Emergency Assistance for Renters Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1725 To provide emergency assistance for renters to respond to the COVID– 19 pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 9, 2021 Ms. WATERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To provide emergency assistance for renters to respond to the COVID–19 pandemic, 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 Assistance 4 for Renters Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RENTAL ASSISTANCE. 6 (a) FUNDING.— 7 (1) APPROPRIATION.—In addition to amounts 8 otherwise available, there is appropriated to the Sec- 9 retary of the Treasury for fiscal year 2021, out of 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1725 IH any money in the Treasury not otherwise appro- 1 priated, $21,550,000,000, to remain available until 2 September 30, 2027, for making payments to eligi- 3 ble grantees under this section. 4 (2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amount 5 appropriated under paragraph (1), the Secretary 6 shall reserve— 7 (A) $305,000,000 for making payments 8 under this section to the Commonwealth of 9 Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, 10 Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 11 Mariana Islands, and American Samoa; 12 (B) $30,000,000 for costs of the Secretary 13 for the administration of emergency rental as- 14 sistance programs and technical assistance to 15 recipients of any grants made by the Secretary 16 to provide financial and other assistance to 17 renters; 18 (C) $3,000,000 for administrative expenses 19 of the Inspector General relating to oversight of 20 funds provided in this section; and 21 (D) $2,500,000,000 for payments to high 22 need grantees as provided in this section. 23 (b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS TO ELIGIBLE GRANT- 24 EES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1725 IH (1) ALLOCATION FOR STATES AND UNITS OF 1 LOCAL GOVERNMENT.— 2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amount appro- 3 priated under paragraph (1) of subsection (a) 4 that remains after the application of paragraph 5 (2) of such subsection shall be allocated to eligi- 6 ble grantees described in subparagraphs (A) 7 and (B) of subsection (f)(1) in the same man- 8 ner as the amount appropriated under section 9 501 of subtitle A of title V of division N of the 10 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public 11 Law 116–260) is allocated to States and units 12 of local government under subsection (b)(1) of 13 such section, except that section 501(b) of such 14 subtitle A shall be applied— 15 (i) without regard to clause (i) of 16 paragraph (1)(A); 17 (ii) by deeming the amount appro- 18 priated under paragraph (1) of subsection 19 (a) of this Act that remains after the ap- 20 plication of paragraph (2) of such sub- 21 section to be the amount deemed to apply 22 for purposes of applying clause (ii) of sec- 23 tion 501(b)(1)(A) of such subtitle A; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1725 IH (iii) by substituting ‘‘$152,000,000’’ 1 for ‘‘$200,000,000’’ each place such term 2 appears; 3 (iv) in subclause (I) of such section 4 501(b)(1)(A)(v), by substituting ‘‘under 5 section 2 of the Emergency Assistance for 6 Renters Act of 2021’’ for ‘‘under section 7 501 of subtitle A of title V of division N 8 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 9 2021’’; and 10 (v) in subclause (II) of such section 11 501(b)(1)(A)(v), by substituting ‘‘local 12 government elects to receive funds from 13 the Secretary under section 2 of the Emer- 14 gency Assistance for Renters Act of 2021 15 and will use the funds in a manner con- 16 sistent with such section’’ for ‘‘local gov- 17 ernment elects to receive funds from the 18 Secretary under section 501 of subtitle A 19 of title V of division N of the Consolidated 20 Appropriations Act, 2021 and will use the 21 funds in a manner consistent with such 22 section’’. 23 (B) PRO RATA ADJUSTMENT.—The Sec- 24 retary shall make pro rata adjustments in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1725 IH amounts of the allocations determined under 1 subparagraph (A) of this paragraph for entities 2 described in such subparagraph as necessary to 3 ensure that the total amount of allocations 4 made pursuant to such subparagraph does not 5 exceed the remainder appropriated amount de- 6 scribed in such subparagraph. 7 (2) ALLOCATIONS FOR TERRITORIES.