jurisdiction to a person or transaction otherwise excluded by law.

(e) This section creates no authority to promise deletion of accurate credit information or forgiveness of a debt without lawful agreement.

## SEC. 309. INSTITUTIONAL DISCHARGE-PREVENTION AGREEMENTS.

(a) Each Federal covered institution, and each non-Federal institution accepting assistance under this section, shall maintain a discharge-prevention agreement with a housing administrator.

(b) Planning shall begin at least 90 days before a predictable discharge, or promptly after admission if the stay is shorter.

(c) An agreement shall provide for identification, benefits applications, clinically appropriate medication continuity, transportation, a named receiving provider, and a verified housing or temporary-placement arrangement.

(d) A referral list without confirmation of actual availability does not satisfy the placement requirement.

(e) A person may not be confined beyond lawful release or medically necessary care because housing has not been arranged.

(f) Where a person declines an appropriate offer, the institution shall document the offer, address barriers, provide contact information and essential continuity support, and arrange follow-up when consent is given.

## SEC. 310. PRESERVATION OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND COMMUNITY STABILITY.

(a) Capital and prevention funds may preserve occupied affordable housing threatened by loss of subsidy, severe deterioration, foreclosure, or conversion.

(b) Acquisition of occupied property shall preserve lawful tenancies and may not displace existing low-income residents merely to create nominal capacity for this Act.

(c) Recipients may support community land trusts, nonprofit acquisition, limited-equity cooperatives, and tenant purchase assistance where independently appraised and financially sustainable.

(d) Preservation awards shall include enforceable affordability covenants, repair schedules, and resident consultation.

(e) The Department shall refer credible evidence of unlawful rental-market collusion, deceptive pricing, or coordinated withholding of housing to the appropriate enforcement agency.

(f) Assistance may not subsidize an owner’s deliberate creation of unsafe conditions or reward unlawful displacement.

# TITLE IV—OUTREACH, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND BRIDGE HOUSING

## SEC. 401. COMMUNITY OUTREACH TEAMS.

(a) The Secretary shall fund multidisciplinary outreach teams providing repeated, voluntary engagement, basic supplies, housing navigation, benefits assistance, and connection to care.

(b) Teams shall include trained peers and housing navigators and shall have access to clinical consultation.

(c) Outreach shall occur at times and places reasonably responsive to local conditions, including evenings and weekends.

(d) A person’s initial refusal may not close the case or lower priority. Teams shall attempt to identify barriers, including safety concerns, disability, separation from family, pets, possessions, or prior harmful experiences.

(e) Law-enforcement participation may not be routine unless necessary for a specific, documented safety circumstance.

(f) Outreach staff may not promise unavailable housing or misrepresent the terms of a placement.

## SEC. 402. TWENTY-FOUR-HOUR NAVIGATION AND PLACEMENT.

(a) Each funded regional system shall maintain a continuously accessible placement function by telephone and in person, with accessible alternatives for people unable to use either method.

(b) Navigation services shall provide triage, current vacancy information, transport coordination, and an identified staff member responsible for follow-through.

(c) A household may not be required to repeat a full traumatic history at each referral.

(d) Initial emergency placement may precede complete assessment.

(e) A navigation center shall provide sanitary facilities, drinking water, secure storage, communication access, and a safe waiting environment.

(f) A navigation stay shall ordinarily not exceed 30 days. Any extension shall trigger supervisory review and a documented permanent-housing action plan, not automatic discharge.

## SEC. 403. BRIDGE HOUSING PROGRAM.

(a) The Secretary shall fund bridge housing through hotels, rehabilitated buildings, code-compliant cabins, modular units, and other safe indoor settings.

(b) Each placement shall have a designated housing navigator and a permanent-housing plan within fourteen days.

(c) A bridge stay shall ordinarily not exceed twelve months. Extensions may be granted for documented housing unavailability, disability, treatment continuity, family needs, or another substantial reason.

(d) A time limit shall trigger corrective action by the provider, not a discharge to the street.

(e) Bridge housing may not be counted as permanent housing or as a completed permanent-housing outcome.

(f) New bridge capacity shall be approved only with a demonstrated permanent-housing pathway and an operating plan.

(g) Bridge villages shall ordinarily serve 150–300 residents, subject to the waiver and integration requirements applicable under title VI.

## SEC. 404. MINIMUM EMERGENCY ACCOMMODATION STANDARDS.

(a) Every emergency or bridge placement shall provide weather protection, safe temperature, ventilation, potable water, sanitation, access to food, secure storage, and a means to summon assistance.

(b) Noncongregate accommodation shall be preferred. Families shall have private family space and may not be separated solely because of shelter configuration.

(c) Where shared bathrooms are used, at least one functioning toilet, one handwashing fixture, and one private shower shall be available per eight residents, with additional fixtures where accessibility or operational needs require.

(d) Sleeping spaces shall meet applicable fire, occupancy, and health requirements. Tents, vehicles, and unconditioned storage structures may not qualify as indoor placements.

(e) Residents shall have access at hours compatible with work, school, caregiving, and treatment.

(f) Admission may not require surrender of lawful medication, identification, or ordinary personal possessions.

## SEC. 405. MEDICAL RESPITE AND RECUPERATIVE CARE.

(a) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall fund respite for people who do not require hospital-level care but cannot safely recover in an unsheltered setting or ordinary shelter.

(b) Each program shall maintain clinical admission and discharge criteria, qualified oversight, medication support, infection-control procedures, and emergency-transfer agreements.

(c) Housing staff may not perform clinical functions beyond their lawful qualifications.

(d) Respite shall be connected to an actual housing-placement process.

(e) A respite operator may not discharge a participant solely because a funding authorization expires without first arranging a safe alternative or escalating the case to the funding administrator.

(f) This section does not authorize a respite facility to operate as an unlicensed hospital, nursing facility, or withdrawal-management center.

## SEC. 406. ENCAMPMENT RESPONSE AND USE OF FUNDS.

(a) Funds under this Act may not be used to punish a person solely for sleeping, sitting, resting, or possessing survival necessities while homeless.

(b) A displacement or site-clearance activity financed in whole or in part under this Act shall ordinarily require—

(1) at least seven days’ accessible notice;

(2) repeated outreach;

(3) an actual offer of appropriate indoor placement;

(4) transportation;

(5) reasonable preservation and storage of property; and

(6) post-placement follow-up.

(c) Immediate action may be taken to address an imminent fire, flood, structural collapse, or comparable specific threat of serious physical harm. Generalized concern about appearance or public discomfort is insufficient.

(d) Emergency action shall use the least disruptive safe method and may not excuse assistance and property-protection duties.

(e) This section does not create immunity for violence or invalidate every otherwise lawful local camping regulation.

## SEC. 407. IDENTIFICATION, PROPERTY, TRANSPORT, AND REUNIFICATION.

(a) Recipients shall assist with identification, vital records, benefit documentation, mailing addresses, communication access, and lawful replacement of lost documents.

(b) Personal property removed during an activity funded under this Act shall be inventoried when practicable and stored for at least 90 days, excluding hazardous, perishable, or unlawful items handled under a written lawful protocol.

(c) Property retrieval may not require payment of a fee or proof of a permanent address.

(d) Voluntary relocation or family reunification may be financed only after verification of a safe destination and a receiving contact or provider.

(e) A recipient may not transport a person to another jurisdiction merely to remove that person from its homelessness count.

(f) Transportation shall accommodate disability, children, essential possessions, service animals, and reasonable arrangements for pets.

## SEC. 408. DISASTER AND SEASONAL SURGE CAPACITY.

(a) The Secretary shall maintain contingency contracts and surge grants for extreme heat, cold, wildfire smoke, disasters, disease outbreaks, and sudden displacement.

(b) Regional plans shall identify accessible cooling and warming accommodation, evacuation transport, backup power, and continuity of medication and communication.

(c) Emergency procurement may be expedited when necessary, but prices, vendors, beneficial ownership, and subsequent performance shall be disclosed and audited.

(d) Emergency waivers shall be time-limited and may not suspend essential sanitation, fire safety, clinical licensing, nondiscrimination, or freedom from abuse.

(e) Displaced participants shall retain program priority and may not restart a restoration period or lose a lease solely because of a disaster-related transfer.

# TITLE V—PERMANENT HOUSING, RESTORATION, RESPONSIBILITY, AND TRANSITION

## SEC. 501. DIGNITY PERMANENT HOUSING PROGRAM.

(a) The Secretary shall establish a permanent housing program using newly constructed dwellings, acquired or rehabilitated housing, scattered-site apartments, mixed-income developments, Dignity Villages, and portable subsidies.

(b) Each placement shall be matched to household composition, accessibility, safety, and reasonable location needs.

(c) Housing and services may be administered by different entities, but responsibility for coordination shall be assigned in writing.

(d) An applicant may not be required to enter bridge housing before receiving an available permanent dwelling.

(e) Housing shall be offered through ordinary residential leases, not revocable participation licenses designed to avoid tenant protections.

(f) The Secretary shall preserve a range of settings rather than making a village or campus the exclusive permanent-housing option.

## SEC. 502. LEASE RIGHTS AND CONTINUITY.

(a) Every permanent dwelling shall be governed by a written lease of at least one year, renewable absent good cause.

(b) The lease shall identify rent, utilities, permitted charges, maintenance duties, occupancy rules, accommodation procedures, and review rights.

(c) A change in service provider or grant administrator may not terminate the lease.

(d) A resident shall retain tenancy during a reasonable absence for hospitalization, treatment, caregiving, or another approved necessity.

(e) Rules concerning visitors, quiet enjoyment, and common spaces shall be reasonable, published, and applied consistently.

(f) No lease shall require waiver of rights under this Act, consent to unrestricted searches, compulsory treatment, or mandatory unpaid labor.

(g) Ownership shall remain with the lawful owner unless transferred through a separately documented authorized transaction.

## SEC. 503. RESTORATION PERIOD AND RENT PROGRESSION.

(a) Each newly admitted household not placed directly into permanent supportive housing shall receive a 36-month restoration period.

(b) The maximum household contribution toward rent and required utilities shall be—

(1) 10 percent of adjusted monthly income during months 1–12;

(2) 20 percent during months 13–24; and

(3) 30 percent during months 25–36.

(c) There shall be no minimum rent for a household without adjusted income.

(d) Utility allowance.—When a household pays required utilities directly, a reasonable allowance shall be deducted from the household contribution payable to the owner. If the allowance exceeds that contribution, the recipient shall pay the difference to the household or utility provider. The total required contribution may not exceed the limit in subsection (b).

(e) Extension.—The administering recipient shall extend the restoration period for up to 24 additional months upon an individualized finding that additional stabilization time is warranted. During an extension, the maximum contribution shall remain 30 percent of adjusted monthly income, including required utilities, subject to hardship relief.

(f) Disability, illness, caregiving, labor-market conditions, educational participation, and treatment needs shall be considered in an extension decision.

(g) Expiration of the restoration period shall initiate the review under sections 507–509 and may not itself terminate housing.

## SEC. 504. INCOME, HARDSHIP, AND RECERTIFICATION.

(a) Calculation.—Adjusted income shall equal the reasonably anticipated recurring earned and unearned cash income of the household, less the following deductions, and may not be less than zero:

(1) mandatory payroll taxes;

(2) necessary unreimbursed disability and medical expenses;

(3) reasonable childcare expenses necessary for work, education, or treatment;

(4) legally required support payments actually made; and

(5) a dependent allowance of $1,200 annually per dependent, adjusted under section 1104.

(b) Exclusions.—Income shall exclude earnings of minors, student aid used for education, bona fide loans, tax refunds, benefits provided in kind, and nonrecurring emergency or charitable assistance designated by regulation. For the dependent allowance in subsection (a)(5), a dependent is a household member other than the head, spouse, or co-head who is under 18 years of age, a full-time student, or a person with a disability who is financially dependent on the household. A cost or payment may not be deducted twice.

(c) Income shall be recertified annually and promptly after a reported substantial reduction.

(d) A rent reduction shall take effect no later than the next rental period following reasonable verification, with provisional reduction when delay would cause hardship.

(e) Permanent disability may not require repeated proof absent credible evidence of a material change.

(f) Good-faith reporting errors shall be corrected through prospective adjustment or affordable repayment, not treated as intentional fraud.

## SEC. 505. INDIVIDUAL RESTORATION PLANS.

(a) Within 30 days after placement, the provider shall offer an individualized plan addressing the household’s priorities and barriers.

(b) Plans may include health care, recovery, benefits, debt resolution, education, employment, childcare, transportation, family support, legal assistance, and community participation.

(c) The provider shall offer a review at least quarterly, with flexible scheduling and accessible formats.

(d) A household shall reasonably cooperate with eligibility recertification and tenancy administration. Declining a treatment goal or failing to achieve an aspirational objective may not violate the lease.

(e) Goals shall distinguish actions within the resident’s control from unavailable services, discriminatory barriers, health limitations, and labor-market conditions.

(f) Plans shall identify the responsible provider and expected response time for each agreed service.

(g) A resident may request a different case manager for a documented conflict or loss of trust.

## SEC. 506. EARNED SAVINGS AND TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.

(a) The Secretary shall establish an earned-savings program through which a portion of increases in household contributions attributable to earned income may be credited to a protected escrow.

(b) The credited amount may not exceed one-half of the applicable increase unless additional matching funds are separately identified.

(c) Escrow shall be available for housing deposits, education, transportation, debt resolution, work equipment, emergency savings, or other approved stabilization purposes.

(d) Loss of employment or a treatment relapse may not automatically forfeit accrued funds.

(e) Program accounting may not count an amount both as collected operating revenue and as a separate unpaid subsidy.

(f) Transition grants may cover moving expenses, furnishings, utility connections, and landlord mediation.

(g) Funds shall be accompanied by clear written ownership and withdrawal rules.

## SEC. 507. REDUCED-RENT CONTINUATION.

(a) A household completing restoration shall qualify for a reduced-rent continuation lease if it—

(1) remains eligible for continuing assistance, subject to the over-income review and protections in section 508;

(2) continues to need housing assistance; and

(3) complies with objective tenancy obligations.

(b) Maximum contribution.—The household's gross monthly housing contribution, including required utilities, may not exceed the lesser of—

(1) 30 percent of adjusted income; or

(2) 60 percent of the applicable fair market rent.

(c) The lease shall renew annually while eligibility continues.

(d) Continued occupancy may not require intensive services that the household no longer needs.

(e) The provider shall offer voluntary move-on opportunities without treating a decision to remain in an eligible affordable tenancy as misconduct.

(f) Service intensity.—A household's improved stability shall permit reduced service intensity and reallocation of service capacity without loss of housing. The utility-allowance and reimbursement rules in section 503(d) apply to this section and section 509.

## SEC. 508. OVER-INCOME TRANSITION AND RESPONSIBLE MOVE-ON.

(a) Review threshold.—A household whose annualized adjusted income remains above 80 percent of area median income for 24 consecutive months shall receive an individualized transition review. A temporary increase in income does not by itself establish that threshold.

(b) Phase-down.—If the review establishes that the household no longer needs deeply subsidized housing, the provider shall give at least 12 months' written notice of a gradual subsidy phase-down, identify the proposed contribution schedule, and provide housing-search and transition assistance. The schedule is subject to subsections (c) through (g) and title X.

(c) A proposed destination shall be safe, lawful, reasonably accessible, and affordable in light of income, disability-related costs, and household needs.

(d) Continued occupancy.—Subject to hardship protection, the household may remain temporarily at the lower of approved unsubsidized cost rent or reasonable comparable market rent. Cost rent means the allocable cost of operation, maintenance, insurance, reserves, and approved debt service, excluding a second recovery of a capital cost already paid by a grant under this Act.

(e) Subsidy may not be terminated into homelessness where no appropriate affordable alternative is available despite reasonable cooperation.

(f) Refusal of an appropriate alternative.—After the notice period, a provider may end the deep subsidy if an impartial review under title X finds that an appropriate affordable alternative is actually available and the household has declined it without a material safety, disability, affordability, or family reason. Ending a subsidy does not itself authorize eviction, waive section 303, or extinguish the lease.

(g) Disputes concerning affordability, cooperation, or continuing support needs are reviewable under title X.

## SEC. 509. PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING.

(a) Permanent supportive housing shall serve households with continuing substantial health, disability, functional, or tenancy-support needs.

(b) Eligibility shall be based on functional need and reasonable evidence, not exclusively on a particular diagnosis or the ability to produce historical records.

(c) Tenancy shall have no arbitrary time limit.

(d) Household contributions may not exceed 30 percent of adjusted income, including required utilities.

(e) Services shall remain voluntary except for independently lawful clinical requirements not created by this Act.

(f) Reviews shall assess whether service intensity remains appropriate without repeatedly requiring proof of an irreversible condition.

(g) Voluntary movement to a less intensive setting shall include continuity of assistance and a rapid route back to needed services.

(h) A person may not be placed in an institutional setting solely because community services have not been organized.

## SEC. 510. PORTABLE HOUSING ASSISTANCE.

(a) The Secretary shall provide additional portable subsidies for eligible households renting privately or through nonprofit and public providers.

(b) Payment standards shall reflect reasonable local rents, household size, accessibility needs, and landlord participation conditions.

(c) Subsidies may cross participating jurisdictional boundaries without a new homelessness determination.

(d) An owner receiving payment shall comply with applicable inspection, fee, good-cause, nondiscrimination, and anti-retaliation requirements.

(e) A household may not receive duplicative payment for a capital-funded dwelling whose approved operating subsidy already covers the same rental obligation.

(f) Search periods shall be extendable where vacancy rates, disability, family size, or discrimination impede placement.

(g) The Secretary may fund landlord risk reserves for documented excess damage or payment interruption, but may not reimburse ordinary wear or unlawful charges.

## SEC. 511. HOUSEHOLD CHOICE AND FAMILY UNITY.

(a) Residents shall have a reasonable choice among available settings and may request a transfer for safety, accessibility, household growth, school continuity, employment, or treatment access.

(b) Two adults may not be required to share a bedroom unless they voluntarily choose to do so.

(c) A provider may not demand proof of an intimate relationship to approve a one-bedroom household arrangement.

(d) A child may not be separated from a parent solely because a dwelling is unavailable.

(e) A household may not lose priority because it declines a placement that would separate family members, violate a safety plan, or fail a necessary accommodation.

(f) Service animals shall be accommodated as required by law. Recipients shall provide reasonable pet-friendly options or safe temporary pet arrangements.

## SEC. 512. RESIDENT RESPONSIBILITIES AND PROGRAM INTEGRITY.

(a) A resident shall—

(1) provide materially accurate eligibility information;

(2) pay the lawfully calculated household contribution or comply with an approved hardship arrangement;

(3) use the assisted dwelling as a primary residence, subject to approved absences;

(4) refrain from unauthorized commercial subletting or sale of access;

(5) avoid intentional serious damage and conduct that materially threatens others; and

(6) comply with reasonable, lawful lease provisions.

(b) Intentional material fraud requires evidence that a person knowingly supplied or concealed information likely to affect eligibility or payment.

(c) Poverty, disability, language barriers, missing documents, missed appointments, relapse, or unemployment do not establish fraud.

(d) Corrective measures shall be proportionate and shall ordinarily begin with assistance, notice, and an opportunity to cure.

(e) Termination may occur only under title X. A provider may not invent additional “merit” tests through house rules.

# TITLE VI—LAND, CONSTRUCTION, HOUSING STANDARDS, AND DIGNITY VILLAGES

## SEC. 601. CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

(a) Capital assistance may finance acquisition, rehabilitation, adaptive reuse, new construction, installation, site preparation, infrastructure, furnishings, commissioning, and necessary common facilities.

(b) Every proposal shall include an all-in development budget, independent cost review, operating pro forma, service plan, reserve schedule, and evidence of site control.

(c) The Secretary shall favor projects that combine timely delivery with durable quality, reasonable lifecycle cost, accessibility, and community access.

(d) A project may not receive final construction approval solely because its building-shell price is low.

(e) Costs already included in a per-unit award may not be billed again through a land, infrastructure, or service-hub award.

(f) Net new capacity and preservation outcomes shall be separately reported.

## SEC. 602. LAND ACQUISITION AND SITE DUE DILIGENCE.

(a) Funds may acquire land, purchase options, assemble sites, remediate hazards, and establish long-term ground leases.

(b) Before acquisition, a recipient shall obtain an independent appraisal or documented market analysis, title review, environmental assessment, utility feasibility analysis, and preliminary development plan.

(c) A site shall be evaluated for flood, fire, contamination, extreme-temperature, transportation, and infrastructure risks.

(d) The purchase of inexpensive land may not justify a location that makes employment, education, health care, or daily necessities practically inaccessible.

(e) Related-party transactions require disclosure and independent review.

(f) Land-bank holdings shall have a development schedule. A property not advanced within three years shall receive corrective review and may be transferred to another qualified developer.

(g) Publicly donated land shall be recorded at both acquisition cost and estimated market value for transparency.

## SEC. 603. FEDERAL PROPERTY.

(a) Federal agencies shall identify potentially suitable surplus or underused property within 180 days and annually thereafter.

(b) Existing conveyance authority.—A transfer for homeless assistance shall proceed under section 501 of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11411), section 550 of title 40, United States Code, or another independently applicable property-disposal authority. This section does not itself waive a conveyance requirement or authorize disposal of property outside those authorities.

(c) The General Services Administration, the Department, and the Department of Health and Human Services shall coordinate suitability review and eliminate duplicative documentation.

(d) National-security, environmental, historic-preservation, Tribal consultation, and agency-mission requirements remain applicable.

(e) A transfer shall include enforceable use restrictions, reversion or recapture protections, and a funded development plan.

(f) No agency shall classify a site as suitable merely because it is vacant; infrastructure and residential safety must be evaluated.

(g) The Secretary shall publish the status and reasons for approval or rejection of proposed transfers, excluding protected security information.

## SEC. 604. FACTORY-BUILT HOUSING AND MANUFACTURING CAPACITY.

(a) At least 35 percent of new-construction capital obligations, measured over a rolling three-year period, shall support manufactured, modular, panelized, or other factory-built housing where cost-effective and suitable.

(b) The Secretary may waive the percentage for a jurisdiction upon a public finding of unsuitable site conditions, unavailable qualified supply, excessive lifecycle cost, or conflicting accessibility needs.

(c) Permanent factory-built dwellings shall meet applicable construction standards, installation requirements, anchoring, utility, energy, and occupancy rules.

(d) Recreational vehicles, tents, and temporary storage units may not qualify as permanent dwellings.

(e) Capacity grants may support manufacturing equipment, standardized accessible designs, quality control, apprenticeships, and regional supply chains.

(f) Procurement shall preserve competition, repairability, parts availability, and compatibility with more than one supplier.

(g) A dwelling’s ability to be relocated may not substitute for secure tenure at its installed location.

## SEC. 605. MINIMUM DWELLING SIZE AND BEDROOM STANDARDS.

(a) Minimum net interior area.—Subject to subsections (b) through (e), each permanent dwelling financed under this Act shall provide at least—

(1) 360 square feet for one adult, for whom a studio is permitted;

(2) 460 square feet and one bedroom for two adults who voluntarily share a bedroom;

(3) 560 square feet and two bedrooms for two adults who do not share a bedroom;

(4) 600 square feet and two bedrooms for one adult and one child, or for two adults who voluntarily share a bedroom and one child;

(5) 680 square feet and two bedrooms for a household consisting of one adult, or two adults who voluntarily share a bedroom, and two children who may appropriately share a bedroom; and

(6) 760 square feet for a household requiring three separate bedrooms.

(b) Larger and other households.—For each child beyond two, the minimum area otherwise applicable to the household shall increase by 120 square feet. For each adult beyond two, that minimum shall increase by 120 square feet. A dwelling requiring more than three bedrooms shall provide at least 760 square feet plus 120 square feet for each bedroom beyond the third. Where the household-composition and bedroom calculations produce different results, the greater area controls; the same additional occupant does not require an additional increment under both calculations.

(c) Bedroom assignment.—No more than two children may be assigned to one bedroom. A child who is at least 12 years of age shall, upon request by the child or the child's parent or guardian, be provided a separate bedroom. A child of any age shall receive a separate bedroom when required by disability, trauma, safety, foster-placement rules, or another documented substantial need. Two adults may share a bedroom only voluntarily. The Secretary shall apply these rules to household arrangements not expressly listed in subsection (a) without reducing the applicable area or bedroom minimum.

(d) Measurement.—Net interior floor area excludes exterior porches, common buildings, detached storage, and space not lawfully usable as residential floor area.

(e) Private facilities and safety.—Each dwelling shall contain a private bathroom, a kitchen or appropriately equipped kitchenette, safe food storage, sleeping space, personal storage, and a lockable entrance. Accessibility, fire, egress, or occupancy requirements may require additional space. No minimum in this section authorizes an unsafe or inaccessible layout.

## SEC. 606. ACCESSIBILITY AND ADAPTABLE DESIGN.

(a) New developments shall provide at least—

(1) 15 percent of units with mobility-accessible features; and

(2) an additional 5 percent with communication-accessible features,

unless a greater proportion is required by law or demonstrated need.

(b) Remaining new units shall be designed for practical adaptation where technically feasible.

