Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program Act of 2020 or the HELP Act of 2020
This bill requires the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to establish a database of information regarding evictions from federally assisted dwellings, limits the inclusion of information relating to landlord-tenant actions in consumer reports, and otherwise provides eviction-related assistance and services.
Specifically, the bill requires states and local entities receiving federal housing assistance to submit to HUD, for inclusion in the database, certain information regarding evictions from assisted dwelling units in the past year. Such information must include, among other things, the reason for eviction and whether the household was represented by legal counsel in the proceedings.
Additionally, consumer reporting agencies may include an adverse item of information relating to a landlord-tenant action in a consumer report only if the landlord prevailed in the action and the tenant was an adult on the date the court claim was filed. Any such information must be removed from a consumer report one year after the date of the action.
Further, the bill authorizes additional Emergency Solutions Grants to provide legal counsel and pay court fees for tenants subject to or at risk of eviction.
Finally, HUD must require owners of federally assisted rental units to annually provide information to each tenant regarding the rights and responsibilities of the owner with respect to eviction and local organizations and resources that can provide assistance in eviction-related matters. HUD must also establish an eviction hotline to provide assistance to tenants of these units.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4399 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4399
To create a database of eviction information, establish grant programs
for eviction prevention and legal aid, and limit use of housing court-
related records in consumer reports, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 3, 2020
Ms. Harris introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To create a database of eviction information, establish grant programs
for eviction prevention and legal aid, and limit use of housing court-
related records in consumer reports, 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 ``Housing Emergencies Lifeline Program
Act of 2020'' or the ``HELP Act of 2020''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) housing is fundamentally an issue of economic and
racial justice and a critical determinant of health;
(2) the 2008 financial crisis was a Great Depression-level
event for Black Americans, wiping out decades of gains in Black
homeownership, which has now fallen to its lowest rate since
the passage of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) in
1968;
(3) Black borrowers were 76 percent more likely to have
lost their home to foreclosure than White borrowers during the
foreclosure crisis;
(4) Black and Hispanic households continue to be about
twice as likely as White households to rent their homes;
(5) in 2016, 58 percent of Black household heads and 54
percent of Hispanic household heads were renting their homes,
compared with 28 percent of White household heads;
(6) while cost burdens affect households of all races and
ethnicities, Black and Brown renters are much more likely to be
burdened, with 55 percent of Black renters considered to be
rent burdened compared to only 43 percent of White renters;
(7) Black households account for 12 percent of all
households in the United States, but 19 percent of all renters
and 26 of all renter households with extremely low incomes;
(8) prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was estimated that
around 3,700,000 evictions are filed every year, a rate of
about 7 every minute;
(9) across the United States, 1 in 20 renters faces an
eviction every year, but for Black renters, the number is 1 in
11;
(10) every day families are displaced by the eviction
crisis, a reality that is only further exacerbated by the
COVID-19 pandemic and that falls disproportionately on Black
renters, in particular Black women renters;
(11) the Department of Housing and Urban Development does
not require the reporting or collection of eviction data,
including among households in federally assisted housing, and
should be required to do so;
(12) the American Civil Liberties Union's analysis of
Eviction Lab data found that, on average, ``[B]lack renters had
evictions filed against them at nearly twice the rate of
[W]hite renters'' and that Black women specifically were filed
against for eviction at ``double the rate of [W]hite renters or
higher in 17 of 36 [S]tates'';
(13) right to counsel is a matter of racial justice,
equity, and ensuring equal protection under the law;
(14) in the United States, it is estimated that more than
90 percent of landlords are represented in housing court
proceedings, compared to less than 10 percent of tenants in
those proceedings;
(15) a Massachusetts study found that tenants who were
provided full representation were twice as likely to remain in
their homes, saved 4 times as much rent, and paid $0 to their
landlord as compared to those receiving limited or no legal
assistance; and
(16) a California study of the Shriver Civil Counsel
Program found that 91 percent of Shriver cases ended with the
eviction record sealed, 81 percent with the eviction not
reported to a credit agency, and 71 percent with a neutral
reference provided by the landlord, tenants in such cases saved
nearly $800 more in reduced rent and other fees while paying
holdover damages or attorney's fees only half as often, and 71
percent of represented clients that had been required to move
had obtained a new rental unit, compared to 43 percent of
unrepresented tenants.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Assistance.--The term ``assistance''--
(A) means any grant, loan, subsidy, contract,
cooperative agreement, or other form of financial
assistance; and
(B) does not include the insurance or guarantee of
a loan, mortgage, or pool of loans or mortgages.
(2) Covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit.--The
term ``covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit'' means
a residential dwelling unit that is made available for rental
and for which assistance is provided, or that is part of a
housing project for which assistance is provided, under any
program administered by the Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development, including--
(A) the public housing program under the United
States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437 et seq.);
(B) the programs for tenant- and project-based
rental assistance under section 8 of the United States
Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f);
(C) the HOME Investment Partnerships program under
subtitle A of title II of the Cranston-Gonzalez
National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 12741 et
seq.);
(D) the programs for homeless assistance under
title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 11360 et seq.);
(E) the program for supportive housing for the
elderly under section 202 of the Housing Act of 1959
(12 U.S.C. 1701q);
(F) the program for supportive housing for persons
with disabilities under section 811 of the Cranston-
Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42 U.S.C.
8013);
(G) the program for housing opportunities for
persons with AIDS under subtitle D of title VIII of the
Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act (42
U.S.C. 12901 et seq.);
(H) the Housing Trust Fund program under section
1338 of the Housing and Community Development Act of
1992 (12 U.S.C. 4568);
(I) the program for Native American housing under
the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-
Determination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.); and
(J) the program for housing assistance for Native
Hawaiians under title VIII of the Native American
Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996
(25 U.S.C. 4221 et seq.).
