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An Ordinance of the Allegheny County Council amending and supplementing the Allegheny County Code of Ordinances, Division 4, entitled "Finances," by creating a new Chapter 280, entitled "Housing Choice Voucher Program" and a new §280-1 in order to establish a mechanism for recovering taxes owed by landlords participating in the program.
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WHEREAS, housing choice vouchers allow very low-income families to choose and lease or purchase safe, decent, and affordable privately-owned rental housing; and
WHEREAS, landlords participating in the housing choice program receive part of their total rental payments from their tenants, and part from dedicated federal funding that passes through the various governmental entities that administer the program, including the Allegheny County Housing Authority; and
WHEREAS, the full payment of all taxpayers' property taxes is necessary to the orderly administration of the County government, vital to the continuation of needed services by the County government, and central to the maintenance of equity among the burdens borne by the County's taxpayers; and
WHEREAS, various programs available within the County, including the Homestead Property Exclusion Program, provide for an annual exemption from taxation of a portion of the value of an owner's property or abatement of a taxpayers' tax bill;
WHEREAS, many of these exemption and abatement programs have eligibility requirements that must be met, such as the homestead exemption requirements that the property subject to the exemption must be the taxpayer's primary residence and not rented to another individual; and
WHEREAS, owners of multiple properties, such as landlords, may be particularly in danger of paying less than their full tax bill when abatements or exemptions are incorrectly applied to their properties, whether intentionally or accidentally; and
WHEREAS, the effect of this inappropriately lessened tax burden is particularly pernicious in the case of housing choice landlords insofar as it may adversely impact local governmental services that are of vital importance to the segments of the population that need assistance the most, and which may very well be participating in the housing choice program as tenants; and
WHEREAS, the regulations which govern the housing choice program specifically recognize the importance of the appropriate taxation of the participating landlords by including language as follows: "in its administrative discretion, the [public housing authority] may deny approval of an assisted tenancy for any of the following reasons...the owner has not paid state or local real estate taxes, fines or assessments..." 24 C.F.R. §982.306(c)(7); and
WHEREAS, these same regulations also empower the denial of any landlord's participation in the program when he or she "has committed fraud, bribery or any other corrupt criminal act in connection with any federal housing program..." 24 C.F.R. §982.306(c)(2); and
WHEREAS, the Council therefore desires to create a formal mechanism for recovering any taxes that have not been paid by housing choice landlords;
The Council of the County of Allegheny hereby enacts as follows:
SECTION 1. Reapplication Requirement.
The Allegheny County Code of Ordinances is hereby amended by the addition of a new a new Chapter 280, entitled "Housing Choice Voucher Program" and a new §280-1, as follows:
§280-1. Housing Choice Voucher Participating Landlord Taxation
A. Before approving the participation of any owner in the Housing Choice voucher program, the Allegheny County Housing Authority shall, in conjunction with the Office of Property Assessments and the Office of the Allegheny County Treasurer, ascertain whether such owner has fully paid all County real estate taxes owed on all of that owner's rental properties. Consistent with the provisions of 24 C.F.R. §982.306(c)(7), the Allegheny County Housing Authority shall deny participation in the housing choice voucher program to any owner who has not paid his or her County real estate taxes in full on all of his or her rental properties.
1. Should any owner be found to have paid a reduced tax bill through the inappropriate application of any available exemption, abatement, or other real estate tax program that results in a reduced tax burden, such owner shall also be denied participation in the housing choice voucher program until the amount of the unpaid taxes, as determined by the Allegheny County Treasurer, have been paid in full, together with any interest or penalties attached thereto.
B. Consistent with the terms of 24 C.F.R. §982.306(c)(2), the Allegheny County Housing Authority shall deny participation in the Housing Choice voucher program to any owner that has been convicted of or entered a guilty plea to charges that he or she committed fraud, bribery or any other corrupt criminal act in connection with any federal housing program. Such denial of participation shall be in perpetuity, and shall be imposed regardless of the date upon which the owner was convicted or entered his or her plea, or the jurisdiction in which the owner was convicted or entered his or her plea.
1. For the purposes of this section, a conviction or guilty plea in any case in which an owner is accused of knowingly filing a false application for any available real estate tax exemption or abatement shall be deemed to be in connection with a federal housing program if the property for which the application was submitted was rented to an individual participating in such a program at the time the false application was made.
C. The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to require the termination of any lease currently in force for any owner participating in the housing choice voucher program, but shall be deemed to require denial of further program participation by any owner subject to the provisions of this section at such time as a new lease is entered or an existing lease is renewed on any of his or her rental properties.
SECTION 2. Effective Date.
The terms of the new §280-1 shall become effective immediately upon approval of this Ordinance.
SECTION 3. Severability.
If any provision of this Ordinance shall be determined to be unlawful, invalid, void or unenforceable, then that provision shall be considered severable from the remaining provisions of this Ordinance which shall be in full force and effect.