42 U.S.C. § 13661 — Screening of applicants for federally assisted housing

(a) Ineligibility because of eviction for drug^* crimes: If a tenant was evicted from federally assisted housing^* because of "drug-related criminal activity^*" — a term defined in section 1437a(b) of this title — that tenant is not eligible for federally assisted housing for 3 years starting on the eviction date. This rule does not apply if the evicted tenant successfully completes a rehabilitation program approved by the public housing agency. That program must include a waiver of this subsection if the circumstances that led to the eviction no longer exist.

(b) Ineligibility of illegal drug users and alcohol abusers.
(1) In general: Regardless of any other law, a public housing agency or an owner^* of federally assisted housing, as determined by the Secretary^*, must set standards that prohibit admission to the program or to federally assisted housing for a household with a member—(A) whom the agency or owner determines is illegally using a controlled substance^*; or (B) for whom the agency or owner determines it has reasonable cause to believe that the household member's illegal use, or pattern of illegal use, of a controlled substance, or abuse, or pattern of abuse, of alcohol, may interfere with the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents.
(2) Consideration of rehabilitation: When deciding whether to deny admission under paragraph (1)(B) based on a household member's pattern of illegal use of a controlled substance or pattern of abuse of alcohol, a public housing agency or owner may consider whether the household member—(A) successfully completed a supervised drug or alcohol rehabilitation program, as applicable, and is no longer illegally using a controlled substance or abusing alcohol, as applicable; (B) was otherwise successfully rehabilitated and is no longer illegally using a controlled substance or abusing alcohol, as applicable; or (C) is participating in a supervised drug or alcohol rehabilitation program, as applicable, and is no longer illegally using a controlled substance or abusing alcohol, as applicable.

(c) Authority to deny admission to criminal offenders: Except as provided in subsections (a) and (b), and in addition to any other authority to screen applicants, if the public housing agency or owner determines that an applicant or any member of the applicant's household is or was, during a reasonable time before the applicant household would otherwise be selected for admission, engaged in drug-related criminal activity, violent criminal activity, or other criminal activity that would adversely affect the health, safety, or right to peaceful enjoyment of the premises by other residents, the owner, or public housing agency employees, the agency or owner may—(1) deny the applicant admission to the program or federally assisted housing; and (2) after the reasonable period beginning when that activity occurred, require the applicant, as a condition of admission, to submit evidence sufficient, as the Secretary provides by regulation, to ensure that the household member or members whose criminal activity caused the denial under paragraph (1) have not engaged in criminal activity during that reasonable period.