Moratorium on Coronavirus Evictions Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3585 To place a moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus emergency. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 25, 2020 Mr. JONES (for himself and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To place a moratorium on evictions during the coronavirus emergency. 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 ‘‘Moratorium on 4 Coronavirus Evictions Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON EVICTION FILINGS. 6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 7 (1) COVERED DWELLING.—The term ‘‘covered 8 dwelling’’ means a dwelling that— 9 (A) is occupied by a tenant— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Apr 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3585.IS S3585 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3585 IS (i) pursuant to a residential lease; or 1 (ii) without a lease or with a lease ter- 2 minable under State law; and 3 (B) is on or in a covered property. 4 (2) COVERED PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘covered 5 property’’ means any property that— 6 (A) participates in— 7 (i) a covered housing program (as de- 8 fined in section 41411(a) of the Violence 9 Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 10 12491(a))); or 11 (ii) the rural housing voucher pro- 12 gram under section 542 of the Housing 13 Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490r); or 14 (B) has a— 15 (i) federally backed mortgage loan; or 16 (ii) federally backed multifamily mort- 17 gage loan. 18 (3) DWELLING.—The term ‘‘dwelling’’— 19 (A) has the meaning given the term in sec- 20 tion 802 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 21 3602); and 22 (B) includes houses and dwellings de- 23 scribed in section 803(b) of such Act (42 24 U.S.C. 3603(b)). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Apr 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3585.IS S3585 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3585 IS (4) FEDERALLY BACKED MORTGAGE LOAN.— 1 The term ‘‘federally backed mortgage loan’’ includes 2 any loan (other than temporary financing such as a 3 construction loan) that— 4 (A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien 5 on residential real property (including indi- 6 vidual units of condominiums and cooperatives) 7 designed principally for the occupancy of from 8 1 to 4 families, including any such secured 9 loan, the proceeds of which are used to prepay 10 or pay off an existing loan secured by the same 11 property; and 12 (B) is made in whole or in part, or in- 13 sured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in 14 any way, by any officer or agency of the Fed- 15 eral Government or under or in connection with 16 a housing or urban development program ad- 17 ministered by the Secretary of Housing and 18 Urban Development or a housing or related 19 program administered by any other such officer 20 or agency, or is purchased or securitized by the 21 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or 22 the Federal National Mortgage Association. 23 (5) FEDERALLY BACKED MULTIFAMILY MORT- 24 GAGE LOAN.—The term ‘‘federally backed multi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Apr 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3585.IS S3585 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3585 IS family mortgage loan’’ includes any loan (other than 1 temporary financing such as a construction loan) 2 that— 3 (A) is secured by a first or subordinate lien 4 on residential multifamily real property de- 5 signed principally for the occupancy of 5 or 6 more families, including any such secured loan, 7 the proceeds of which are used to prepay or pay 8 off an existing loan secured by the same prop- 9 erty; and 10 (B) is made in whole or in part, or in- 11 sured, guaranteed, supplemented, or assisted in 12 any way, by any officer or agency of the Fed- 13 eral Government or under or in connection with 14 a housing or urban development program ad- 15 ministered by the Secretary of Housing and 16 Urban Development or a housing or related 17 program administered by any other such officer 18 or agency, or is purchased or securitized by the 19 Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation or 20 the Federal National Mortgage Association. 21 (b) MORATORIUM.—During the 120-day period be- 22 ginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the lessor 23 of a covered dwelling may not— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Apr 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3585.IS S3585 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3585 IS (1) make, or cause to be made, any filing with 1 the court of jurisdiction to initiate a legal action to 2 recover possession of the covered dwelling from the 3 tenant for nonpayment of rent or other fees or 4 charges; or 5 (2) charge fees, penalties, or other charges to 6 the tenant related to such nonpayment of rent. 7 (c) NOTICE.—The lessor of a covered dwelling unit— 8 (1) may not require the tenant to vacate the 9 covered dwelling unit before the date that is 30 days 10 after the date on which the lessor provides the ten- 11 ant with a notice to vacate; and 12 (2) may not issue a notice to vacate under 13 paragraph (1) until after the expiration of the period 14 described in subsection (b). 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Apr 07, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3585.IS S3585 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS