Wealthy renters who've gamed the system to land an apartment in subsidized housing for the poor are the targets of new legislation that'll make them either pay up or move out — and they could face eviction even sooner, The Hill reports.
The Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act passed the House this week and now awaits action by the Senate, The Hill reports.
But The Hill notes the Department of Housing and Urban Development is also considering resolving the matter on its own by evicting the "over-income" public housing residents – a threat that has made some Democratic lawmakers uneasy.
"Some of those families significantly exceeded the income limits," HUD wrote in a regulatory notice last week, The Hill reports.
"Scarce public resources must be provided to those most in need of affordable housing,."
Still, Arizona Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva is asking that residents who barely cross the threshold for public housing assistance should be given "special consideration."
HUD last summer estimated as many as 25,226 "over-income" families are living in government-subsidized homes; nearly half of them exceed the income limits by at least $10,000.
The new bill in Congress would require public housing residents above certain income levels to either pay the market rate or move out.
"If they want to continue living there, that’s fine," said Missouri GOP Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer tells The Hill. "But they need to pay the going rate."
"The taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing them any longer, if they can afford to pay," he added.
"There’s no question people are gaming the system," California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa tells The Hill.
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