(3) Covered housing.--The term ``covered housing'' means a
dwelling unit assisted with amounts made available, or a loan
or mortgage made, insured, or guaranteed, under--
(A) any of the programs described in subparagraphs
(A) through (G) of paragraph (2); or
(B) the community development block grant program
under title I of the Housing and Community Development
Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).
(4) Covered housing assistance.--The term ``covered housing
assistance'' means assistance provided under any program
described in paragraph (3).
(5) Legal counsel.--The term ``legal counsel'' means full
representation by an attorney throughout proceedings in issue.
(6) Owner.--The term ``owner'' means any private person or
entity, including a cooperative, an agency of the Federal
Government, or a public housing agency, having the legal right
to lease or sublease dwelling units.
(7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development.
SEC. 4. DATABASE OF EVICTION INFORMATION.
(a) Reports by Housing Providers.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall require each State and
local entity that receives covered housing assistance to submit
to the Secretary annual reports under this section regarding
evictions from assisted dwelling units of the covered housing
occurring during the preceding year.
(2) Contents.--Each report submitted under paragraph (1)
shall include--
(A) for each household subject to an eviction
proceeding during the year covered by the report--
(i) the reason or reasons that the eviction
proceeding was undertaken and, in the case of
any eviction proceeding undertaken in whole or
in part based on an arrearage in rent owed, the
amount of the arrearage and the amount of the
required contribution of the tenant toward
rent;
(ii) the date on which the household was
ordered to be evicted;
(iii) the address of the dwelling unit from
which the household was evicted;
(iv) whether the household was represented
by legal counsel in any eviction proceeding, if
that information is available;
(v) the number of days the household was
given to vacate the dwelling unit, if that
information is available; and
(vi) whether a writ of execution was issued
in regards to the eviction; and
(B) for each individual in any household subject to
an eviction proceeding during the year covered by the
report--
(i) the name of the individual;
(ii) the annual income of the individual in
the fiscal year prior to the year during which
the individual was evicted, if that information
is available;
(iii) the disability status of the
individual evicted;
(iv) any available demographic information
about the individual, including race,
ethnicity, age, and gender;
(v) any foster care history for the
individual;
(vi) any serious physical health problems
or serious mental illness of the individual, if
that information is available;
(vii) any history of prior homelessness of
the individual, if that information is
available; and
(viii) whether the individual has a
criminal record, if that information is
available.
(3) Data requirements.--The Secretary shall develop
requirements for States and local entities that receive covered
housing assistance that--
(A) provide that the provision of the information
being collected under this subsection shall be
voluntary on the part of any individual or household
who is or was a tenant in an assisted dwelling unit of
covered housing;
(B) provide limitations on how long the information
described in paragraph (2) shall be retained;
(C) establish data privacy and security
requirements for the information described in paragraph
(2) that include appropriate measures to ensure that
the privacy of the individuals and households is
protected and that the information, including any
personally identifiable information, is collected and
used only for the purpose of submitting reports under
paragraph (1); and
(D) provide confidentiality protections for data
collected about any individuals who are survivors of
intimate partner violence, sexual assault, or stalking.
(b) Database.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish a database
for collecting and maintaining information contained in reports
submitted under subsection (a).
(2) Privacy protections.--The Secretary shall establish
appropriate measures regarding information in the database
established under paragraph (1) to ensure that the privacy of
the individuals and households is protected and that any
personally identifiable information is not disclosed.
(3) Disaggregation.--To the extent possible, the database
established under paragraph (1) shall be disaggregated by race,
gender, income, and disability.
SEC. 5. ASSISTANCE FOR EVICTION-RELATED LEGAL AID.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary
$10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2021, to remain available until
expended, for assistance under the Emergency Solutions Grants program
under subtitle B of title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance
Act (42 U.S.C. 11371 et seq.), to be used only for--
(1) providing legal counsel for tenants subject to or at
risk of eviction with regard to any eviction-related legal
proceeding; and
(2) costs of any court fees associated with an eviction-
related legal proceeding for a tenant, excluding any attorney's
fees for the attorney of the landlord of the tenant.
SEC. 6. CONSUMER REPORTS.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended--
(1) by inserting after section 605B (15 U.S.C. 1681c-2) the
following:
``SEC. 605C. ADVERSE INFORMATION RELATING TO HOUSING COURT RECORDS.
``(a) In General.--A consumer reporting agency may only furnish a
consumer report containing an adverse item of information relating to a
landlord-tenant action if--
``(1) the landlord in the action prevailed in a final
judgment; and
``(2) the tenant in that action was not a minor on the date
that the court claim was filed.
``(b) 1-Year Limitation.--A consumer reporting agency shall remove
from a consumer report any adverse item of information relating to a
landlord-tenant action not later than 1 year after the date of the
landlord-tenant action.''; and
(2) in the table of contents, by inserting after the item
relating to section 605B the following:
``605C. Adverse information relating to housing court records.''.
SEC. 7. EVICTION INFORMATION.
(a) In General.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall issue regulations that require each
owner of a covered federally assisted rental dwelling unit to ensure
that each tenant of the dwelling unit owned by the owner receives
information not less than once each year about--
(1) the rights and responsibilities of the owner with
regard to eviction; and
(2) local organizations and resources that can provide
assistance in eviction-related matters.
(b) Hotline.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary shall establish a hotline to provide assistance
with regard to eviction-related matters to tenants of covered federally
assisted rental dwelling units.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
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