Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1847 To suspend obligations of residential renters and mortgagors to make payments during the COVID–19 emergency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 11, 2021 Ms. OMAR (for herself, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. BOW- MAN, Mr. POCAN, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. JONES, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. NORTON, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. CARSON, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. NADLER, and Ms. BUSH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services A BILL To suspend obligations of residential renters and mortgagors to make payments during the COVID–19 emergency, 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 ‘‘Rent and Mortgage 4 Cancellation Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1847 IH SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF OBLIGATIONS TO MAKE RESIDEN- 1 TIAL MORTGAGE AND RENT PAYMENTS. 2 (a) RENT PAYMENTS.— 3 (1) SUSPENSION.—Notwithstanding any other 4 provision of law, the obligation of each tenant house- 5 hold of a covered rental dwelling unit to pay rent for 6 occupancy in such dwelling unit shall be suspended 7 with respect to such occupancy during the COVID- 8 19 suspension period. 9 (2) PROHIBITIONS.— 10 (A) ON FINES.—No tenant or tenant 11 household may be charged a fine or fee for non- 12 payment of rent in accordance with paragraph 13 (1) and such nonpayment of rent shall not be 14 grounds for any termination of tenancy or evic- 15 tion. 16 (B) ON DEBT.—No tenant or tenant 17 household may be treated as accruing any debt 18 by reason of suspension of contribution of rent 19 under paragraph (1). 20 (C) ON REPAYMENT.—No tenant or tenant 21 household may be held liable for repayment of 22 any amount of rent contribution suspended 23 under paragraph (1). 24 (D) ON CREDIT SCORES.—The non- 25 payment of rent by a tenant or tenant house- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1847 IH hold shall not be reported to a consumer report- 1 ing agency nor shall such nonpayment adversely 2 affect a tenant or member of a tenant house- 3 hold’s credit score. 4 (b) MORTGAGE PAYMENTS.— 5 (1) SUSPENSION.—Notwithstanding any other 6 provision of law, the obligation of each mortgagor 7 under a covered residential mortgage loan to make 8 mortgage payments of principal and interest that be- 9 come due during the COVID-19 suspension period is 10 hereby suspended. 11 (2) REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS.— 12 (A) ON DEBT.—No mortgagor under any 13 covered residential mortgage loan may be held 14 responsible for payment of mortgage payments 15 suspended under paragraph (1) or treated as 16 accruing any debt by reason of suspension 17 under such paragraph of the obligation to make 18 mortgage payments. 19 (B) ON FORECLOSURE.—A mortgagee 20 under a covered residential mortgage loan (or 21 servicer for such mortgagee) may not commence 22 or continue any judicial foreclosure action or 23 non-judicial foreclosure process or any action 24 for failure to make a payment due under such 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1847 IH mortgage that is suspended pursuant to para- 1 graph (1). 2 (C) ON FEES, PENALTIES, AND INTER- 3 EST.—No fees, penalties, or additional interest 4 beyond the amounts scheduled or calculated as 5 if the mortgagor made all contractual payments 6 on time and in full under the terms of the 7 mortgage contract in effect as of the commence- 8 ment of the COVID-19 suspension period shall 9 accrue. 10 (D) ON CREDIT SCORES.—The non- 11 payment of a mortgage payment by a mort- 12 gagor pursuant to suspension under paragraph 13 (1) of the obligation to make such payment 14 shall not be reported to a consumer reporting 15 agency nor shall such nonpayment adversely af- 16 fect a mortgagor’s credit score. 17 (c) NOTICE.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 18 Development shall establish and carry out a system to no- 19 tify all tenants of covered rental dwelling units, including 20 tenants described in section 8(1)(B)(ii), and all mortga- 21 gors under covered residential mortgage loans, of the sus- 22 pensions under paragraph (1) of subsections (a) and (b) 23 of the obligations to make rental payments or mortgage 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1847 IH payments, respectively, and of their right to pursue legal 1 action pursuant to section 4. 2 SEC. 3. FORGIVENESS OF RESIDENTIAL RENT AND MORT- 3 GAGE DEBT. 4 (a) RENT DEBT.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 6 provision of law, all debt for unpaid residential rent 7 arrears for a covered rental dwelling unit that ac- 8 crued from March 13, 2020, through April 1, 2022, 9 is hereby forgiven. 10 (2) PREEMPTION.—To the extent that any 11 State or local law or decision of any State or local 12 court or arbitral body conflicts with paragraph (1), 13 it is preempted and shall have no force or effect. 14 (3) NO EFFECT ON CREDIT SCORE.—Receipt of 15 forgiveness of residential rent debt pursuant to para- 16 graph (1) shall not be reported to any consumer re- 17 porting agency nor shall receipt of such forgiveness 18 adversely affect the credit score of any tenant or 19 member of a tenant household. 20 (b) MORTGAGE DEBT.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 22 provision of law, all debt for unpaid residential mort- 23 gage arrears under a covered residential mortgage 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1847 IH loan that accrued from March 13, 2020, through 1 April 1, 2022, is hereby forgiven. 2 (2) REDUCTION OF BALANCE.—By consequence 3 of the forgiveness required under paragraph (1), for- 4 given mortgage debt shall be reduced from mortga- 5 gors’ interest and principal balances, as applicable. 6 (3) PREEMPTION.—To the extent that any 7 State or local law or decision of any State or local 8 court or arbitral bodies conflicts with paragraph (1), 9 it is preempted and shall have no force or effect. 10 (4) NO EFFECT ON CREDIT SCORE.—Receipt of 11 forgiveness of residential rent debt pursuant to para- 12 graph (1) shall not be reported to any consumer re- 13 porting agency nor shall receipt of such forgiveness 14 adversely affect the credit score of a mortgagor. 15 (c) NOTICE.—The Secretary of Housing and Urban 16 Development shall establish and carry out a system to no- 17 tify all tenants of covered rental dwelling units, including 18 tenants described in section 8(1)(B)(ii), and all mortga- 19 gors under covered residential mortgage loans, of the for- 20 giveness under paragraph (1) of subsections (a) and (b) 21 of debt for unpaid residential rent and mortgage arrears, 22 respectively, and of their right to pursue legal action pur- 23 suant to section 4. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1847 IH SEC. 4. CIVIL ACTION. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any individual aggrieved by an 2 adverse action taken by a lessor or mortgagee for exer- 3 cising rights under section 2 or 3 may commence a civil 4 action under this section against the lessor or mortgagee 5 violating such section in an appropriate United States dis- 6 trict court or State court not later than 2 years after such 7 violation occurs for damages under subsection (b). 8 (b) DAMAGES; PENALTY.—Any lessor or mortgagee 9 found to have taken adverse action against any lessee or 10 mortgagor for exercising rights under section 2 shall be 11 liable— 12 (1) to the individual aggrieved by such viola- 13 tion, for any actual damages as a result of such ad- 14 verse action; and 15 (2) for a fine in the amount of— 16 (A) $5,000, in the case of violation that is 17 the first violation by such lessor or mortgagee; 18 (B) $10,000, in the case of violation that 19 is the second violation by such lessor or mort- 20 gagee; and 21 (C) $50,000 or forfeiture of the property, 22 in the case of violation that is the third or sub- 23 sequent violation by such lessor or mortgagee. 24 (c) AUTHORITY OF COURT.—In an action brought 25 under this section, the court— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1847 IH (1) may award preventative relief, including a 1 permanent or temporary injunction or other order, 2 to ensure the full rights granted by subsections (a) 3 and (b) of section 2 and by subsections (a) and (b) 4 of section 3; and 5 (2) shall award any prevailing plaintiff, other 6 than the United States, reasonable attorney’s fee 7 and costs. 8 (d) ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT.—The At- 9 torney General may bring a civil action in any appropriate 10 United States district court against any individual who 11 violates subsection (a) or (b) of section 2 for fines, or sub- 12 section (a) or (b) of section 3, under subsection (b)(2) of 13 this section. 14 SEC. 5. LANDLORD RELIEF FUND. 15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Housing 16 and Urban Development shall establish and manage a 17 Landlord Relief Fund (in this section referred to as the 18 ‘‘Fund’’), to provide lessors payments under this section 19 to reimburse such lessors for payments under covered 20 rental dwelling units suspended or forgiven pursuant to 21 section 2(a) or 3(a), respectively. 