(c) Accessible units shall be distributed across household sizes and locations, not concentrated in an inferior portion of a development.

(d) Common facilities, paths, transport loading areas, emergency communication, and online systems shall be accessible.

(e) The Secretary may approve an equivalent accessibility plan for rehabilitation where full physical compliance is technically infeasible, but may not waive an otherwise applicable civil-rights obligation.

(f) A household may not be charged for a required reasonable accommodation or modification financed by the program.

## SEC. 607. VILLAGE SIZE, CHOICE, AND INTEGRATION.

(a) Size.—A Dignity Village shall be planned for 150 to 300 residents, including children, except that a smaller village may be approved under subsection (c).

(b) The limit applies to the actual combined development and may not be avoided by dividing adjoining sites among related owners or nominal phases.

(c) Smaller villages may be approved for rural, frontier, Tribal, geographic, or specialized family needs.

(d) Portfolio integration.—Not more than 40 percent of the permanent dwellings receiving capital assistance under this Act within a service area designated under section 204(c) may be located in developments in which more than one-half of the dwellings are reserved for formerly homeless households. The Secretary may grant an exception for not more than 3 years after a public integration assessment, consultation with residents and disability-rights organizations, and approval of a funded plan to expand scattered-site and mixed-community alternatives. Compliance with this numerical limit does not establish compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or any other civil-rights law.

(e) A village may not impose institutional routines, compulsory communal activity, generalized curfews, or restrictions on ordinary community access.

(f) Residents shall have access to scattered-site and mixed-community alternatives as those become available.

(g) A village shall be a housing option, not a mandatory destination based on disability or perceived social undesirability.

## SEC. 608. LAND-AREA PLANNING AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

(a) For initial feasibility and cost modeling, the Secretary shall use the following rebuttable planning assumptions:

(1) Permanent cottage or manufactured-home villages: approximately 0.05 gross acre per resident.

(2) Bridge villages: approximately 0.02 gross acre per resident.

(b) Accordingly, a permanent village of 150–300 residents would ordinarily be evaluated using approximately 7.5–15 gross acres, and a bridge village using approximately 3–6 acres.

(c) These are planning factors, not mandatory minimum lot sizes. A qualified site plan may justify denser urban development or additional land for terrain, drainage, access, or other needs.

(d) Site budgets shall identify roads, sidewalks, fire access, water, wastewater, drainage, power, communications, waste handling, landscaping, and off-site connections.

(e) No phase may open before its complete safety, sanitation, utility, and staffing systems are operational.

## SEC. 609. COMMON FACILITIES AND NEIGHBORHOOD CONNECTIONS.

(a) Every village shall provide, on site or through a nearby accessible partner—

(1) private case-management and clinical consultation space;

(2) laundry;

(3) resident meeting and community activity space;

(4) digital access;

(5) mail and package access;

(6) outdoor gathering space;

(7) age-appropriate play and family space where children reside; and

(8) quiet space for voluntary decompression.

(b) A village serving more than 200 residents shall ordinarily provide at least 8,000 square feet of common indoor service and community space, unless an equivalent nearby arrangement is approved.

(c) Shared facilities shall supplement, not replace, required private kitchens and bathrooms in permanent dwellings.

(d) Community facilities may serve surrounding residents where compatible with privacy, safety, and program capacity.

(e) Site planning shall connect residents to the surrounding street, transit, and service network rather than creating unnecessary physical separation.

## SEC. 610. COMMUNITY SAFETY AND DE-ESCALATION.

(a) Each village shall maintain an approved, continuously operating safety and stabilization plan.

(b) Minimum awake on-site coverage shall be—

(1) two safety or stabilization workers for up to 150 residents; and

(2) one additional worker for each additional 75 residents or fraction thereof.

(c) Staffing calculations shall include leave, training, illness, vacancies, and relief. One continuously staffed position may not be budgeted as one annual employee.

(d) Workers shall be trained in de-escalation, trauma-responsive practice, first aid, overdose response, disability accommodation, conflict resolution, and emergency referral.

(e) Safety staff may not perform unlicensed clinical care, involuntary withdrawal management, punitive restraint, or detention.

(f) Law enforcement may respond to crime or an immediate threat but may not serve as the ordinary behavioral-health service.

(g) Cameras may cover limited common safety areas but not dwellings, bathrooms, clinical rooms, or private meeting spaces. Audio surveillance and facial recognition are prohibited.

(h) Security policies shall be reviewed with the resident council and independently evaluated after a serious incident.

## SEC. 611. BUILDING QUALITY, ENERGY, AND RESILIENCE.

(a) Housing shall use durable materials, adequate insulation, safe electrical systems, efficient heating and cooling, moisture control, sound attenuation, and healthy ventilation.

(b) The design shall address expected local climate conditions over the building’s intended service life.

(c) Common safety and communication systems shall have suitable backup power.

(d) Smart-building technology shall be optional where it involves personal monitoring. A resident may not need a smartphone to enter a dwelling or obtain essential services.

(e) Life-safety sensors may be used for their intended purpose but may not become general behavioral-surveillance devices.

(f) Luxury finishes unrelated to durability, accessibility, efficiency, child development, or ordinary residential quality are ineligible.

(g) Lowest initial cost may not override documented lifecycle savings or safety.

## SEC. 612. CONSTRUCTION DELIVERY, INSPECTION, AND WARRANTY.

(a) Projects shall undergo independent design review, milestone inspection, final commissioning, and verification of occupancy approval.

(b) Payments shall be tied to verified progress, with retainage or equivalent protection against unfinished work.

(c) New-construction contracts shall ordinarily provide at least ten years of structural warranty, two years for major building systems, and one year for workmanship, or equivalent insured protection approved by the Secretary.

(d) A manufacturer’s self-certification may not replace required independent inspection.

(e) Material defects shall be corrected without charging residents.

(f) Contracts shall identify responsibility for transport damage, foundations, utility connections, installation, and warranty service.

(g) Change orders exceeding 10 percent of the original construction contract shall receive independent review unless necessary to address an immediate safety condition.

## SEC. 613. LONG-TERM ASSET STEWARDSHIP.

(a) Capital-funded permanent housing shall be subject to a recorded affordability and approved-use covenant lasting at least 75 years.

(b) A leasehold project shall demonstrate land control for the covenant period or an equivalent legally enforceable arrangement approved by the Secretary.

(c) Protection of covenants.—Before a capital award is disbursed, the recipient shall secure recorded covenants and lien-priority, subordination, or other enforceable agreements sufficient to preserve the restrictions through a transfer, refinancing, or foreclosure. A preexisting creditor's property interest may be altered only by consent or otherwise applicable law. The Secretary may approve a release only through a documented replacement, relocation, or recapture process protecting residents and the remaining public investment.

(d) Each owner shall maintain a thirty-year capital-needs plan, updated at least every five years.

(e) Operating reserves, routine replacement reserves, and major renewal assistance shall be separately tracked.

(f) If continued use becomes unsafe or economically unreasonable, the Secretary may approve replacement or relocation, but residents shall receive equivalent housing protection and remaining public value shall be preserved or recaptured.

## SEC. 614. LABOR, APPRENTICESHIP, AND SAFE EMPLOYMENT.

(a) Covered construction shall comply with applicable Federal prevailing-wage requirements and other labor laws.

(b) Off-site manufacturing shall comply with applicable wage, safety, and labor standards; this Act does not reclassify every factory as a construction site.

(c) Awards shall include workforce plans supporting registered apprenticeship and fair access for local residents and people with lived experience of homelessness.

(d) Resident employment shall be voluntary and paid lawfully. Housing may not be conditioned on accepting a job.

(e) A contractor may not use unpaid resident labor to replace a funded maintenance, construction, or service position.

(f) Workers shall have protected channels to report unsafe conditions, wage violations, and retaliation.

(g) Procurement shall evaluate safety history, training capacity, and performance, not merely price.

# TITLE VII—HEALTH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, ADDICTION TREATMENT, AND REHABILITATION

## SEC. 701. DIGNITY HEALTH ACCESS GRANTS.

(a) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish Dignity Health Access grants for primary care, mental health care, substance-use treatment, dental care, pharmacy services, reproductive and maternal care, disability support, and rehabilitation.

(b) Grants may finance direct services, mobile teams, contracted access, telehealth, and clinically appropriate transportation.

(c) A regional plan shall identify actual providers, appointment capacity, after-hours arrangements, and payment responsibility.

(d) A memorandum of understanding without available service capacity may not satisfy this section.

(e) Uninsured or underinsured participants may receive grant-funded care.

(f) Housing eligibility may not depend on eligibility for Medicaid, Medicare, or private insurance.

## SEC. 702. MEDICAID AND OTHER PAYER COORDINATION.

(a) Participating providers shall assist eligible residents with enrollment in existing health coverage and shall bill such coverage when payment is lawfully available.

(b) This Act establishes a separate grant authority for otherwise eligible costs not paid by another source.

(c) Nothing in this Act, without an express amendment, creates a new Medicaid eligibility group, changes a Federal matching percentage, or makes ordinary room and board universally reimbursable under Medicaid.

(d) A provider may not delay urgent services while resolving payer responsibility.

(e) Grant payments and later third-party reimbursements for the same service shall be reconciled.

(f) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall publish a regularly updated payment guide and audit duplicate billing.

(g) Federal grant funds may not be used as a non-Federal Medicaid match unless another law expressly permits that use.

## SEC. 703. MENTAL HEALTH AND MOBILE CRISIS SERVICES.

(a) Regional systems shall provide timely access to mental health assessment, therapy, psychiatric consultation, medication management, and crisis response.

(b) High-need households shall have access to intensive community-based teams where clinically appropriate.

(c) Each village and bridge program shall maintain written coordination with 988 services, mobile crisis teams, emergency medical services, and crisis-receiving facilities.

(d) Staff shall distinguish a medical or behavioral crisis from a routine rule dispute.

(e) A crisis may not automatically result in eviction, arrest, or exclusion from future housing.

(f) Following an emergency transfer, the housing provider shall participate in discharge coordination and preserve the dwelling when reasonably possible.

## SEC. 704. SUBSTANCE-USE TREATMENT AND WITHDRAWAL MANAGEMENT.

(a) Programs shall provide access to evidence-informed substance-use assessment, medications where clinically appropriate, counseling, peer recovery support, harm-reduction services permitted by law, and continuing treatment.

(b) Withdrawal management shall be performed only in a setting and by personnel qualified for the person’s assessed risk.

(c) Ordinary housing, security, or peer staff may not be required or permitted to conduct medically hazardous withdrawal management beyond lawful emergency first aid.

(d) A village shall maintain an emergency transfer agreement and rapid access to qualified withdrawal services.

(e) A participant may not be denied housing because the participant receives medication for addiction treatment.

(f) Withdrawal services shall include a continuing-care plan; completion of withdrawal may not be represented as completion of addiction treatment.

(g) Overdose-reversal medication, emergency communication, and staff training shall be available at funded congregate and village settings.

## SEC. 705. LONG-TERM REHABILITATION.

(a) Grants may support cognitive, functional, vocational, and psychosocial rehabilitation necessary for independent community living.

(b) Services may include assistance with executive functioning, daily living, medication organization, communication, parenting, social relationships, mobility, and management of recurring health conditions.

(c) Rehabilitation plans shall be individualized and reviewed with the participant.

(d) Progress shall be measured against the person’s circumstances and goals rather than a uniform expectation of full-time employment.

(e) A provider may not terminate necessary rehabilitation solely because improvement is gradual or maintenance of functioning is the principal benefit.

(f) Program administration.—The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall support evidence-informed models while permitting evaluated adaptations for rural, Tribal, cultural, and disability needs.

## SEC. 706. CASE MANAGEMENT AND SERVICE INTENSITY.

(a) The maximum ordinary caseload shall be—

(1) fifteen households per full-time case manager for permanent supportive housing; and

(2) twenty-five households per full-time case manager during restoration.

(b) Smaller caseloads shall be required where acuity, travel time, family complexity, or crisis frequency warrants.

(c) Lower-intensity continuation households may receive a different documented service arrangement, provided that rapid reengagement remains available.

(d) Caseload calculations shall exclude vacant positions and shall account for leave and supervision.

(e) Every participant shall know the assigned contact and the route for urgent assistance.

(f) Case management shall coordinate services rather than require residents to navigate unconnected referrals without support.

## SEC. 707. QUALIFICATIONS, SUPERVISION, AND STAFF PROTECTION.

(a) Clinical services shall be delivered by appropriately licensed or otherwise lawfully qualified personnel.

(b) Peer workers shall receive role-specific training, paid supervision, and protection against being assigned clinical duties outside their qualifications.

(c) Each service program shall designate a clinical supervisor and a safeguarding lead.

(d) Annual training shall include confidentiality, boundaries, abuse prevention, de-escalation, overdose response, disability rights, and culturally responsive practice.

(e) Programs shall provide supervision after critical incidents and maintain procedures addressing burnout, violence, and unsafe staffing.

(f) A background check shall evaluate job-related risks and may not automatically exclude qualified applicants because of a remote conviction or prior homelessness.

(g) Staff shall have a protected right to report unsafe care or falsified service records.

## SEC. 708. INFORMED CONSENT AND TREATMENT AUTONOMY.

(a) Medical treatment, research participation, and disclosure of protected records shall require consent or another lawful basis.

(b) Consent to housing assistance may not constitute consent to all treatment or unrestricted data sharing.

(c) Providers shall use supported decision-making and accessible communication where appropriate.

(d) A guardian or representative shall exercise only authority lawfully granted to that person.

(e) No provider may use sedation, restraint, seclusion, or threatened housing loss for convenience, punishment, or staff control.

(f) Emergency interventions shall comply with applicable law and clinical standards and shall be documented and reviewed.

(g) A resident may seek an independent clinical opinion or change providers without automatic loss of housing.

## SEC. 709. PUBLIC HEALTH, DISABILITY, AND ESSENTIAL CARE.

(a) Health plans shall address chronic disease, infectious disease, pregnancy, dental conditions, sensory impairments, mobility limitations, nutrition, and age-related needs.

(b) Testing and vaccination shall be offered consistently with informed-consent requirements and applicable public-health law.

(c) Outbreak response shall use proportionate, clinically justified measures and shall preserve access to shelter and care.

(d) Persons needing assistance with daily living shall receive an appropriate service arrangement rather than being excluded from housing because ordinary property staff cannot provide personal care.

(e) Reasonable accommodations shall include accessible transport, communication support, safe medication storage, and assistance with appointments.

(f) Terminally ill participants shall have access to palliative care, hospice coordination, and appropriate housing continuity.

## SEC. 710. CLINICAL QUALITY AND INCIDENT REVIEW.

(a) Providers shall report deaths, serious injuries, suspected abuse, serious medication errors, and emergency restraint incidents to the appropriate oversight authority within applicable legal deadlines.

(b) A multidisciplinary review shall examine preventable system failures without presuming resident fault.

(c) Quality measures shall include timely access, continuity, patient experience, avoidable service gaps, and appropriate follow-up.

(d) Providers may not be rewarded solely for treatment attendance, abstinence, or discharge volume.

(e) Clinical records shall remain subject to title X and applicable health-privacy law.

(f) The Secretary of Health and Human Services may require corrective action, suspend unsafe services, or arrange a successor provider while preserving housing and essential care.

# TITLE VIII—EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION, FINANCIAL STABILITY, AND COMMUNITY LIFE

## SEC. 801. DIGNITY-TO-WORK PROGRAM.

(a) The Secretary of Labor shall fund supported employment, transitional paid employment, apprenticeship, vocational rehabilitation, job matching, credentialing, and retention support.

(b) Services shall address practical barriers including identification, transport, tools, childcare, disability accommodation, and prior records.

(c) Employment plans shall reflect participant choice and realistic local opportunities.

(d) Employers receiving assistance shall comply with wage, safety, nondiscrimination, and anti-retaliation requirements.

(e) Subsidized placements may not displace existing workers or permit payment below otherwise applicable wages.

(f) Housing may not be conditioned on participation.

(g) Performance measures shall include sustained employment, earnings quality, job safety, and participant satisfaction, with appropriate treatment of people unable to work.

## SEC. 802. EDUCATION AND CREDENTIAL ACCESS.

(a) Grants shall support literacy, secondary-school completion, English-language learning, community-college enrollment, occupational credentials, and higher-education access.

(b) Participants shall receive assistance with applications, financial aid, records, devices, and reasonable study space.

(c) Education undertaken as part of a stabilization plan may not be treated as refusal to work.

(d) Programs shall assess whether a credential has recognized labor-market value before paying tuition.

(e) Recipients may not steer participants toward high-cost programs through referral compensation.

(f) Institutions receiving a grant under this section shall designate a housing-stability liaison and maintain a referral process for students at risk of homelessness.

## SEC. 803. CHILDCARE AND FAMILY SUPPORT.

(a) Families shall receive assistance obtaining affordable childcare, early education, parenting support, and child-development services.

(b) Grants may fill gaps when existing childcare assistance is unavailable or delayed.

(c) Services shall accommodate nonstandard work hours, treatment schedules, and disability.

(d) Childcare providers shall meet applicable licensing and safeguarding requirements.

(e) A parent may not be penalized for failing to accept employment when necessary childcare is unavailable.

(f) Family plans shall support school attendance, safe transport, nutrition, and age-appropriate recreation.

(g) Housing deprivation alone may not be treated by a funded program as evidence requiring separation of a child from a parent.

## SEC. 804. COMMUNITY RECONNECTION HUBS.

(a) Every village and every development with more than fifty assisted dwellings shall maintain a community-reconnection program.

(b) The program shall provide regular access to shared meals, recreation, arts or cultural activities, digital and library services, resident meetings, and connections with surrounding community organizations.

(c) Where children reside, family activities and safe play opportunities shall be included.

(d) Activities shall be voluntary, accessible, and open to resident input.

(e) Programs shall encourage interaction with people outside the assisted development rather than confining social life to the site.

(f) Religious organizations may participate on a nondiscriminatory basis, but publicly funded assistance may not require worship, religious instruction, or religious affiliation.

## SEC. 805. RESIDENT LEADERSHIP AND SOCIAL ENTERPRISE.

(a) Developments with more than twenty-five assisted dwellings shall support an independent resident council.

(b) Councils shall have a meaningful opportunity to review house rules, safety practices, common-space use, service concerns, and community programming.

(c) Grants may support cooperatives, resident enterprises, paid peer roles, gardens, repair workshops, arts enterprises, and neighborhood projects.

(d) Participation may not be a tenancy condition.

(e) Enterprises shall maintain ordinary financial controls and comply with employment and licensing requirements.

(f) Resident leaders may not receive access to confidential case or medical records merely because of their role.

(g) Residents shall be protected against retaliation for organizing or criticizing program management.

## SEC. 806. FINANCIAL CAPABILITY AND ASSET BUILDING.

(a) Programs shall provide voluntary assistance with safe banking, tax filing, benefit access, budgeting, debt negotiation, lawful credit-report correction, and savings.

(b) Advice shall be free of undisclosed commissions and product-placement incentives.

(c) Providers shall explain the potential effect of earnings, savings, or stipends on other benefits.

(d) Matched savings may support education, transportation, emergency reserves, and lawful housing transition.

(e) Programs may not promise a particular credit-score increase or deletion of accurate information.

(f) A participant’s financial information may not be sold or used for advertising.

(g) Financial counseling shall support informed decisions rather than require control of a participant’s money by the housing provider.

## SEC. 807. TRANSPORTATION AND DIGITAL ACCESS.

(a) Assistance may finance transit passes, accessible shuttles, bicycles, essential vehicle repair, licensing assistance, and transportation to work, school, treatment, court, and family responsibilities.

(b) Each village shall demonstrate a workable connection to essential destinations, whether through public transit or funded alternatives.

(c) Permanent dwellings shall be broadband-ready, and residents shall have affordable access to internet service and basic devices where needed.

(d) Essential program functions shall remain available through non-digital channels.

(e) Device-management software may not monitor personal communications or browsing unrelated to a specific, consented support function.

(f) Transportation assistance may not be used for involuntary relocation.

## SEC. 808. POST-TRANSITION FOLLOW-UP.

(a) Households leaving intensive assistance shall be offered follow-up for at least twenty-four months.

(b) Follow-up may include brief case management, landlord mediation, emergency financial assistance, renewed treatment connection, and employment support.

(c) Participation shall be voluntary and may not require continuous location tracking.

(d) A household facing renewed homelessness shall have an expedited reassessment without being penalized for a prior unsuccessful transition.

(e) Providers shall distinguish a voluntary move to stable housing from an unknown exit.

(f) Follow-up findings shall inform program improvement, but individual information may not be publicly disclosed.

# TITLE IX—TARGETED PATHWAYS FOR POPULATIONS FACING HEIGHTENED BARRIERS

## SEC. 901. FOSTER-YOUTH HOUSING CONTINUITY.

(a) A foster-care agency accepting assistance under this section shall begin housing-transition planning at least 180 days before a foreseeable exit.

(b) For an eligible young person enrolled in the funded transition program, the agency shall secure a housing commitment before discharge and provide continuing navigation through age twenty-five, subject to annual need review.

(c) Support may include education, employment, identification, healthcare continuity, mentoring, and life-skills assistance.

(d) A youth may not be required to reunify with an unsafe family member.

(e) Brief absence, educational relocation, or a disrupted initial placement may not automatically terminate eligibility.

(f) This section creates an enforceable condition for an accepted funded transition commitment; it does not represent that every unserved youth already has an available dwelling.

## SEC. 902. REENTRY FROM INCARCERATION.

(a) Federal correctional facilities and non-Federal facilities accepting reentry assistance shall identify housing risk before release and coordinate a verified placement.

(b) Planning shall include identification, benefits applications, medication continuity, supervision requirements, employment support, and transport.

(c) Release may not be delayed beyond lawful custody because housing is unavailable.

(d) A person may not be excluded from assistance solely because of incarceration history.

(e) Placement shall respect applicable individualized court orders and legitimate safety restrictions without importing categorical exclusions from unrelated programs.

(f) Housing staff may not act as routine surveillance agents for supervision authorities. Information sharing shall be limited to a lawful, disclosed purpose.

## SEC. 903. HOSPITAL, TREATMENT, AND NURSING-FACILITY TRANSITIONS.

(a) Covered healthcare institutions shall identify housing instability at admission or as soon as reasonably possible.

(b) Discharge arrangements shall include a clinically appropriate destination, a receiving contact, necessary transport, medication instructions, and a follow-up appointment or service connection.

(c) A sidewalk, transit station, or unverified shelter referral may not constitute an arranged discharge destination.

(d) An institution may not keep a person in inpatient care solely to satisfy this Act when continued hospitalization is not clinically or legally justified.

(e) The responsible housing administrator shall maintain emergency alternatives for such circumstances.

(f) Repeated failed discharges shall trigger joint review of institutional and community capacity rather than automatic blame of the patient.

## SEC. 904. SURVIVORS OF VIOLENCE AND TRAFFICKING.

(a) Survivors shall receive confidential intake, safety planning, flexible relocation, and rapid transfer.

(b) Providers may not require a police report, prosecution, protective order, or cooperation with an investigation as the exclusive proof of need.

(c) A survivor may not be penalized for abuse committed against the survivor or for emergency calls seeking assistance.

(d) Lease bifurcation or removal of an abusive household member shall preserve lawful rights of other occupants.

(e) Identifying data shall be maintained through a protected comparable system when entry into a shared homelessness database would create risk.

(f) Location disclosure shall be limited to what is necessary and lawful.

(g) Services shall be available without discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or family composition.

## SEC. 905. VETERANS AND MILITARY TRANSITIONS.

(a) The Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs shall coordinate housing, healthcare, benefits, and employment services for veterans.

(b) A person’s inability to establish eligibility for a particular veterans program may not by itself bar assistance under this Act.

(c) Transition planning shall address service-related disability, benefits delays, family needs, and discharge documentation.

(d) Existing veterans housing resources shall be supplemented, not counted again as newly created Dignity capacity.

(e) Providers shall support voluntary transfer to veterans-specific services where appropriate without interrupting housing.

(f) Military service may not be required to receive assistance otherwise available under this Act.

## SEC. 906. OLDER ADULTS AND PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES.

(a) Programs shall provide accessible housing, benefits assistance, personal-care coordination, medication support, and protection against exploitation.

(b) Age or disability may not create an expectation of employment as a condition of continued assistance.

(c) A person capable of community living with support may not be routed to institutional care solely because a recipient failed to arrange that support.

(d) Assessments shall consider sensory, cognitive, mobility, and communication needs.

(e) Residents shall receive assistance understanding powers of attorney, representative-payee arrangements, and supported decision-making, without requiring unnecessary transfer of legal authority.

(f) Suspected financial or physical abuse shall be addressed through applicable safeguarding procedures.

## SEC. 907. RURAL, FRONTIER, AND TRIBAL SYSTEMS.

(a) The Secretary shall permit regional service networks, mobile care, smaller developments, rehabilitation of existing homes, and transport-intensive models where population density makes urban delivery methods impractical.

(b) Rural costs shall account for travel time, utility extensions, contractor availability, and weather.

(c) Tribal plans shall respect sovereignty, cultural practices, land tenure, and Tribal law.

