Eviction Prevention Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3580 To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States and localities to provide the right to counsel in civil actions related to eviction, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 28, 2021 Ms. DELAURO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To authorize the Attorney General to make grants to States and localities to provide the right to counsel in civil actions related to 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 ‘‘Eviction Prevention 4 Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3580 IH SEC. 2. GRANTS FOR STATES AND UNITS OF GENERAL 1 LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE ACCESS 2 TO COUNSEL IN CIVIL ACTIONS RELATED TO 3 EVICTION. 4 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General is au- 5 thorized to make grants to States and units of general 6 local government to provide eligible individuals access to 7 counsel in civil actions related to eviction. 8 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State or unit of general local 9 government that receives a grant under this section shall 10 use such funds to hire attorneys in positions that are dedi- 11 cated solely to providing counsel described in subsection 12 (a). 13 (c) APPLICATION.—A State or unit of general local 14 government seeking an application under this section shall 15 submit an application to the Attorney General at such 16 time, in such manner, and containing such information as 17 the Attorney General may reasonably require, including— 18 (1) the rate of eviction for that State or unit 19 of general local government; 20 (2) during the previous year, the number of in- 21 dividuals subject to eviction in that State or unit of 22 general local government who were not represented 23 by an attorney in eviction proceedings; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3580 IH (3) a plan for how the State or unit of general 1 local government will use amounts from a grant 2 under this section to increase access to counsel; and 3 (4) the status with respect of the right to coun- 4 sel in civil actions related to eviction in the State or 5 unit of general local government and, if the State or 6 unit of general local government does not have in ef- 7 fect laws providing a right to counsel, such evidence 8 as the Attorney General may require that is suffi- 9 cient to demonstrate that substantial progress has 10 been made to enact laws providing such a right. 11 (d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—Subject to the availability 12 of appropriations, a grant under this section shall be in 13 an amount that is not less than $1,000,000, and which 14 amount is determined based on— 15 (1) the rate of eviction in the applicant State 16 or unit of general local government, compared to the 17 national average rate of eviction, as determined by 18 the rates of eviction included with each application 19 under subsection (c); 20 (2) the plan submitted by the applicant State or 21 unit of general local government in accordance with 22 subsection (c)(3); 23 (3) the status of right to counsel in applicant 24 State or unit of general local government; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3580 IH (4) during the previous year, the number of in- 1 dividuals subject to eviction in the applicant State or 2 unit of general local government who were not rep- 3 resented by an attorney in eviction proceedings. 4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 5 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 6 $125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026. 7 SEC. 3. NATIONAL DATABASE OF EVICTIONS. 8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE.—Not later than 9 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 10 retary shall establish and maintain a database that— 11 (1) is accessible to the Office of Policy Develop- 12 ment and Research and the Office of Fair Housing 13 and Equal Opportunity of the Department and other 14 employees of the Department as determined nec- 15 essary by the Secretary; 16 (2) includes the data described in subsection (b) 17 with respect to court-ordered evictions, administra- 18 tive evictions, and illegal evictions in the United 19 States; and 20 (3) ensures appropriate security to prevent im- 21 proper disclosure of that data. 22 (b) CONTENTS.—The database established under 23 subsection (a) shall contain the following data: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3580 IH (1) DATA ON EACH COURT-ORDERED OR AD- 1 MINISTRATIVE EVICTION.—With respect to each 2 court-ordered or administrative eviction case filed on 3 or after the date on which the database is estab- 4 lished: 5 (A) Information on the tenant who is the 6 defendant, including— 7 (i) the name of the tenant; 8 (ii) the address of the residential 9 property and the type of housing; 10 (iii) the number of household mem- 11 bers residing in the property, including the 12 number of children; and 13 (iv) whether the tenant is a recipient 14 of tenant-based or project-based assistance 15 under section 8 of the United States Hous- 16 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 17 (B) Information on the landlord who filed 18 the court-ordered or administrative eviction 19 case, including— 20 (i) the name of the landlord; 21 (ii) the name of the attorney or legally 22 permitted representative of the landlord, or 23 an indication that the landlord was self- 24 represented; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3580 IH (iii) any amount that the landlord al- 1 leges that the tenant owes, including any 2 penalties and attorney’s fees; and 3 (iv) any costs incurred by the landlord 4 for engaging in the eviction process, in- 5 cluding— 6 (I) court costs, such as filing 7 fees; 8 (II) the cost of legal representa- 9 tion; and 10 (III) the cost to set out a tenant. 