22 (b) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall provide for 23 lessors of covered rental dwelling units to apply for reim- 24 bursement payments from the Fund, which applications 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1847 IH shall include the certifications and binding agreements re- 1 quired pursuant to subsection (c). 2 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may provide a pay- 3 ment under this section only with respect to covered rental 4 dwelling units that meet all of the following requirements: 5 (1) FAIR RENTAL REQUIREMENTS.—The lessor 6 of the covered rental dwelling unit has made such 7 certifications to, and entered into such binding 8 agreements with, the Secretary as the Secretary con- 9 siders necessary to ensure that during the 5-year pe- 10 riod beginning upon initial receipt by such lessor of 11 payment under this section for such dwelling unit, 12 such dwelling unit shall be subject to the following 13 requirements: 14 (A) RENT FREEZE.—The monthly rent for 15 the dwelling unit may not be increased from the 16 amount of such rent charged as of the date of 17 the enactment of this Act. 18 (B) JUST-CAUSE EVICTIONS.—A tenant of 19 the dwelling unit may be evicted only for just 20 cause and only pursuant to advance written no- 21 tice to the tenant of such just cause. 22 (C) SOURCE OF INCOME DISCRIMINA- 23 TION.—The lessor may not refuse to rent the 24 dwelling unit, or discriminate in the renting of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1847 IH the dwelling unit, to a household based on the 1 source of income of such household, including 2 income under the program under section 8(o) of 3 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 4 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) or any similar tenant-based 5 rental assistance program. 6 (D) NEW VACANCIES.—The lessor shall co- 7 ordinate with the public and other housing au- 8 thorities for the jurisdiction within which the 9 dwelling unit is located to make the dwelling 10 unit available, upon any vacancy, to households 11 assisted as described in subparagraph (C). 12 (E) ADMISSIONS RESTRICTIONS.—The les- 13 sor may not restrict tenancy of the dwelling 14 unit on the basis of sexual identity or orienta- 15 tion, gender identity or expression, conviction or 16 arrest record, credit history, or immigration 17 status. 18 (F) ARREARAGES.—The lessor may not 19 collect an arrearage in rent owed by the tenant 20 as of the expiration of such 5-year period. 21 (G) RETALIATION.—The lessor may not 22 retaliate in any way against a tenant of the 23 dwelling unit. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1847 IH (H) DEBT COLLECTORS AND CREDIT RE- 1 PORTING AGENCIES.—The lessor may not re- 2 port the tenant of the dwelling unit to a debt 3 collector or provide any adverse information re- 4 garding the tenant to any credit reporting agen- 5 cy. 6 (2) REQUIRED DISCLOSURES.— 7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The lessor shall dis- 8 close, for any person that has an ownership in- 9 terest in the lessor, including any members, 10 shareholders, general partners, or limited part- 11 ners, if applicable, the following information: 12 (i) Name. 13 (ii) Address of place of residence. 14 (iii) Date of birth. 15 (iv) Social Security Number or Em- 16 ployer Identification Number. 17 (v) Size of their interest in the lessor. 18 (vi) Type of entity. 19 (vii) State of incorporation. 20 (viii) Registered agent. 21 (ix) Address of any covered rental 22 dwelling units owned by such person. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:33 May 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1847.IH H1847 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1847 IH (x) Occupancy or vacancy status of all 1 covered rental dwelling units owned by 2 such person. 3 (xi) Current rents charged for all cov- 4 ered rental dwelling units owned by such 5 person. 6 (xii) Total assets and liabilities. 7 (B) NON-NATURAL PERSONS.—For any 8 person identified in the disclosure required by 9 this paragraph that is not a natural person, the 10 lessor shall provide the information required by 11 subparagraph (A) for that entity and for any 12 persons with ownership interests in that entity 13 and shall provide that information iteratively 14 for each layer of ownership until all ownership 15 interests are traced back 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