(d) A Tribe may administer a culturally specific program consistent with this Act’s core safety and resident protections.

(e) Consultation shall occur before Federal action materially affecting Tribal land or programs.

(f) No waiver under this section shall authorize substandard sanitation, forced treatment, or denial of an applicable civil right.

## SEC. 908. YOUTH, FAMILY REJECTION, AND OTHER ACCESS BARRIERS.

(a) Youth and young adults facing family rejection, exploitation, disability-related exclusion, or unsafe informal housing shall receive age-appropriate assistance.

(b) A provider may not require disclosure of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, or another sensitive characteristic unless voluntarily offered for a specific service purpose.

(c) Placement shall respect safety, identity, and family relationships without compelled disclosure to an unsafe person.

(d) Programs shall address the needs of pregnant youth, young parents, students, and people with limited literacy or English proficiency.

(e) Unaccompanied minors shall receive services through legally authorized child- and youth-serving arrangements.

(f) This section does not permit a housing provider to assume custody or bypass applicable child-protection procedures.

# TITLE X—RESIDENT RIGHTS, PRIVACY, DUE PROCESS, AND ENFORCEMENT

## SEC. 1001. EXPRESS INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS.

(a) Individual rights.—Each applicant or resident to whom the relevant provision applies has an individual right, enforceable under this title, to—

(1) nondiscriminatory consideration under sections 104 and 105;

(2) the habitability and safety protections required by sections 307, 404, 605, 606, and 611;

(3) a contribution calculated in accordance with sections 503 through 509;

(4) the privacy, consent, information-security, and human-review protections in sections 708 and 1002 through 1004;

(5) freedom from compelled treatment, religious or political participation, and unpaid labor under sections 106, 502, 614, and 804;

(6) required reasonable accommodation and accessible communication;

(7) notice, cure, hearing, and judicial-process protections under sections 303 and 1006;

(8) protection against retaliation under sections 307, 707, and 805;

(9) the legal-assistance, grievance, and independent-advocacy protections established by sections 302 and 1005; and

(10) performance of an accepted, individualized housing commitment expressly required by section 901.

(b) Other assisted tenancies.—For a tenancy covered solely by section 303(d), the rights enforceable under this title are the rights expressly made applicable by that subsection, including screening, deposit, fee, habitability, good-cause, and procedural protections. This subsection does not confer assistance under title V.

(c) Limits.—A national numerical goal, general funding formula, or unapproved application does not independently create an individual entitlement to an unavailable dwelling. Nothing in this subsection limits a duty to administer available assistance lawfully or to honor an accepted commitment.

## SEC. 1002. DATA MINIMIZATION AND CONSENT.

(a) Recipients shall collect only information reasonably necessary for eligibility, service delivery, payment, safety, or authorized evaluation.

(b) Clinical notes may not be routinely copied into housing-management records.

(c) Consent forms shall identify information, purpose, recipients, duration, and withdrawal procedures.

(d) Refusal to authorize unnecessary disclosure may not affect housing eligibility.

(e) Disclosure without consent.—Disclosure without consent is permitted only when both a specific legal requirement, valid judicial process, necessary emergency protection, or another expressly authorized basis permits the disclosure and the disclosure complies with each applicable confidentiality law. A subpoena alone does not override section 543 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd–2), part 2 of title 42, Code of Federal Regulations, or a more protective applicable requirement.

(f) Records may not be sold, used for advertising, or made available for generalized law-enforcement or civil-immigration surveillance.

(g) Financial and grant records shall be retained for required audit periods; unnecessary personal information shall be deleted or de-identified according to a published schedule.

## SEC. 1003. INFORMATION SECURITY AND INTEROPERABILITY.

(a) Systems shall use role-based access, encryption, access logs, multifactor authentication for staff, and tested recovery procedures.

(b) Interoperability shall permit necessary referrals and vacancy matching without creating unrestricted access to all records.

(c) Survivors and other persons facing special risks shall have protected alternatives to shared identifying records.

(d) A material breach shall be reported to the responsible Federal agency within 72 hours after confirmation and to affected persons without unreasonable delay, ordinarily within 30 days, subject to a shorter applicable legal deadline.

(e) Vendors shall permit independent security review and data export and may not retain data for unrelated commercial purposes.

(f) Camera recordings shall ordinarily be deleted within 30 days unless preserved for a documented incident, claim, or lawful investigation.

## SEC. 1004. AUTOMATED DECISION SYSTEMS.

(a) No adverse housing or service decision shall be based solely on an automated score.

(b) A recipient using an automated system shall document its purpose, inputs, validation, error rates, and potential disparate effects.

(c) Applicants shall receive an understandable explanation of a material adverse recommendation and an opportunity for human review.

(d) Systems may not infer dangerousness, treatment readiness, or deservingness from appearance, social-media activity, disability proxies, or unverified commercial data.

(e) Procurement contracts shall permit audit sufficient to evaluate legality and accuracy; trade-secret assertions may not defeat governmental oversight.

(f) A system producing material unlawful bias or unreliable decisions shall be suspended until corrected.

## SEC. 1005. GRIEVANCES AND INDEPENDENT ADVOCACY.

(a) Each recipient shall maintain an accessible grievance process independent of the employee whose conduct is challenged.

(b) Ordinary grievances shall receive acknowledgment within three business days and a written response within fifteen business days.

(c) Urgent safety, lockout, or medication-access complaints shall receive same-day attention.

(d) Residents may use an advocate, interpreter, or support person.

(e) The Secretary shall fund independent ombudsman and resident-advocacy functions that are not controlled by the housing owner.

(f) Filing a grievance may not delay an emergency court application or excuse compliance with a repair or safety duty.

(g) Reporting and review.—Complaint trends and corrective measures shall be publicly reported in de-identified form. The Secretary shall provide independent administrative review of an adverse eligibility, contribution, accommodation, or transition decision. A person shall have at least 30 days after accessible notice to request review, with good-cause extensions. The reviewing officer shall issue a reasoned decision within 30 days after a complete request unless the person agrees to an extension. Emergency relief and a civil action under section 1009 remain available.

## SEC. 1006. TERMINATION, EVICTION, AND EMERGENCY ACTION.

(a) Before terminating assistance or tenancy, a recipient shall provide—

(1) specific written allegations and supporting information;

(2) at least 30 days’ notice, unless a shorter period is necessary for an immediate serious threat;

(3) a reasonable opportunity to cure a curable violation;

(4) consideration of accommodation and less restrictive alternatives;

(5) an impartial administrative hearing; and

(6) a written decision explaining evidence and review rights.

(b) The recipient bears the burden of proving the asserted ground by a preponderance of the evidence.

(c) A temporary emergency transfer may occur where necessary to protect against an immediate serious threat, with review within 48 hours.

(d) Self-help eviction, lock changes, utility shutoff, and confiscation of possessions are prohibited.

(e) Physical eviction requires lawful judicial process.

(f) Protected conduct.—A service disagreement or unmet treatment goal may not be recast as a safety violation without evidence of actual material conduct.

(g) Hearing and interim protection.—The notice under subsection (a) shall explain how to request a hearing, obtain the relied-upon records, present evidence, question adverse evidence, and obtain counsel or other assistance. A timely hearing request shall stay termination of assistance and the initiation of eviction proceedings until a written hearing decision is issued, except for a temporary emergency measure authorized by subsection (c). The hearing officer shall be independent of the challenged decision and shall issue a decision within 30 days after the request, unless the resident requests or agrees to an extension. An administrative decision does not replace the judicial process required by subsection (e).

## SEC. 1007. ADMINISTRATIVE ENFORCEMENT AND SUCCESSOR OPERATORS.

(a) Agency authority.—The Secretary and each other Federal agency head administering assistance under this Act may investigate complaints, inspect funded operations, require relevant records as a condition of assistance, and order corrective action within the agency's assigned responsibilities. For assistance described in section 303(d), the administering Federal agency shall enforce the applicable conditions. This subsection does not authorize a warrantless search of a dwelling or the disclosure of protected records contrary to law.

(b) Except in an emergency, a recipient shall receive notice and at least 30 days to respond or cure.

(c) Remedies may include technical assistance, repayment of improperly used funds, award conditions, suspension of new awards, debarment proceedings, and transfer to a qualified successor.

(d) Enforcement shall distinguish deliberate misuse from good-faith error and unavoidable external conditions.

(e) Funding action shall, to the maximum extent practicable, preserve residents’ housing and essential services.

(f) An unsafe operator may be removed without closing the housing if a qualified successor is available.

(g) Judicial review.—Final Federal agency action under this section is subject to review under chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code.

## SEC. 1008. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.

(a) Civil action by Attorney General.—The Attorney General may bring a civil action in an appropriate United States district court against a person who violates a duty imposed on that person by this Act. The court shall have jurisdiction without regard to the amount in controversy. The Federal Trade Commission and Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection may refer matters to the Attorney General and may exercise their separately applicable enforcement authority within their respective jurisdictions.

(b) Relief.—In an action under subsection (a), the court may award declaratory or injunctive relief, restitution to an injured person, and a civil penalty under subsection (c).

(c) Civil penalties.—A civil penalty may not exceed $10,000 for an initial violation affecting a household, or $50,000 for a knowing or repeated violation affecting a household, adjusted under section 1104. A continuing course of substantially the same conduct affecting the same household constitutes one violation for this subsection unless the court finds distinct violations supported by separate acts and harms.

(d) Factors.—In determining a penalty, the court shall consider the seriousness, duration, intent, harm, corrective action, ability to pay, and effect on continued resident services.

(e) Judicial assessment.—The additional civil penalties created by this section may be assessed only by a court. This section does not authorize their assessment in an administrative grant-recapture or benefits hearing. Any right to trial by jury shall be preserved.

(f) No duplicate recovery.—A person may not obtain duplicative recovery for the same loss under this Act and another law. That limitation does not preclude distinct relief necessary to remedy a violation.

(g) Sovereign immunity.—An action against a State is subject to section 1010. Nothing in this section creates a monetary claim against the United States or implicitly waives Tribal sovereign immunity.

## SEC. 1009. PRIVATE ACTION AND JUDICIAL REVIEW.

(a) Cause of action.—A person injured by a violation of an express individual right under section 1001 may bring a civil action against the responsible non-Federal covered recipient or operator in an appropriate United States district court, which shall have jurisdiction without regard to the amount in controversy, subject to section 1010.

(b) Relief.—A court may award declaratory or injunctive relief, restitution, and actual compensatory damages proved. The court may award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney's fees and costs. Punitive damages are not available under this section, and no party may receive duplicative recovery for the same injury.

(c) An action shall be commenced within two years after discovery of the violation, excluding periods of minority, incapacity, fraudulent concealment, or pending voluntary administrative review.

(d) Exhaustion.—Exhaustion of administrative remedies is not required before bringing an action under this section. Voluntary use of a grievance process does not waive or delay the right to seek judicial relief.

(e) Predispute agreements requiring arbitration or waiver of the rights and remedies created by this section are unenforceable as to claims under this Act.

(f) Claims against Federal agencies shall proceed under otherwise applicable judicial-review law; this Act does not create a damages remedy against the United States.

(g) Existing remedies under other law are preserved.

## SEC. 1010. FEDERALISM, IMMUNITY, AND TRIBAL REMEDIES.

(a) State acceptance.—As an express condition of accepting financial assistance under this Act, a State shall waive immunity under the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and any other State sovereign immunity from an action in Federal court under section 1009 for a violation by the State in administering that assistance. The waiver includes the remedies specified in section 1009(b) and applies only to conduct occurring during the accepted assistance or performance of its continuing conditions.

(b) The funding agreement shall reproduce this condition prominently before acceptance.

(c) This consent does not extend to unrelated State activities or claims.

(d) Nothing in this Act implicitly waives Tribal sovereign immunity. A Tribal recipient shall identify an accessible Tribal or agreed forum providing a meaningful remedy for protected rights, and remains subject to Federal grant enforcement.

(e) No provision shall be construed to compel a State to legislate or administer a Federal program it has not accepted.

(f) Conditions affecting land use, discharge planning, or service administration shall remain tied to the funded activity and may not authorize withdrawal of unrelated Medicaid, education, or transportation funds.

# TITLE XI—APPROPRIATIONS, FISCAL CONTROLS, PROCUREMENT, AND LONG-TERM STEWARDSHIP

## SEC. 1101. DIGNITY HOUSING AND STABILITY FUND.

(a) Establishment.—There is established in the Treasury an account to be known as the “Dignity Housing and Stability Fund”.

(b) Deposits.—The Fund shall receive amounts appropriated under this title and repayments, recoveries, and refunds of amounts previously disbursed from the Fund. Such repayments, recoveries, and refunds are appropriated to the Fund and shall remain available for the same authorized purposes until expended.