—The 8 amount reserved under subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be 9 allocated to eligible grantees described in subsection 10 (f)(1)(C) in the same manner as the amount appro- 11 priated under section 501(a)(2)(A) of subtitle A of 12 title V of division N of the Consolidated Appropria- 13 tions Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) is allocated 14 under section 501(b)(3) of such subtitle A to eligible 15 grantees described under subparagraph (C) of such 16 section 501(b)(3), except that section 501(b)(3) of 17 such subtitle A shall be applied— 18 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘of 19 section 2 of the Emergency Assistance for 20 Renters Act of 2021’’ after ‘‘the amount re- 21 served under subsection (a)(2)(A)’’; and 22 (B) in clause (i) of subparagraph (B), by 23 substituting ‘‘the amount equal to 0.3 percent 24 of the amount appropriated under subsection 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1725 IH (a)(1)’’ with ‘‘the amount equal to 0.3 percent 1 of the amount appropriated under subsection 2 (a)(1) of section 2 of the Emergency Assistance 3 for Renters Act of 2021’’. 4 (3) HIGH-NEED GRANTEES.—The Secretary 5 shall allocate funds reserved under subsection 6 (a)(2)(D) to eligible grantees with a high need for 7 assistance under this section, with the number of 8 very low-income renter households paying more than 9 50 percent of income on rent or living in sub- 10 standard or overcrowded conditions, rental market 11 costs, and change in employment since February 12 2020 used as the factors for allocating funds. 13 (c) PAYMENT SCHEDULE.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pay all 15 eligible grantees not less than 40 percent of each 16 such eligible grantee’s total allocation provided 17 under subsection (b) within 60 days of enactment of 18 this Act. 19 (2) SUBSEQUENT PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 20 shall pay to eligible grantees additional amounts in 21 tranches up to the full amount of each such eligible 22 grantee’s total allocation in accordance with a proce- 23 dure established by the Secretary, provided that any 24 such procedure established by the Secretary shall re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1725 IH quire that an eligible grantee must have obligated 1 not less than 75 percent of the funds already dis- 2 bursed by the Secretary pursuant to this section 3 prior to disbursement of additional amounts. 4 (d) USE OF FUNDS.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible grantee shall 6 only use the funds provided from payments made 7 under this section as follows: 8 (A) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 9 (i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 10 (ii) of this subparagraph, funds received by 11 an eligible grantee from payments made 12 under this section shall be used to provide 13 financial assistance to eligible households, 14 not to exceed 18 months, including the 15 payment of— 16 (I) rent; 17 (II) rental arrears; 18 (III) utilities and home energy 19 costs; 20 (IV) utilities and home energy 21 costs arrears; and 22 (V) other expenses related to 23 housing, as defined by the Secretary. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1725 IH (ii) LIMITATION.—The aggregate 1 amount of financial assistance an eligible 2 household may receive under this section, 3 when combined with financial assistance 4 provided under section 501 of subtitle A of 5 title V of division N of the Consolidated 6 Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 7 116–260), shall not exceed 18 months. 8 (B) HOUSING STABILITY SERVICES.—Not 9 more than 10 percent of funds received by an 10 eligible grantee from payments made under this 11 section may be used to provide case manage- 12 ment and other services intended to help keep 13 households stably housed. 14 (C) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more 15 than 15 percent of the total amount paid to an 16 eligible grantee under this section may be used 17 for administrative costs attributable to pro- 18 viding financial assistance, housing stability 19 services, and other affordable rental housing 20 and eviction prevention activities, including for 21 data collection and reporting requirements re- 22 lated to such funds. 23 (D) OTHER AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUS- 24 ING AND EVICTION PREVENTION ACTIVITIES.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1725 IH An eligible grantee may use any funds from 1 payments made under this section that are un- 2 obligated on October 1, 2022, for purposes in 3 addition to those specified in this paragraph, 4 provided that— 5 (i) such other purposes are affordable 6 rental housing and eviction prevention pur- 7 poses, as defined by the Secretary, serving 8 very low-income families (as such term is 9 defined in section 3(b) of the United 10 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 11 1437a(b))); and 12 (ii) prior to obligating any funds for 13 such purposes, the eligible grantee has ob- 14 ligated not less than 75 percent of the 15 total funds allocated to such eligible grant- 16 ee in accordance with this section. 