Eviction Crisis Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2182 To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a national evictions database, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 22, 2021 Mr. BENNET (for himself, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. YOUNG, and Mr. BROWN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To require the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a national evictions database, 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 Crisis Act 4 of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) based on the best available data, more than 8 3,000,000 evictions are filed in an average year in 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2182 IS the United States, affecting individuals and families 1 in urban, suburban, and rural areas alike; 2 (2) evictions impose significant costs on ten- 3 ants, landlords, and communities as a whole; 4 (3) evictions disproportionately affect certain 5 populations and communities, including families with 6 children and renters of color who face a particularly 7 high risk of eviction; 8 (4) collecting more comprehensive and con- 9 sistent data through a national eviction database 10 would foster a deeper understanding of the causes 11 and contours of the eviction crisis as well as what 12 efforts can be made to prevent or mitigate the con- 13 sequences of evictions when they are unavoidable; 14 (5) expanding landlord-tenant community 15 courts would benefit both landlords and tenants, as 16 these courts can offer services that help tenants be- 17 come current again on their obligations or offer al- 18 ternatives to eviction that avoid homelessness or 19 housing instability while also providing landlords 20 with less costly alternatives to eviction; 21 (6) emergency assistance programs that provide 22 short-term support to tenants facing a temporary 23 emergency can also help prevent evictions and home- 24 lessness for low-income households; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2182 IS (7) past evictions or eviction filings can con- 1 tribute to the cycle of poverty by appearing on credit 2 reports, and tenants have a right to know whether 3 a tenant screening report contains inaccurate data 4 that may impede their ability to pass a background 5 check and secure a stable home; 6 (8) the Legal Services Corporation, established 7 in 1974 under the Legal Services Corporation Act 8 (42 U.S.C. 2996 et seq.) and funded by Congress to 9 provide grants for free civil legal aid, has docu- 10 mented— 11 (A) the ongoing justice gap in which 86 12 percent of the civil legal problems reported by 13 low-income people in the United States, includ- 14 ing housing-related legal issues, are handled 15 with inadequate or no assistance from an attor- 16 ney or other legal professional; and 17 (B) that more than 50 percent of the legal 18 problems presented to legal aid organizations 19 funded by the Legal Services Corporation re- 20 ceive only limited or no legal assistance due to 21 lack of resources; 22 (9) the National Center for Access to Justice 23 determined that in 79 percent of housing cases, the 24 tenants are not represented by a lawyer; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2182 IS (10) funding for the Legal Services Corporation 1 must be substantially increased to enable grantees of 2 the Legal Services Corporation to provide legal as- 3 sistance to all people facing residential eviction who 4 cannot afford adequate counsel. 5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE EVICTION.—The term 8 ‘‘administrative eviction’’ means a ruling in favor of 9 the landlord in an administrative forum within a 10 public housing agency, such as grievance procedures, 11 to recover possession of residential property from a 12 tenant, including a tenant residing in a public hous- 13 ing dwelling unit or receiving tenant-based assist- 14 ance or project-based assistance under section 8 of 15 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 16 1437f). 17 (2) COURT-ORDERED EVICTION.—The term 18 ‘‘court-ordered eviction’’ means a court ruling in 19 favor of the landlord in a legal action to recover pos- 20 session of residential property from a tenant, includ- 21 ing a tenant residing in a public housing dwelling 22 unit or receiving tenant-based assistance or project- 23 based assistance under section 8 of the United 24 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2182 IS (3) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 1 means the Department of Housing and Urban De- 2 velopment. 3 (4) EVICTION FILING.—The term ‘‘eviction fil- 4 ing’’ means a filing by a landlord with the court of 5 jurisdiction to initiate a legal action to recover pos- 6 session of residential property from a tenant, includ- 7 ing a tenant residing in a public housing dwelling 8 unit or receiving tenant-based assistance or project- 9 based assistance under section 8 of the United 10 States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 11 (5) EXECUTED EVICTION.—The term ‘‘executed 12 eviction’’ means a court order carried out by a sher- 13 iff’s office or other law enforcement agency that re- 14 sulted in the landlord recovering possession of resi- 15 dential property from a tenant, including a tenant 16 residing in a public housing dwelling unit or receiv- 17 ing tenant-based assistance or project-based assist- 18 ance under section 8 of the United States Housing 19 Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f). 20 (6) ILLEGAL EVICTION.—The term ‘‘illegal evic- 21 tion’’ means self-help measures taken outside of the 22 legal process for eviction to recover possession of 23 residential property from a tenant, including a ten- 24 ant residing in a public housing dwelling unit or re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2182 IS ceiving tenant-based assistance or project-based as- 1 sistance under section 8 of the United States Hous- 2 ing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437f), such as— 3 (A) willfully interrupting or permitting the 4 interruption of essential items of services re- 5 quired by the rental agreement; 6 (B) blocking or attempting to block the 7 entry of a tenant upon the premises; 8 (C) changing the locks or removing the 9 front door of the premises; 10 (D) removing the belongings of a tenant; 11 and 12 (E) any other action defined as a self-help 13 eviction under State landlord-tenant law. 14 (7) LOCAL ORDINANCE IMPACTING EVICTION.— 15 The term ‘‘local ordinance impacting eviction’’ 16 means a local ordinance that is designed to address 17 the number of emergency services calls resulting 18 from assault, sexual harassment, stalking, disorderly 19 conduct, or another type of behavior, situation, or 20 condition that results in the need for emergency 21 services, that results in loss of housing or limit the 22 housing opportunities for survivors of crime, includ- 23 ing survivors of domestic violence, or individuals 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2182 IS with disabilities who may require emergency services, 1 abnegating local landlord-tenant law by— 2 (A) requiring, encouraging, or permitting 3 the eviction of a tenant or resident because of 4 a certain number of calls for emergency serv- 5 ices; 6 (B) requiring, encouraging, or permitting 7 the eviction of a tenant or resident because of 8 an arrest even though the arrest has not re- 9 sulted in the conviction of that tenant or resi- 10 dent; or 11 (C) requiring, encouraging, or permitting 12 the eviction of a tenant or resident because of 13 criminal activity occurring at or near the place 14 of residence of the tenant or resident for which 15 that tenant or resident has not been convicted. 16 (8) PUBLIC HOUSING; PUBLIC HOUSING AGEN- 17 CY.—The terms ‘‘public housing’’ and ‘‘public hous- 18 ing agency’’ have the meanings given those terms in 19 section 3(b) of the United States Housing Act of 20 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437a(b)). 21 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. 23 (10) TRIBALLY DESIGNATED HOUSING ENTI- 24 TY.—The term ‘‘tribally designated housing entity’’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2182 IS has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 1 Native American Housing Assistance and Self-De- 2 termination Act of 1996 (25 U.S.C. 4103). 3 SEC. 4. LANDLORD-TENANT FOCUSED COMMUNITY 4 COURTS. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General, acting 6 through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, shall award 7 grants to States and local jurisdictions to support land- 8 lord-tenant focused community courts that offer a process 9 with social service representatives who are available to as- 10 sist tenants. 11 (b) GOALS FOR PROCESS.—The process described in 12 subsection (a) is— 13 (1) intended to— 14 (A) divert landlords and tenants from pro- 15 ceeding with a court-ordered eviction, which 16 places costly burdens on landlords, tenants, the 17 court system, and taxpayers; and 18 (B) help tenants who have fallen behind 19 become current again on their obligations or 20 transition tenants to a new stable home envi- 21 ronment without losing access to benefits and 22 other support for which they are eligible; and 23 (2) not intended to keep tenants in housing 24 that they will be unable to afford. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2182 IS (c) DIVERSITY REQUIREMENT.—In making grants 1 under this section, the Attorney General shall ensure that 2 landlord-tenant focused community courts— 3 (1) are assisted in jurisdictions that serve 4 urban areas, suburban areas, and rural areas; 5 (2) are assisted in serving communities that 6 have high rates of eviction and eviction filings or a 7 large total number of evictions and eviction filings, 8 based on the best available data; 9 (3) are assisted in serving families with chil- 10 dren; 11 (4) provide assistance to individuals with lim- 12 ited English proficiency; 13 (5) provide effective communication with indi- 14 viduals with disabilities; and 15 (6) are located in facilities that are accessible to 16 individuals with disabilities and easily accessible by 17 low-income individuals using public transportation. 18 (d) APPLICATION.—A State or local jurisdiction de- 19 siring a grant under this section shall submit to the Attor- 20 ney General an application at such time, in such manner, 21 and containing— 22 (1) a demonstrated unmet need in the commu- 23 nity for a landlord-tenant community court; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2182 IS (2) evidence of support from representatives of 1 various and diverse stakeholders within the commu- 2 nity, including renters’ rights groups, landlords, and 3 legal aid nonprofit organizations; 4 (3) a detailed description of how the grant will 5 be spent; 6 (4) a detailed description of how the landlord- 7 tenant community court will interact with the exist- 8 ing landlord-tenant justice system of the State or 9 local jurisdiction to, as applicable, to alleviate the 10 eviction crisis, including a description of which cases 11 will be diverted to the landlord-tenant community 12 court; 13 (5) a description of any local ordinance impact- 14 ing eviction; 15 (6) a description of how the landlord-tenant 16 community court will not be designed to lengthen 17 the process of pursuing a legitimate eviction, limit 18 the access of landlords to the traditional justice sys- 19 tem, curtail the right of landlords to evict, or limit 20 or curtail the due process or civil rights of any ten- 21 ant or housing resident; and 22 (7) any other information as the Attorney Gen- 23 eral may require, including information sought in 24 consultation with the Secretary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2182 IS (e) DATA.—Beginning 1 year after the date on which 1 a State or local jurisdiction receives a grant under this 2 section, and not later than 2 years after that date, the 3 State or local jurisdiction, as applicable, shall submit to 4 the Attorney General and the Secretary a report con- 5 taining— 6 (1) any aggregate data on landlord-tenant cases 7 filed in that State or local jurisdiction as the Attor- 8 ney General or the Secretary may require; 9 (2) the data described in subparagraphs (A) 10 and (B) of section 5(b)(1) and section 5(b)(2), as 11 applicable; and 12 (3) any other information as the Attorney Gen- 13 eral or the Secretary may require. 14 (f) AWARDING GRANTS.—The Attorney General may 15 award grants under this section in 3 rounds, with not 16 fewer than 5 grants awarded in the first round. 17 (g) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 18 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of a grant 19 provided under this section, the Attorney General 20 shall require the recipient of the grant to contribute 21 an amount equal to or more than the amount of the 22 grant, obtained solely from non-Federal sources. 23 (2) FORM.—In addition to cash or other direct 24 funding, the contribution required by the Attorney 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:30 Jul 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2182.IS S2182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 2182 IS General under paragraph (1) may include indirect 1 costs or in-kind contributions paid for under non- 2 Federal programs. 3 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 5 necessary to carry out this section. 6 SEC. 5. NATIONAL DATABASE OF EVICTI [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]