(c) Administration and transfers.—The Secretary shall administer the Fund. The Secretary may transfer amounts to another Federal agency solely to carry out a responsibility expressly assigned to that agency by this Act. Transferred amounts shall retain their purpose and period of availability, shall count against the originating allocation, and may not increase total budget authority. Each transfer shall be recorded and reported under section 1110.

(d) Availability.—Capital and major-renewal appropriations shall remain available until expended. Operating appropriations for a program year shall remain available for obligation through the end of the following program year. A multiyear award may be made only to the extent of budget authority available for that obligation. The availability of an appropriation for a later year does not authorize an earlier obligation.

(e) Penalties.—Civil penalties collected under this Act shall be deposited in the general fund of the Treasury and may not be credited to the Fund. Restitution shall be paid as directed by the court.

(f) General-fund financing.—The establishment of the Fund does not establish a tax, dedicated receipt, borrowing authority, or exemption from applicable Federal budget, apportionment, and financial-management law.

## SEC. 1102. CAPITAL APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) Initial capital appropriations.—There are appropriated to the Fund, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the following base-year amounts, adjusted under section 1104 and available beginning on the first day of the specified program year:

(1) For program year 1, $20,000,000,000.

(2) For program year 2, $30,000,000,000.

(3) For program year 3, $40,000,000,000.

(4) For program year 4, $40,000,000,000.

(5) For program year 5, $35,000,000,000.

(6) For program year 6, $30,000,000,000.

(7) For program year 7, $25,000,000,000.

(8) For program year 8, $20,000,000,000.

(b) Purpose allocations.—The aggregate base-year appropriation of $240,000,000,000 under subsection (a) shall be allocated as follows. The same proportions shall apply to each annual appropriation after indexing, subject to section 1104:

(1) $200,000,000,000 for permanent housing, including associated on-site land, infrastructure, common space, furnishings, and commissioning.

(2) $15,000,000,000 for bridge, respite, and clinically appropriate temporary capacity.

(3) $10,000,000,000 for separately justified clinical, rehabilitation, and workforce facilities not already included in a housing budget.

(4) $6,000,000,000 for off-site infrastructure.

(5) $4,000,000,000 for prospective land banking and site control.

(6) $5,000,000,000 for manufacturing and construction-workforce capacity.

(c) Major renewal and replacement.—For program year 9 and each subsequent program year, there is appropriated to the Fund, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $5,000,000,000, adjusted under section 1104, for major renewal and replacement of assets financed under this Act. Each appropriation shall become available on the first day of the applicable program year.

(d) No duplicate payment.—Renewal assistance may not reimburse a cost already paid from a project reserve, insurance, warranty recovery, or another Federal source.

## SEC. 1103. OPERATING APPROPRIATIONS.

(a) Operating appropriations.—There are appropriated to the Fund, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the following base-year amounts, adjusted under section 1104 and available beginning on the first day of the specified program year, except as provided in section 3(c):

(1) For program year 1, $24,000,000,000.

(2) For program year 2, $32,000,000,000.

(3) For program year 3, $40,000,000,000.

(4) For program year 4, $48,000,000,000.

(5) For program year 5, $54,000,000,000.

(6) For program year 6, $58,000,000,000.

(7) For program year 7, $60,000,000,000.

(8) For program year 8 and each subsequent program year, $60,000,000,000.

(b) Mature annual allocations.—Beginning in program year 7, the base-year operating appropriation shall be allocated as follows. The same proportions shall apply after indexing, subject to section 1104:

(1) $16,000,000,000 for property operations and long-term rental assistance.

(2) $10,000,000,000 for case management, peer support, tenancy support, and rehabilitation.

(3) $8,000,000,000 for health care, crisis care, addiction treatment, and respite services.

(4) $7,000,000,000 for bridge operations and outreach.

(5) $3,000,000,000 for community safety and de-escalation.

(6) $7,000,000,000 for prevention, legal assistance, benefits access, and discharge support.

(7) $6,000,000,000 for employment, education, childcare, transportation, and community reintegration.

(8) $3,000,000,000 for administration, data, training, technical assistance, evaluation, and oversight, including the reservations under sections 1110(c) and 1205(a).

(c) Earlier-year allocations.—For program years 1 through 6, the Secretary shall publish category allocations reflecting implementation needs before obligating the annual appropriation, subject to the total appropriation, the reservations under sections 1110(c) and 1205(a), and protection of continuing commitments. Amounts made available on enactment under section 3(c) count toward the first-year allocation.

## SEC. 1104. INDEXING AND LIMITED TRANSFERS.

(a) Indexed amounts.—For each program year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall adjust only the appropriations specified in sections 1102 and 1103, the $35 limit in section 304(c), the $1,200 allowance in section 504(a)(5), and the civil-penalty amounts in section 1008(c). No other amount shall be indexed unless expressly provided by law.

(b) Method.—An adjusted amount shall equal its stated base-year amount multiplied by the greater of 1 or the ratio of—

(1) the average of the monthly Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, United States city average, all items, not seasonally adjusted, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the 12-month period ending June 30 immediately before the program year; to

(2) the average of that index for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2026.

(c) Publication and rounding.—The Secretary of the Treasury shall publish adjustments not later than 30 days before the program year begins or, for the first program year if enacted later than that date, as soon as practicable after enactment. Appropriations shall be rounded to the nearest $1,000,000 and other amounts to the nearest dollar. If the index is discontinued, the Secretary of the Treasury shall use the most nearly comparable successor index and explain the conversion. The advance made available under section 3(c) is $300,000,000 in nominal dollars and shall be subtracted after the first-year appropriation is adjusted.

(d) Limited reallocations.—After a public explanation and 30 days' notice to the committees of Congress with jurisdiction over the affected program and appropriations, the Secretary may transfer between categories within section 1102(b), or between categories within section 1103(b) or (c), an aggregate amount not exceeding 10 percent of the donor category's original annual allocation. Amounts transferred into a category do not enlarge its transfer limit. No transfer under this subsection may be made between capital, operating, and major-renewal appropriations.

(e) Protected commitments.—A transfer may not reduce essential tenancy renewals, legally required resident protections, committed construction obligations, or the minimum reservations for audit and evaluation. Regional award amounts may be adjusted for verified costs within available appropriations.

(f) Limitation.—Indexing under this section is the adjustment of appropriations expressly enacted by Congress. No agency may increase the total appropriation, alter an indexing factor, or transfer funds except as authorized by this Act or another law.

## SEC. 1105. FULL-COST BUDGETING AND COST CONTROLS.

(a) Each project budget shall identify land, acquisition, design, environmental work, utility connections, roads, drainage, construction, installation, common buildings, furnishings, insurance, financing costs, project management, contingency, commissioning, and startup reserves.

(b) The operating budget shall identify management, maintenance, utilities, insurance, replacement reserves, clinical and nonclinical staff, leave coverage, contracted services, transportation, technology, audits, and administration.

(c) Budgets shall distinguish gross cost from resident contributions and actual third-party reimbursement.

(d) Public land may not be described as costless without disclosure of infrastructure cost and estimated opportunity value.

(e) Projects exceeding regional benchmarks shall undergo independent review, but benchmarks may not operate as inflexible caps that prevent necessary accessible or high-cost-market housing.

(f) A lower bid may not prevail where it omits required work or shifts foreseeable costs to operations.

## SEC. 1106. PROCUREMENT, BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP, AND FRAUD PREVENTION.

(a) Covered recipients shall use documented competitive procurement except for a justified lawful exception.

(b) Vendors and project sponsors shall disclose beneficial ownership, related parties, conflicts of interest, and material prior debarment or fraud findings.

(c) Major contracts, change orders, unit prices, and completion milestones shall be publicly available, with lawful redactions.

(d) Recipients shall maintain segregation of duties, payment verification, independent approval of related-party transactions, and a protected fraud-reporting channel.

(e) No employee may receive an undisclosed financial benefit from a vendor or participant referral.

(f) Investigators shall distinguish suspected provider fraud from resident eligibility errors and shall protect essential services during an investigation.

(g) The False Claims Act and other independently applicable remedies are preserved.

## SEC. 1107. RESERVES, MAINTENANCE, AND RENEWAL.

(a) Before occupancy, each capital project shall have a funded operating-liquidity reserve ordinarily sufficient for at least sixty days of expected operations.

(b) The reserve is a restricted asset, not an additional operating expense merely because it is funded.

(c) Annual budgets shall include routine replacement reserves supported by the capital-needs plan.

(d) Major renewal requests shall deduct available reserves, insurance proceeds, warranty recoveries, and other committed funding for the same work.

(e) Reserve withdrawals shall be documented and audited.

(f) Deferred maintenance may not be used to inflate a future emergency funding request.

(g) The Secretary may intervene where an owner repeatedly diverts reserves or fails to maintain a habitable asset.

## SEC. 1108. ADDITIONALITY AND NO DUPLICATE PAYMENT.

(a) Funds under this Act shall supplement, not automatically replace, existing Federal housing and service commitments.

(b) A recipient may not bill two programs for the same service, rental obligation, land purchase, or construction item.

(c) Cost allocation among programs shall follow a documented method based on actual benefit or use.

(d) A later reimbursement shall reduce the outstanding grant cost or be returned as required.

(e) Residents may not be required to repay provider billing errors absent proven knowing participation in fraud.

(f) The Secretary shall establish common cost identifiers and reconciliation procedures without creating unrestricted access to protected personal records.

## SEC. 1109. RENEWAL PRIORITY AND REVENUE TREATMENT.

(a) Within available operating appropriations, continuing occupied tenancies and essential services shall receive priority over new commitments.

(b) The Secretary shall forecast renewal obligations at least five years ahead.

(c) Resident rent shall be credited to the project or subsidy cost for which it is collected and may not be counted as unrestricted profit.

(d) A provider may not charge above the tenant contribution authorized by this Act to compensate for a delayed Federal payment.

(e) Increased rent receipts or legitimate third-party reimbursement may support approved operations, reserves, or additional eligible assistance, with transparent accounting.

(f) A projected funding shortfall shall trigger a congressional notification and continuity plan rather than undisclosed reductions in staffing or habitability.

## SEC. 1110. FISCAL REPORTING AND INDEPENDENT AUDIT.

(a) The Secretary shall publish quarterly obligations and outlays and annual audited financial statements.

(b) Reports shall distinguish capital awards, completed assets, operating expenditures, reserves, recoveries, resident receipts, and unspent balances.

(c) Inspector General reservation.—Of each annual operating appropriation, the Secretary shall reserve and transfer to the Inspector General of the Department not less than 0.25 percent, within the administrative allocation, for independent oversight under this Act. The Inspector General may enter into reimbursable agreements with other participating Inspectors General for coordinated audits and investigations. This reservation does not limit an Inspector General's independence or otherwise applicable authority.

(d) Audits shall examine unit costs, procurement, staffing actually delivered, occupancy, duplicate billing, reserve adequacy, and outcome accuracy.

(e) The annual report shall identify costs shifted to other Federal programs, States, local governments, providers, residents, or employers where reasonably measurable.

(f) Savings may not be reported as budgetary offsets unless they represent an identifiable reduction in expenditure or increase in receipts under an accepted scoring method.

# TITLE XII—IMPLEMENTATION, EVALUATION, CORRECTIVE ACTION, AND REVIEW

## SEC. 1201. EFFECTIVE DATES AND TRANSITION.

(a) Administrative, planning, appropriation, privacy, and anti-retaliation provisions take effect on enactment.

(b) New awards shall comply with applicable statutory requirements immediately, except where a provision expressly allows implementation time.

(c) Rental transaction requirements under sections 304 and 305 shall take effect 365 days after enactment.

(d) Prospective conditions under section 303(d) shall apply after implementing regulations take effect.

(e) Existing residents transferred into this Act may not lose a more protective lawful tenancy term solely because of the transfer.

(f) A recipient may not terminate an existing service before a funded replacement is operational.

## SEC. 1202. RULEMAKING.

(a) Rulemaking authority and deadlines.—Each Federal agency assigned an administrative responsibility under this Act may issue regulations necessary to carry out that responsibility. Each such agency shall publish proposed implementing rules not later than 180 days after enactment and final rules not later than 365 days after enactment, coordinating with the Secretary to avoid conflicting requirements.

(b) Procedure.—Rulemaking shall be conducted under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, including for rules relating to grants, benefits, or contracts, unless another express statutory exception applies. A determination of good cause shall be supported by specific published findings.

(c) Direct statutory protections may not be suspended merely because regulations are delayed.

(d) Interim grant guidance may explain procedures but may not add substantive eligibility exclusions or waive rights.

(e) Rules shall identify responsible agencies, evidence requirements, timelines, administrative costs, and appeal procedures.

(f) The Department shall publish a consolidated implementation calendar and explain any missed deadline to Congress.

