Rent and Mortgage Cancellation Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6515 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 APRIL 17, 2020 Ms. OMAR (for herself, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. TLAIB, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. POCAN, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, and Ms. MENG) 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 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. SUSPENSION OF OBLIGATIONS TO MAKE RESIDEN- 6 TIAL MORTGAGE AND RENT PAYMENTS. 7 (a) RENT PAYMENTS.— 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6515 IH (1) SUSPENSION.—Notwithstanding any other 1 provision of law, the obligation of each tenant house- 2 hold of a covered rental dwelling unit to pay rent for 3 occupancy in such dwelling unit shall be suspended 4 with respect to such occupancy during the COVID- 5 19 suspension period. 6 (2) PROHIBITIONS.— 7 (A) ON FINES.—No tenant or tenant 8 household may be charged a fine or fee for non- 9 payment of rent in accordance with paragraph 10 (1) and such nonpayment of rent shall not be 11 grounds for any termination of tenancy or evic- 12 tion. 13 (B) ON DEBT.—No tenant or tenant 14 household may be treated as accruing any debt 15 by reason of suspension of contribution of rent 16 under paragraph (1). 17 (C) ON REPAYMENT.—No tenant or tenant 18 household may be held liable for repayment of 19 any amount of rent contribution suspended 20 under paragraph (1). 21 (D) ON CREDIT SCORES.—The non- 22 payment of rent by a tenant or tenant house- 23 hold shall not be reported to a consumer report- 24 ing agency nor shall such nonpayment adversely 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6515 IH affect a tenant or member of a tenant house- 1 hold’s credit score. 2 (b) MORTGAGE PAYMENTS.— 3 (1) SUSPENSION.—Notwithstanding any other 4 provision of law, the obligation of each mortgagor 5 under a covered residential mortgage loan to make 6 mortgage payments of principal and interest that be- 7 come due during the COVID-19 suspension period is 8 hereby suspended. 9 (2) REQUIREMENTS AND PROHIBITIONS.— 10 (A) ON DEBT.—No mortgagor under any 11 covered residential mortgage loan may be held 12 responsible for payment of mortgage payments 13 suspended under paragraph (1) or treated as 14 accruing any debt by reason of suspension 15 under such paragraph of the obligation to make 16 mortgage payments. 17 (B) ON FORECLOSURE.—A mortgagee 18 under a covered residential mortgage loan (or 19 servicer for such mortgagee) may not commence 20 or continue any judicial foreclosure action or 21 non-judicial foreclosure process or any action 22 for failure to make a payment due under such 23 mortgage that is suspended pursuant to para- 24 graph (1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:21 Apr 23, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6515 IH (C) ON FEES, PENALTIES, AND INTER- 1 EST.—No fees, penalties, or additional interest 2 beyond the amounts scheduled or calculated as 3 if the mortgagor made all contractual payments 4 on time and in full under the terms of the 5 mortgage contract in effect as of the commence- 6 ment of the COVID-19 suspension period shall 7 accrue. 8 (D) ON CREDIT SCORES.—The non- 9 payment of a mortgage payment by a mort- 10 gagor pursuant to suspension under paragraph 11 (1) of the obligation to make such payment 12 shall not be reported to a consumer reporting 13 agency nor shall such nonpayment adversely af- 14 fect a mortgagor’s credit score. 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 7(1)(B)(ii), and all mortga- 19 gors under covered residential mortgage loans, of the sus- 20 pensions under paragraph (1) of subsections (a) and (b) 21 of the obligations to make rental payments or mortgage 22 payments, respectively, and of their right to pursue legal 23 action pursuant to section 3. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6515 IH SEC. 3. 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 may commence a civil action 4 under this section against the lessor or mortgagee vio- 5 lating 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 23:52 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6515 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 4 (2) shall award any prevailing plaintiff, other 5 than the United States, reasonable attorney’s fee 6 and costs. 7 (d) ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT.—The At- 8 torney General may bring a civil action in any appropriate 9 United States district court against any individual who 10 violates subsection (a) or (b) of section 2 for fines under 11 subsection (b)(2) of this section. 12 SEC. 4. LANDLORD RELIEF FUND. 13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Housing 14 and Urban Development shall establish and manage a 15 Landlord Relief Fund (in this section referred to as the 16 ‘‘Fund’’), to provide lessors payments under this section 17 to reimburse such lessors for payments under covered resi- 18 dential mortgage loans suspended pursuant to section 19 2(b). 20 (b) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall provide for 21 lessors of covered rental dwelling units to apply for reim- 22 bursement payments from the Fund, which applications 23 shall include the certifications and binding agreements re- 24 quired pursuant to subsection (c). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6515 IH (c) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may provide a pay- 1 ment under this section only with respect to covered rental 2 dwelling units that meet all of the following requirements: 3 (1) FAIR RENTAL REQUIREMENTS.—The lessor 4 of the covered rental dwelling unit has made such 5 certifications to, and entered into such binding 6 agreements with, the Secretary as the Secretary con- 7 siders necessary to ensure that during the 5-year pe- 8 riod beginning upon initial receipt by such lessor of 9 payment under this section for such dwelling unit, 10 such dwelling unit shall be subject to the following 11 requirements: 12 (A) RENT FREEZE.