The Housing is a Human Right Act of 2023 aims to tackle homelessness and housing instability by creating new federal funding programs and establishing new taxes to pay for them. The main program, called Community Development Block Grant Plus, would give money to states and local governments to build affordable housing, help people who are struggling to pay rent, and support homeless individuals. The bill also funds programs to help homeless people access voting and library services.

To receive this federal funding, cities and states would have to agree to two important things: they can't criminally punish homeless people for sleeping outside or on public property, and they must respect homeless individuals' constitutional rights to their belongings. In other words, the bill ties housing assistance money to how communities treat homeless people.

To fund all this, the bill creates three new taxes: a tax on the sale of properties worth at least $10 million, a tax on real estate deals involving anonymous buyers (like shell companies), and a tax on rental income for landlords who own large numbers of apartments or homes. The money collected from these taxes would go directly to the HUD programs established by the bill. Additionally, the government would study how emergency shelter grants are distributed and whether communities are following the rules of these programs.

Housing Is a Human Right Act of 2023

Housing is a Human Right Act of 2023 This bill establishes and expands programs to assist homeless and housing-unstable individuals and establishes new real property-related taxes to fund specified Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) programs. HUD must establish the Community Development Block Grant Plus Program for state and local governments to assist homeless and housing-unstable individuals as well as cost-burdened households. These funds may be used only for certain activities that assist these populations, including the construction of new affordable housing. The bill also establishes other grant programs to assist these individuals, such as by facilitating access to voting and libraries. Governmental entities may not receive assistance under the bill unless they have, or are working to implement, policies that (1) do not criminally punish homeless individuals for sleeping outside or on public property, and (2) comply with constitutional protections for these individuals' property. In addition, the bill establishes additional taxes on (1) the sale or exchange of real property if the amount realized from the transaction is at least $10 million, (2) the sale or exchange of real property involving an anonymous entity, and (3) rent received by landlords that own large amounts of dwelling units. The revenue from these taxes must be credited to various HUD programs in specified percentages. The Government Accountability Office must study (1) the allocation formula for Emergency Food and Shelter Program grants, and (2) recipient compliance with various grant program guidelines.