17 (2) DISTRIBUTION OF ASSISTANCE.—Amounts 18 appropriated under subsection (a)(1) of this section 19 shall be subject to the same terms and conditions 20 that apply under paragraph (4) of section 501(c) of 21 subtitle A of title V of division N of the Consolidated 22 Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) to 23 amounts appropriated under subsection (a)(1) of 24 such section 501. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1725 IH (e) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning March 31, 2022, 2 the Secretary shall reallocate funds allocated to eligi- 3 ble grantees in accordance with subsection (b) but 4 not yet paid in accordance with subsection (c)(2) ac- 5 cording to a procedure established by the Secretary. 6 (2) ELIGIBILITY FOR REALLOCATED FUNDS.— 7 The Secretary shall require an eligible grantee to 8 have obligated 50 percent of the total amount of 9 funds allocated to such eligible grantee under sub- 10 section (b) to be eligible to receive funds reallocated 11 under paragraph (1) of this subsection. 12 (3) PAYMENT OF REALLOCATED FUNDS BY THE 13 SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall pay to each eligi- 14 ble grantee eligible for a payment of reallocated 15 funds described in paragraph (2) of this subsection 16 the amount allocated to such eligible grantee in ac- 17 cordance with the procedure established by the Sec- 18 retary in accordance with paragraph (1) of this sub- 19 section. 20 (4) USE OF REALLOCATED FUNDS.—Eligible 21 grantees may use any funds received in accordance 22 with this subsection only for purposes specified in 23 paragraph (1) of subsection (d). 24 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1725 IH (1) ELIGIBLE GRANTEE.—The term ‘‘eligible 1 grantee’’ means any of the following: 2 (A) The 50 States of the United States 3 and the District of Columbia. 4 (B) A unit of local government (as defined 5 in paragraph (5)). 6 (C) The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 7 the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the 8 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 9 lands, and American Samoa. 10 (2) ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLD.—The term ‘‘eligible 11 household’’ means a household of 1 or more individ- 12 uals who are obligated to pay rent on a residential 13 dwelling and with respect to which the eligible grant- 14 ee involved determines that— 15 (A) 1 or more individuals within the house- 16 hold has— 17 (i) qualified for unemployment bene- 18 fits; or 19 (ii) experienced a reduction in house- 20 hold income, incurred significant costs, or 21 experienced other financial hardship during 22 or due, directly or indirectly, to the 23 coronavirus pandemic; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1725 IH (B) 1 or more individuals within the 1 household can demonstrate a risk of experi- 2 encing homelessness or housing instability; and 3 (C) the household is a low-income family 4 (as such term is defined in section 3(b) of the 5 United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 6 1437a(b)). 7 (3) INSPECTOR GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Inspec- 8 tor General’’ means the Inspector General of the De- 9 partment of the Treasury. 10 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of the Treasury. 12 (5) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 13 ‘‘unit of local government’’ has the meaning given 14 such term in section 501 of subtitle A of title V of 15 division N of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 16 2021 (Public Law 116–260). 17 (g) AVAILABILITY.—Funds provided to an eligible 18 grantee under a payment made under this section shall 19 remain available through September 30, 2025. 20 (h) EXTENSION OF AVAILABILITY UNDER PROGRAM 21 FOR EXISTING FUNDING.—Paragraph (1) of section 22 501(e) of subtitle A of title V of division N of the Consoli- 23 dated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116–260) is 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:28 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1725.IH H1725 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1725 IH amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2021’’ and inserting 1 ‘‘September 30, 2022’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep [Text truncated for display. 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