Emergency Eviction Enforcement Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1451 To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for prohibitions on eviction, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 1, 2021 Mr. COHEN (for himself, Ms. OMAR, and Ms. NORTON) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide for prohibitions on eviction, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Eviction 4 Enforcement Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON EVICTION DURING NATIONAL 6 EMERGENCY. 7 (a) CIVIL ACTION.—Any person injured by a violation 8 of this section, or the Attorney General, on behalf of such 9 person, unless such person at any time may bring a cause 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1451.IH H1451 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1451 IH of action for injunctive relief, repossession of the property 1 under the terms prior to the violation of this section, and 2 damages equal to the greater of three times the amount 3 of the injury or three times the amount of any rent 4 charged for the covered dwelling following a violation of 5 this section, and may be awarded attorneys’ fees. If the 6 prevailing party is the Attorney General, any damages re- 7 covered shall be disbursed equally between— 8 (1) the victim of the offense; 9 (2) a fund that shall be available to the Attor- 10 ney General without further appropriation or limita- 11 tion as to fiscal year, exclusively for purposes of en- 12 gaging in other civil actions under this section; and 13 (3) the Legal Services Corporation for purposes 14 of any activities to support the provision of fair 15 housing. 16 (b) IN GENERAL.—Whoever, being a lessor of a cov- 17 ered dwelling, knowingly— 18 (1) repossesses or physically attempts to repos- 19 sess a covered dwelling from a tenant of the covered 20 dwelling without a duly issued order from a court of 21 jurisdiction; 22 (2) threatens, harasses, intimidates, or creates 23 a hostile environment for a tenant of a covered 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1451.IH H1451 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1451 IH dwelling for the purpose of causing the tenant to va- 1 cate the covered dwelling; or 2 (3) impairs the habitability of a covered dwell- 3 ing (including suspending utility service, changing 4 locks, refusing to repair structure, plumbing, elec- 5 trical, ventilation systems, maintain appliances in 6 state of good repair) for the purpose of causing the 7 tenant to vacate the covered dwelling, 8 shall have violated this section. 9 (c) DEFINITION.—In this section: 10 (1) The term ‘‘dwelling’’— 11 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 12 tion 802 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 13 3602); and 14 (B) includes houses and dwellings de- 15 scribed in section 803(b) of such Act (42 16 U.S.C. 3603(b)). 17 (2) The term ‘‘covered dwelling’’ means a dwell- 18 ing located in an area designated by the President 19 as a national emergency, for the duration of the des- 20 ignation, under the National Emergencies Act (50 21 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), Public Health Service Act (42 22 U.S.C. 247d), or Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1451.IH H1451 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1451 IH and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 1 seq.). 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:38 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1451.IH H1451 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS