Pets Belong with Families Act

Adam B. Schiff

Democrat · CA · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

2026-04-21

Source: Congress.gov

The legislation would prevent landlords from charging extra fees or deposits specifically for pets, and would require that pet policies be applied fairly and consistently across all tenants. This would help renters, especially low-income families, afford to keep their pets while living in rental housing by limiting the financial barriers landlords can impose on pet owners.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4361 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4361 To modify the reasonable requirements that may be imposed on pet owners living in public housing, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 21, 2026 Mr. Schiff introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ 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.''. <all>

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