—The monthly rent for 13 the dwelling unit may not be increased from the 14 amount of such rent charged as of the date of 15 the enactment of this Act. 16 (B) JUST-CAUSE EVICTIONS.—A tenant of 17 the dwelling unit may be evicted only for just 18 cause and only pursuant to advance written no- 19 tice to the tenant of such just cause. 20 (C) SOURCE OF INCOME DISCRIMINA- 21 TION.—The lessor may not refuse to rent the 22 dwelling unit, or discriminate in the renting of 23 the dwelling unit, to a household based on the 24 source of income of such household, including 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6515 IH income under the program under section 8(o) of 1 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 2 U.S.C. 1437f(o)) or any similar tenant-based 3 rental assistance program. 4 (D) NEW VACANCIES.—The lessor shall co- 5 ordinate with the public and other housing au- 6 thorities for the jurisdiction within which the 7 dwelling unit is located to make the dwelling 8 unit available, upon any vacancy, to households 9 assisted as described in subparagraph (C). 10 (E) ADMISSIONS RESTRICTIONS.—The les- 11 sor may not restrict tenancy of the dwelling 12 unit on the basis of sexual identity or orienta- 13 tion, gender identity or expression, conviction or 14 arrest record, credit history, or immigration 15 status. 16 (F) ARREARAGES.—The lessor may not 17 collect an arrearage in rent owed by the tenant 18 as of the expiration of such 5-year period. 19 (G) RETALIATION.—The lessor may not 20 retaliate in any way against a tenant of the 21 dwelling unit. 22 (H) DEBT COLLECTORS AND CREDIT RE- 23 PORTING AGENCIES.—The lessor may not re- 24 port the tenant of the dwelling unit to a debt 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6515 IH collector or provide any adverse information re- 1 garding the tenant to any credit reporting agen- 2 cy. 3 (2) PROHIBITION ON DUPLICATION OF ASSIST- 4 ANCE.—Assistance may not be provided under this 5 section with respect to any dwelling unit for which 6 assistance is provided pursuant to section 5. 7 (d) AMOUNT.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 9 the amount of a payment under this section with re- 10 spect to a covered rental dwelling unit may not ex- 11 ceed the aggregate amount of rent for the dwelling 12 unit suspended pursuant to section 2(a) and attrib- 13 utable only to days during the COVID-19 suspen- 14 sion period that the dwelling unit was occupied by 15 a tenant otherwise required to pay rent for such oc- 16 cupancy. 17 (2) REIMBURSEMENT FOR RENT PAID BY TEN- 18 ANTS.—In making payments under this section with 19 respect to any covered dwelling unit for which tenant 20 made a payment of rent during the COVID-19 sus- 21 pension period, the Secretary shall— 22 (A) reduce the amount of the payment to 23 the lessor under paragraph (1) by the amount 24 of any such rent paid; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6515 IH (B) make a payment to such tenant in the 1 amount of any such rent paid. 2 (e) PRIORITY.—In making payments under this sec- 3 tion, the Secretary shall establish a tiered system for pri- 4 ority for such payments based on assets, revenues, disclo- 5 sure requirements, and profit status with respect to les- 6 sors. Such system shall provide priority for making pay- 7 ments to eligible lessors that are nonprofit organizations 8 or entities and lessors having the fewest available amount 9 of assets. 10 (f) RECAPTURE.—If a lessor violates any requirement 11 with respect to a covered rental dwelling unit under any 12 certification or agreement entered into pursuant to sub- 13 section (c)(2), the Secretary shall recapture from the les- 14 sor an amount equal to the entire amount of assistance 15 provided under this section that is attributable to such 16 dwelling unit and cover such amount recaptured into the 17 Fund. 18 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 19 authorized to be appropriated for the Landlord Relief 20 Fund established pursuant to this section such sums as 21 may be necessary to reimburse all lessors for all rent pay- 22 ments suspended pursuant to section 2(a). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6515 IH SEC. 5. LENDER RELIEF FUND. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Housing 2 and Urban Development shall establish and manage a 3 Lender Relief Fund (in this section referred to as the 4 ‘‘Fund’’), to provide mortgagees payments under this sec- 5 tion to reimburse such mortgagees for mortgage payments 6 suspended pursuant to section 2(b). 7 (b) APPLICATION.—The Secretary shall provide for 8 mortgagees under covered residential mortgage loans to 9 apply for reimbursement payments from the Fund, which 10 applications shall include the certifications and binding 11 agreements required pursuant to subsection (c). The Sec- 12 retary shall provide that an eligible mortgagee may apply 13 for assistance from the Fund only once with respect to 14 any covered residential mortgage loan. 15 (c) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary may provide a pay- 16 ment under this section only with respect to covered resi- 17 dential mortgage loans that meet all of the following re- 18 quirements: 19 (1) FAIR AND INCLUSIVE LENDING REQUIRE- 20 MENTS.—The mortgagee for the mortgage loan has 21 made such certifications to, and entered into such 22 binding agreements with, the Secretary as the Sec- 23 retary considers necessary to ensure that during the 24 5-year period beginning upon initial receipt by such 25 mortgagee of payment under this section for such 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:33 Apr 22, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6515.IH H6515 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6515 IH mortgage loan, such mortgagee shall be subject to 1 the following requirements: 2 (A) REPORTING ON LENDING.—The mort- 3 gagee shall report annually to the Secretary 4 such detailed information regarding residential 5 mortgage loans made by such mortgagee as the 6 Secretary shall require, including the race, eth- 7 nicity, age, and credit score of mortgagors, the 8 zip codes of properties f [Text truncated for display. 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