11 (C) Procedural data on the court-ordered 12 or administrative eviction case, including— 13 (i) the date, if applicable, on which 14 the tenant was served with a notice to quit; 15 (ii) the date of the initial court filing 16 by the landlord; 17 (iii) the reason why the landlord filed 18 for eviction, such as nonpayment or breach 19 of lease; 20 (iv) whether the eviction was as a re- 21 sult of the enforcement of a local ordinance 22 impacting eviction; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3580 IH (v) the final outcome of the court-or- 1 dered or administrative eviction case, in- 2 cluding— 3 (I) the disposition of the case, in- 4 cluding whether the initial hearing re- 5 sulted in a default judgment, dis- 6 missal, consent agreement, settlement, 7 or trial; 8 (II) the date of final disposition; 9 (III) any amount owed to the 10 landlord or tenant, if any, and over 11 what time period; 12 (IV) whether a judgment was 13 made in favor of the tenant for code 14 violations or warranty of habitability 15 claims; 16 (V) the overall outcome of the 17 case, including whether the tenant 18 paid any amounts to the landlord and 19 whether the tenant stayed in the 20 housing or was evicted from the hous- 21 ing; and 22 (VI) whether the tenant had legal 23 representation and the nature of that 24 representation, including a lawyer, a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3580 IH law student participating in a clinic, 1 or another non-lawyer trained to rep- 2 resent clients in landlord-tenant court, 3 or whether the tenant was a lawyer 4 representing himself or herself; 5 (vi) the total court fees incurred by 6 the tenant, separated into categories of 7 fees; 8 (vii) the total court fees incurred by 9 the landlord; 10 (viii) whether the landlord had ap- 11 peared in landlord-tenant court for a 12 court-ordered or administrative eviction 13 matter involving the landlord in the 6- 14 month, 1-year, or 2-year period preceding 15 the court-ordered or administrative eviction 16 case; and 17 (ix) whether the tenant had appeared 18 in landlord-tenant court for a court-or- 19 dered or administrative eviction matter in- 20 volving the landlord in the 6-month, 1- 21 year, or 2-year period preceding the court- 22 ordered or administrative eviction case. 23 (2) AGGREGATE DATA ON COURT-ORDERED OR 24 ADMINISTRATIVE EVICTION CASES.—Aggregate data 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3580 IH on court-ordered or administrative eviction cases 1 filed on or after the date on which the database is 2 established, including— 3 (A) the total number of cases filed, includ- 4 ing a breakdown by— 5 (i) the number of cases filed for non- 6 payment, other breach of lease, both non- 7 payment and breach of lease, and any 8 other reason; 9 (ii) the number of cases filed because 10 of the enforcement of a local ordinance im- 11 pacting eviction; and 12 (iii) the outcome of the dispositive 13 hearing, including default judgment, dis- 14 missal, a consent agreement, a trial, and a 15 settlement with or without mediation; 16 (B) the number of tenants and landlords 17 who showed up for the dispositive hearing of a 18 court-ordered or an administrative eviction case, 19 and how many were represented by counsel; 20 (C) the average duration of a court-or- 21 dered or an administrative eviction case, includ- 22 ing the average time from filing to first hear- 23 ing; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3580 IH (D) the average amount allegedly owed by 1 a tenant, per landlord; 2 (E) the average months of rent allegedly 3 owed by a tenant; 4 (F) the average amount paid by a tenant 5 to resolve the case and stay in the housing; 6 (G) the number of court-ordered or admin- 7 istrative eviction cases resulting in a judgment 8 in favor of the tenant due to code violations or 9 warranty of habitability claims; 10 (H) the number and percentage of court- 11 ordered or administrative eviction cases broken 12 down by age bracket; 13 (I) the number and percentage of court-or- 14 dered or administrative eviction cases with a 15 tenant or household with children; 16 (J) the number of tenants evicted from 17 public housing, broken down by each public 18 housing agency; 19 (K) the number of tenants evicted from 20 dwelling units who were receiving tenant-based 21 assistance or project-based assistance under 22 section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 23 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3580 IH (L) the number of court-ordered or admin- 1 istrative eviction or cases where late fees were 2 collected from tenants by landlords, and the av- 3 erage amount of late fees in those cases. 4 (3) DATA ON EXECUTED EVICTIONS.—Local 5 law enforcement or any other official who executes 6 an eviction shall report to the adjudicating court or 7 administrative forum sufficient data on each exe- 8 cuted eviction, such that the court may determine 9 which court-ordered or administrative evictions re- 10 sulted in a law enforcement officer or other local of- 11 ficial removing the tenant. 12 (4) DATA ON TENANT STATUS FOLLOWING A 13 COURT-ORDERED OR ADMINISTRATIVE EVICTION.— 14 Each court or administrative forum responsible for 15 adjudicating evictions should contact landlords to de- 16 termine whether tenants who were the subject of a 17 court-ordered or administrative eviction were re- 18 moved or remained in the property 90 days after the 19 court-ordered or administrative eviction. 20 (5) DATA ON EACH ILLEGAL EVICTION.—With 21 respect to each illegal eviction occurring on or after 22 the date on which the database is established, as re- 23 ported by local governments and nonprofit organiza- 24 tions receiving grants under section 6: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3580 IH (A) The data described in paragraph 1 (1)(A). 2 (B) Information on the landlord, includ- 3 ing— 4 (i) the name of the landlord; and 5 (ii) any amount that the landlord al- 6 leges that the tenant owes, including any 7 penalties. 8 (C) The reason the tenant was evicted. 9 (D) If the tenant was evicted for non- 10 payment, the amount owed. 11 (E) If the tenant was evicted for non- 12 payment, the total number of months owed. 13 (F) Whether the tenant was evicted be- 14 cause of the enforcement of a local ordinance 15 impacting eviction. 16 (6) AGGREGATE DATA ON ILLEGAL EVIC- 17 TIONS.—Aggregate data on illegal eviction cases oc- 18 curring on or after the date on which the database 19 is established, as reported by local governments and 20 nonprofit organizations receiving grants under sec- 21 tion 6, including— 22 (A) the average amount owed by a tenant, 23 per landlord; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:48 Jun 22, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3580.IH H3580 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3580 IH (B) the average months of rent owed by a 1 tenant; 2 (C) the number and percentage of illegal 3 eviction cases broken down by age bracket; 4 (D) the number and percentage of illegal 5 eviction cases with a tenant or household with 6 children; 7 (E) the number and percentage of illegal 8 eviction cases broken down by race and eth- 9 nicity; 10 (F) the number and percentage of illegal 11 eviction cases broken down by gender; 12 (G) the number and percentage of illegal 13 eviction c [Text truncated for display. 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