## SEC. 1203. IMPLEMENTATION MILESTONES.

(a) Within ninety days, agencies shall establish leadership, initial staffing, financial controls, and emergency continuity procedures.

(b) Within six months, the Department shall publish model plans, preliminary design standards, initial land inventories, and workforce-development opportunities.

(c) Within twelve months, initial capital and service awards shall be executed and a public expenditure dashboard operational.

(d) During the second program year, regional systems shall implement coordinated vacancy matching, discharge agreements, and minimum staffing standards.

(e) During program years three through five, recipients shall demonstrate measurable permanent-housing delivery, prevention capacity, and reductions in unsheltered exposure.

(f) By the end of program year eight, the Secretary shall report performance against the capacity targets and identify remaining unmet need.

## SEC. 1204. PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

(a) Public reporting shall include—

(1) people and households served;

(2) net new permanent dwellings and subsidies;

(3) time to appropriate placement;

(4) twelve- and twenty-four-month housing retention;

(5) returns to homelessness;

(6) prevention outcomes;

(7) income, employment, and education outcomes;

(8) health-service access and continuity;

(9) resident safety and experience;

(10) costs per completed dwelling and sustained tenancy; and

(11) complaints, violations, and corrective actions.

(b) Unknown exits, incarceration, death, hospitalization, and transfer to another temporary setting may not be counted as successful permanent-housing exits.

(c) Measures shall be adjusted or stratified for need so providers are not rewarded for avoiding high-acuity households.

(d) Public reports shall protect individual identities.

## SEC. 1205. INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.

(a) At least one-half of one percent of annual operating appropriations shall support independent evaluation within the administrative allocation.

(b) Evaluations shall compare housing models, service intensity, prevention approaches, costs, and distributional effects.

(c) Experimental methods may be used where ethical, but may not require withholding an otherwise established individual entitlement or necessary emergency protection.

(d) Resident participation in research shall be voluntary and compensated appropriately.

(e) Evaluators shall disclose conflicts and publish methods and unfavorable findings.

(f) The Secretary shall commission five-year and ten-year assessments of long-term housing retention, community integration, health, employment, and fiscal effects.

## SEC. 1206. CORRECTIVE ACTION AND LIMITED WAIVERS.

(a) A recipient missing material delivery or safety standards shall submit a corrective plan within sixty days after notice.

(b) Corrective action may include technical assistance, revised procurement, additional supervision, service restructuring, or transfer of administration.

(c) The Secretary may grant a time-limited waiver for geographic or operational circumstances only where the statute expressly permits one.

(d) No waiver may eliminate core habitability, clinical licensing, informed consent, nondiscrimination, privacy, due process, or anti-retaliation protection.

(e) A waiver shall state its duration, evidence, alternatives considered, resident effects, and monitoring requirements.

(f) Lack of appropriated resources shall be disclosed and addressed through lawful budget action, not concealed through a waiver of minimum dignity standards.

## SEC. 1207. CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.

(a) The Comptroller General shall report to Congress after program years three, five, and ten on implementation, fiscal integrity, outcomes, and unmet need.

(b) The fifth-year review shall assess whether appropriations, production methods, staffing ratios, and village concentration limits should be revised.

(c) The tenth-year review shall evaluate the continuing need for capital expansion and the adequacy of renewal funding.

(d) Review may not automatically terminate occupied tenancies, affordability covenants, or continuing appropriations.

(e) Congress may amend the program in light of findings, but agencies may not treat a review date as an implied sunset.

## SEC. 1208. SAVINGS, SEVERABILITY, AND PROTECTION OF EXISTING RIGHTS.

(a) Except as expressly provided, this Act does not diminish rights or remedies under Federal, State, local, or Tribal law.

(b) More protective lawful tenant, disability, labor, safety, and consumer standards are preserved.

(c) If a provision or application is held invalid, the remainder shall remain effective to the extent it can operate consistently with congressional intent.

(d) If a funding condition is invalidated, the responsible agency may not invent a replacement condition without authority.

(e) Invalidity of a regulatory or enforcement provision may not extinguish a resident’s otherwise lawful lease or ownership of personal property.

---

# Dignity Act research and fiscal analysis

Reviewed September 25, 2026. Explanatory material, not part of the bill.

## Count people, households, and annual inflows separately

HUD reports 745,652 people experiencing homelessness on one night in January 2025, including 266,320 unsheltered people. These are people, not households or annual entrants. Section 210 therefore requires separate measures of household composition, inflows, vacancies, prevention needs, and costs. The proposed 850,000 long-term household placements are a capacity target, not an estimate derived directly from the point-in-time count.

[HUD 2025 AHAR release, May 29, 2026](https://www.hud.gov/news/hud-no-26-037)

## Prevention demand extends beyond the homelessness count

HUD’s 2025 Worst Case Housing Needs report uses the 2023 American Housing Survey and estimates 8.46 million unassisted, very-low-income renter households with severe rent burdens, severely inadequate housing, or both. These are households facing serious housing problems, not a count of people currently homeless or certain future entrants. They cannot be added to the point-in-time total. The finding supports separate prevention assessments and local targeting; it does not establish that the bill’s prevention budget or placement target will meet every need.

[HUD, Worst Case Housing Needs: 2025 Report to Congress (2023 survey data)](https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Worst-Case-Housing-Needs-2025-Report-to-Congress.html)

## Housing stability does not establish employment gains

HUD’s randomized Family Options Study enrolled 2,282 sheltered families in 12 communities. At 37 months, the composite measure of recent homelessness or doubling up affected 17% of families offered a permanent subsidy, compared with 38% under usual care. The study did not establish earnings gains and found some reductions in work effort. This supports separate accountability for housing and employment. It does not directly test this bill’s village model or establish the same effects for every population.

[HUD Family Options Study, 2016, chapter 3](https://www.huduser.gov/portal/sites/default/files/pdf/Family-Options-Study-Full-Report.pdf)

## Housing and healthcare outcomes need separate evaluation

A 2020 randomized trial in Santa Clara County enrolled 423 chronically homeless adults who frequently used public services. Housing placement reached 86% in the supportive-housing group and 36% under usual care. The intervention reduced psychiatric emergency visits and shelter use and increased outpatient mental-health care; it did not demonstrate lower total emergency-department use, inpatient use, or jail use. Control-group access to other housing and high mortality limited interpretation. This population-specific trial supports housing stability without promising universal healthcare savings. The fiscal model therefore does not deduct assumed hospital or jail savings from the appropriation requirement.

[Raven, Niedzwiecki, and Kushel, randomized supportive-housing trial, 2020](https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13553)

## Finland is a qualified comparison

Finland reported 4,579 homeless people living alone in 2025, 773 more than in 2024, marking a second annual increase. Its count includes people staying temporarily with friends or relatives; that category accounted for 64% of the total. These definitions differ from the U.S. point-in-time measure. Finland informs the need for lasting affordability and prevention, but is not evidence that a particular U.S. capacity or funding target is sufficient.

[Varke, Homeless people 2025](https://www.varke.fi/en/statistics/homelessness/homeless-people-2025)

## Village size is a proposal; integration is a legal duty

Department of Justice guidance explains that integrated settings support interaction with the wider community and meaningful choice. The bill keeps 150–300-resident villages while requiring alternatives, ordinary leases, autonomy, transportation, and accessibility. The 40% portfolio concentration ceiling is a proposed safeguard, not an existing legal threshold or a safe harbor under the ADA. Compliance must be evaluated for each program and setting.

[DOJ integration mandate and Olmstead guidance](https://www.ada.gov/resources/olmstead-mandate-statement/)

## Measure actual costs against verified outcomes

California’s State Auditor found two of five reviewed programs likely cost-effective and lacked sufficient outcome data to assess the other three. That finding does not show that every homelessness expenditure was wasted or that historic California acquisition costs are national current prices. Sections 1105–1110 and 1204 require comparable costs, actual staffing and occupancy, audit trails, and separate treatment of unknown or unsuccessful exits.

[California State Auditor, report 2023-102.1](https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2023-102-1/)

## Historical project costs cannot certify a national construction budget

GAO’s 2023 Housing Trust Fund review examined a nonrepresentative sample of 70 completed projects from 12 selected grantees, with completion data through March 1, 2022. Development costs varied with project type and location. These historical projects cannot validate the bill’s 2026 planning allowances or its manufacturing scale. Current local bids, site conditions, infrastructure, financing, workforce capacity, and completion schedules must determine award budgets. GAO also identified cost-certification and reporting weaknesses; its current tracking records four recommendations as implemented and the fraud-risk-assessment recommendation as open. The bill’s audit and reporting design responds to those oversight issues.

[GAO-23-105370: Housing Trust Fund costs, oversight, and recommendation tracking](https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-23-105370)

## Federal land still requires a lawful conveyance

HHS’s Title V program provides an existing route for eligible public bodies and nonprofit organizations to obtain suitable Federal property for homelessness assistance. Section 603 uses that authority and applicable title 40 authority, rather than purporting to waive land law. A low acquisition price does not pay for remediation, utilities, construction, services, or long-term maintenance.

[HHS Federal Real Property Assistance Program](https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/asa/psc/federal-real-property-assistance-program/title-v-frpap/index.html)

## Funding conditions need clear limits

The bill identifies conditions before a recipient accepts assistance and keeps sanctions tied to the funded activity. Section 303 now specifies which protections attach to newly accepted Federal rental or project assistance; it does not silently apply this bill’s income rules to other programs. Express State waiver terms and Tribal remedies are addressed separately. These choices reduce ambiguity but do not settle the constitutionality of every application.

[Congress, Constitution Annotated: spending conditions](https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artI-S8-C1-2-7/ALDE_00013362/)

## Encampment protections are proposed funding rules

City of Grants Pass v. Johnson held that the Eighth Amendment does not categorically prohibit enforcement of generally applicable public-camping laws. The bill creates an additional restriction on its own funds, with notice, available indoor offers, property protection, and emergency exceptions. It does not claim that the Court already requires those statutory protections or abolish every local camping rule.

[Supreme Court opinion, June 28, 2024](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/23-175_19m2.pdf)

## Clinical care needs qualified staff and lawful payment

ASAM distinguishes withdrawal management from continuing treatment of alcohol-use disorder. The bill requires qualified assessment, appropriate facilities, emergency transfer, and continuing care. CMS describes specific room-and-board limits within Medicaid; this bill does not create a new Medicaid eligibility group or universal housing benefit. Its separate grants cover eligible gaps, with reconciliation of later third-party reimbursement.

[ASAM withdrawal-management guideline](https://www.asam.org/quality-care/clinical-guidelines/alcohol-withdrawal-management-guideline) · [CMS institutional and noninstitutional coverage](https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/long-term-services-supports/institutional-long-term-care)

## A housing referral is not blanket consent

HHS states that the revised Part 2 rule required compliance by February 16, 2026 and limits use of substance-use-disorder records in proceedings against a patient. Section 1002 expressly preserves those protections, including the fact that an ordinary subpoena alone may be insufficient. Housing, health, education, and justice coordination require limited access and a lawful basis for each disclosure.

[HHS Part 2 confidentiality framework](https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/part-2/index.html)

## An agency sunset must not break a lasting program

The current U.S. Code sets October 1, 2028 as the termination date for the Interagency Council on Homelessness, subject to any later legislation. Section 202 now gives HUD a fallback coordination duty if the Council ceases to exist or cannot perform its role. The bill’s continuing housing commitments and appropriations do not depend on assuming that the Council will remain in place indefinitely.

[42 U.S.C. 11319](https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=%28title%3A42+section%3A11319+edition%3Aprelim%29)

# Fiscal and implementation annex

## 1. What the new model funds

The legislation’s initial planning target is **850,000 concurrent long-term household placements**: 600,000 capital-funded dwellings and 250,000 portable household subsidies. It separately finances 100,000 bridge or clinical temporary spaces.

That target should not be confused with 850,000 currently homeless people. HUD’s 2025 point-in-time estimate of 745,652 counts **people on one night**, not dwelling requirements or annual program demand. [HUD 2025 AHAR release](https://www.hud.gov/news/hud-no-26-037)

The initial model uses the following **explicit assumptions**, not official household estimates:

| Planning step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---:|---:|
| Verified point-in-time people | HUD 2025 finding | 745,652 |
| Assumed average household size | 1.4 people | — |
| Estimated household equivalents | 745,652 ÷ 1.4 | 532,609 |
| Planning buffer | 25% | 133,152 |
| Buffered household equivalent | Rounded | 665,761 |
| Proposed long-term capacity | Capital homes plus portable subsidies | 850,000 households |

The additional capacity is intended to provide room for future inflows, turnover, geographic mismatch, and unmet needs. **It is not evidence that 850,000 places will be sufficient indefinitely.** Section 210 requires actual household and flow data to replace this preliminary conversion.

