Georgia United States Senator Jon Ossoff requested information from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to address renter neglect by landlords through HUD’s Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA) program in a letter on Monday.
Ossoff, who heads the Human Rights and the Law Senate subcommittee, wrote a joint letter with Ohio Senator and Chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Sherrod Brown questioning HUD’s current standards and inspection process for landlords with PBRA properties.
PBRA acts as a form of rental assistance that “...contracts with private landlords to provide affordable homes to low-income tenants at certain properties,” according to the National Housing Law Project.
Senators Ossoff and Brown cited reports of “mold, rat and roach infestations, lack of basic plumbing facilities, poor security and other severe health and safety concerns,” in some of these properties. The letter asks for a response with the requested information by October 13.
“These conditions are unacceptable for any family,” Ossoff and Brown wrote. “...and in these cases, they are subsidized by the federal government.”
