H.R. 8378

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8378 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8378

To modify the reasonable requirements that may be imposed on pet owners 
living in public housing, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 20, 2026

Mr. Lawler (for himself, Mr. Crow, Ms. Titus, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. 
Tlaib, Ms. Malliotakis, and Ms. Underwood) introduced the following 
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To modify the reasonable requirements that may be imposed on pet owners 
living in public housing, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Pets Belong with Families Act''.

SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON BREED RESTRICTIONS.

Section 31 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 
1437z-3) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following:
``(b) Reasonable Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--The reasonable requirements referred to 
in subsection (a) may include--
``(A) requiring payment of a pet deposit by a 
tenant owning or having pets, except that--
``(i) the pet deposit--
``(I) shall not exceed 10 percent 
of the tenant's monthly base rent; and
``(II) shall be amortized over not 
less than 3 months as part of a 
tenant's rental payments; and
``(ii) any amount of a pet deposit that is 
unused at the termination of the tenancy shall 
be reimbursed to the tenant within 30 days of 
vacating a dwelling unit;
``(B) limitations on the number of animals in a 
dwelling unit or building, based on unit size or other 
relevant conditions;
``(C) prohibitions on certain species of animals 
prohibited by State or local law; and
``(D) prohibitions on any individual animal that is 
declared a threat to public health and safety by a 
court of competent jurisdiction or whose ownership is 
otherwise prohibited by State or local law.
``(2) Prohibition on withholding.--A public housing agency 
may not withhold a pet deposit described in paragraph (1) for 
damage unrelated to the pet, including due to ordinary wear and 
tear.
``(3) Limitation.--The reasonable requirements described in 
subsection (a) shall not include any prohibition based on the 
breed, size, or weight of an animal.''.
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