### Capital composition

All amounts below are planning allowances in constant 2026 dollars.

| Capital component | Assumption | Amount |
|---|---|---:|
| Factory-built permanent homes | 300,000 × $225,000 all-in | $67.5B |
| Acquisition and rehabilitation | 200,000 × $300,000 all-in | $60.0B |
| Infill and larger family construction | 100,000 × $450,000 all-in | $45.0B |
| Regional contingency and extraordinary costs | Additional portfolio allowance | $27.5B |
| **Permanent housing subtotal** | Includes on-site land and common facilities | **$200.0B** |
| Bridge and clinical temporary capacity | 100,000 spaces × $150,000 | $15.0B |
| Separate clinical and workforce facilities | Excludes already-funded common buildings | $10.0B |
| Off-site infrastructure | Regional connections | $6.0B |
| Future land banking and site control | Not duplicate acquisition reimbursement | $4.0B |
| Manufacturing and construction workforce | Capacity grants | $5.0B |
| **Eight-year capital program** |  | **$240.0B** |

These unit costs are **not national market averages, contractor bids, or appraisals**. They are budgeting assumptions that require regional validation before awards.

Acquisition and rehabilitation remain important alternatives to new construction. California’s audit found favorable cost-effectiveness evidence for Homekey, but its historical project costs should not be treated as current national prices for new dwellings meeting this bill’s standards. [California State Auditor](https://www.auditor.ca.gov/reports/2023-102-1/)

## 2. Land requirements for the village model

The permanent-village planning factor is **0.05 gross acre per resident**. “Gross” includes dwelling sites, circulation, common facilities, drainage, service access, and outdoor space.

| Population | Illustrative dwellings at 1.25 residents per dwelling | Planning acreage | Land at $150,000/acre | Land at $600,000/acre | Land at $2 million/acre |
|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| 150 | 120 | 7.5 | $1.125M | $4.5M | $15.0M |
| 250 | 200 | 12.5 | $1.875M | $7.5M | $25.0M |
| 300 | 240 | 15.0 | $2.25M | $9.0M | $30.0M |

The acreage and land-price scenarios are **model assumptions**, not engineering determinations or verified national land prices. A dense urban project may use less land; a site with difficult terrain or infrastructure may require more.

Federal property can reduce cash acquisition expenditure through an existing homeless-assistance conveyance process. That does not eliminate the costs of remediation, infrastructure, construction, operations, or the opportunity value of public land. [HHS Federal property program](https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/asa/psc/federal-real-property-assistance-program/title-v-frpap/index.html)

## 3. Illustrative 250-resident village budget

### Household mix

This prototype is intentionally adult-heavy; it is not presented as the national household distribution.

| Household type | Homes | Residents | Area per home | Residential area |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Single adults | 170 | 170 | 360 sf | 61,200 sf |
| Couples | 10 | 20 | 460 sf | 4,600 sf |
| Two adults with separate bedrooms | 5 | 10 | 560 sf | 2,800 sf |
| Three-person families | 10 | 30 | 600 sf | 6,000 sf |
| Four-person families | 5 | 20 | 680 sf | 3,400 sf |
| **Total** | **200** | **250** | — | **78,000 sf** |

The model adds **12,000 square feet of common buildings** on **12.5 acres**.

### Development budget

| Component | Planning amount |
|---|---:|
| Land: 12.5 acres × $600,000 | $7.50M |
| Private dwelling fabrication: 78,000 sf × $250 | $19.50M |
| Transportation, installation, and foundations | $3.00M |
| Site utilities, roads, drainage, and related work | $6.00M |
| Common buildings: 12,000 sf × $350 | $4.20M |
| Environmental, geotechnical, and survey work | $0.50M |
| Design, engineering, and permits | $2.50M |
| Furnishings, equipment, and digital infrastructure | $1.20M |
| Construction insurance and financing allowance | $0.90M |
| Owner project management | $1.20M |
| Contingency: 10% of non-land pre-contingency costs | $3.90M |
| Startup and operating-liquidity reserve | $1.50M |
| **Total development requirement** | **$51.90M** |

That equals **$259,500 per dwelling**, including the site and common infrastructure—not merely the prefabricated home.

The $1.5 million startup reserve is a restricted balance available to meet obligations. It is **not counted again as an additional annual operating expense simply because it exists**.

### Staffing

The prototype assumes a mixed-support population, including an illustrative 40 percent of households needing higher-intensity case management.

| Function | Full-time equivalents |
|---|---:|
| Director | 1.0 |
| Property management and administration | 2.0 |
| Maintenance | 3.0 |
| Grounds and cleaning | 2.0 |
| Case managers | 11.0 |
| Clinical or service supervisor | 1.0 |
| Peer workers | 4.0 |
| Employment and community staff | 2.0 |
| Registered nurses | 2.0 |
| Licensed therapists | 2.0 |
| Prescriber coverage | 0.5 |
| Continuous safety and stabilization coverage | 20.86 |
| **Total** | **51.36 FTE** |

The safety calculation is important:

**Four simultaneous posts × 8,760 annual hours ÷ 1,680 productive hours per employee = approximately 20.86 FTE.**

That is why a promise of “four people on site around the clock” cannot be budgeted as four employees. The productive-hours assumption allows for leave, training, and relief.

The listed nursing and therapy positions **do not imply a continuously staffed medical facility**. Higher-acuity withdrawal or inpatient care would occur through appropriately qualified services and contracts.

### Annual operations

| Component | Annual amount |
|---|---:|
| Loaded payroll, including benefits | $4.964M |
| Off-site urgent care and withdrawal-service contracts | $0.650M |
| Utilities and internet | $0.600M |
| Insurance | $0.350M |
| Repairs and supplies | $0.300M |
| Routine component-replacement reserve | $0.400M |
| Transport, childcare, and community programming | $0.450M |
| Information systems, audit, and training materials | $0.180M |
| Operating contingency | $0.395M |
| **Gross annual requirement** | **$8.289M** |
| Assumed resident rent receipts | **−$0.480M** |
| **Net annual public support** | **$7.809M** |

The displayed operating components sum to $8.289 million gross and $7.809 million after rent receipts. These corrected totals are $1,000 above the totals in the supplied narrative. Payroll, contingency, and reimbursement assumptions still require local validation.

The rent assumption is an average **$2,400 per dwelling per year**, not a mandatory minimum charge. A household without adjusted income owes no minimum rent under the bill.

A small, service-intensive village therefore should not be advertised as cheap merely because its dwellings are small. **Land and buildings are only part of the cost; sustained staffing and care are substantial recurring obligations.**

## 4. National recurring costs

At maturity, the annual operating appropriation is **$60 billion**, plus **$5 billion for major asset renewal beginning in program year nine**.

The $16 billion housing-operations and rental-assistance category can be illustrated as:

| Component | Net annual assumption |
|---|---:|
| 600,000 capital-funded homes × $16,000 | $9.6B |
| 250,000 portable subsidies × $24,000 | $6.0B |
| Portfolio risk allowance | $0.4B |
| **Total** | **$16.0B** |

These are **net-of-assumed-rent planning costs**. They do not include the separately budgeted case management, healthcare, safety, and reintegration categories.

The model does not assume that insurance or Medicaid reimbursements cover all remaining costs. Section 702 permits lawful reimbursement while requiring a separate grant-funded path for eligible gaps and prohibiting duplicate billing.

## 5. One-, five-, ten-, and thirty-year cost

### Constant 2026 dollars

These figures represent **cumulative proposed budget authority**, not the dates on which all cash would be spent.

| Cost scenario | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years | 30 years |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Lower-cost: capital −20%, operations −15% | $36.4B | $300.3B | $621.6B | $1.722T |
| **Base legislative schedule** | **$44.0B** | **$363.0B** | **$746.0B** | **$2.046T** |
| Higher-cost: capital +35%, operations +25% | $57.0B | $470.3B | $957.5B | $2.593T |

The lower and higher scenarios represent estimated resource needs under different cost assumptions. They are not additional appropriations automatically available to agencies.

### Illustrative nominal dollars and timing

Assuming **2.5 percent annual inflation**, with the first modeled year at the 2026 price level:

| Base case | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years | 30 years |
|---|---:|---:|---:|---:|
| Cumulative nominal budget authority | $44.0B | $384.6B | $838.2B | $2.964T |
| Illustrative cumulative cash outlays | $25.6B | $334.8B | $823.9B | $2.940T |

Cash outlays assume capital disburses 20 percent in the award year, 50 percent in the next year, and 30 percent in the following year; operating assistance disburses 90 percent in the award year and 10 percent in the next.

These timing assumptions are not an official expenditure forecast. The indexing in section 1104 uses actual CPI-U averages for the 12 months ending June 30, with a June 2026 reference period. The 2.5% model starts at the 2026 price level for comparability; it is not a prediction of the first program year’s actual inflation adjustment. The $300 million implementation advance is included in first-year operating authority; its actual cash timing may precede that year. The illustrative outlay schedule does not separately accelerate that advance.

### Borrowing costs

The bill uses general revenues and does **not** include a tax increase or spending offset.

If every modeled cash outlay were financed through additional borrowing, with no offsetting revenue, a constant illustrative 4 percent financing rate, and annual interest charged on opening debt plus half of that year’s cash outlays, a recalculation of the stated schedules yields approximately **$2.325 trillion in cumulative additional interest over thirty years**. Under those assumptions, cumulative program-related debt would be approximately **$5.265 trillion** at year thirty.

This is an illustrative financing scenario, separate from the program appropriation table; it is not a forecast or an official debt-service score. It demonstrates why an honest proposal must distinguish **program costs from the cost of financing them**.

Broader changes in Medicaid, nutrition assistance, income-support enrollment, tax receipts, private compliance costs, and State or local spending also require formal scoring. Their absence from this model must not be interpreted as zero effect.

---

## 6. Implementation and delivery tradeoffs

The first 90 days establish accountable leadership, staffing, financial controls, and emergency continuity. The first six months develop plans, procurement standards, land inventories, and workforce opportunities. Within 12 months, agencies must execute initial awards and operate a public expenditure dashboard. During year two, regional systems establish vacancy coordination, discharge agreements, and minimum staffing. The eighth-year report measures delivery against the capital and subsidy targets; independent reviews occur after years three, five, and ten.

Residents receive renewable leases, voluntary services, income-based contributions, and review rights. Recipients receive substantial Federal support while accepting inspections, cost reporting, procurement standards, and enforceable resident protections. Developers receive a pipeline of work while accepting accessibility, warranty, labor, and 75-year affordability obligations. Service providers must demonstrate real appointment capacity, appropriate qualifications, safe staffing, and continuity of care. The continuing fiscal commitment remains substantial; oversight alone does not establish that spending will be offset by savings.

## 7. Drafting changes and remaining review

The statutory draft retains all 12 titles and 119 sections of the supplied bill framework. It separates the 36-month restoration period from tenancy duration, preserves the 10%, 20%, and 30% rent progression, allows up to 24 additional restoration months, retains the 600,000 dwelling and 250,000 portable-subsidy targets, and preserves the 100,000 temporary-space target.

The redraft adds or clarifies definitions; the scope of conditions on other Federal rental assistance; FTC, CFPB, HUD, and Justice Department roles; agency grant authority; income and utility calculations; over-income notice and review; larger-household dwelling standards; review deadlines; court remedies; State waiver terms; protection of preexisting property interests; CPI-U indexing; annual availability and category allocations; and limits on transfers. HUD assumes interagency coordination if the existing Council becomes unavailable. The village maximum is 300 residents, with smaller villages permitted for the specified reasons.

The CPI reference uses the 12 months ending June 30, 2026 so that the next program year can be indexed using already published data. This is a drafting refinement of the attachment’s fiscal-year indexing instruction. The funding schedule remains $240 billion of initial base-year capital authority, operations reaching $60 billion a year, and $5 billion a year of major renewal beginning in year nine. Annual appropriations continue after year ten; the ten-year total is not a lifetime cap.

The immigration-neutral eligibility rule for assistance financed exclusively by this Act is retained as an express proposed policy choice. It does not provide immigration status, work authorization, or eligibility for other Federal benefits. Broader consumer rental rules are distinct from conditions on accepting Federal funding. The percentage limits for factory-built construction, village concentration, and accessible dwellings are proposed standards, not research findings establishing optimal levels.

Formal introduction still requires legislative-counsel review of constitutional authority, committee jurisdiction, federalism, immunity, procedural and consumer-law interactions, conforming amendments, and current law; an official budget estimate; and validation of land, labor, construction, clinical capacity, and continuing operating costs. This publication is Foundation model legislation. It has no assigned congressional bill number or sponsor and has not been introduced or enacted.