HOUSING QUALITY REQUIREMENTS.

SEC. 530. HOUSING QUALITY REQUIREMENTS. Section 6 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437d) is amended by inserting after subsection (e) the following new subsection: “(f) Housing Quality Requirements.— 112 STAT. 2570 “(1) In general.— Each contract for contributions for a public housing agency shall require that the agency maintain its public housing in a condition that complies with standards which meet or exceed the housing quality standards established under paragraph (2). “(2) Federal standards.— The Secretary shall establish housing quality standards under this paragraph that ensure that public housing dwelling units are safe and habitable. Such standards shall include requirements relating to habitability, including maintenance, health and sanitation factors, condition, and construction of dwellings, and shall, to the greatest extent practicable, be consistent with the standards established under section 8(o)(8)(B)(i). The Secretary may determine whether the laws, regulations, standards, or codes of any State or local jurisdiction meet or exceed these standards, for purposes of this subsection. “(3) Annual inspections.— Each public housing agency that owns or operates public housing shall make an annual inspection of each public housing project to determine whether units in the project are maintained in accordance with the requirements under paragraph (1). The agency shall retain the results of such inspections and, upon the request of the Secretary, the Inspector General for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, or any auditor conducting an audit under section 5(h), shall make such results available.”.