Know Your Housing Rights Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6899 To require Federal agencies to develop and provide notice to tenants of housing relief provided by Federal actions to respond to the COVID- 19 pandemic, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 15, 2020 Ms. DEAN (for herself, Ms. WATERS, and Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Finan- cial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee concerned A BILL To require Federal agencies to develop and provide notice to tenants of housing relief provided by Federal actions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 ‘‘Know Your Housing 4 Rights Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6899.IH H6899 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6899 IH SEC. 2. NOTICES REGARDING RENTER RIGHTS. 1 (a) NOTICE.—Not later than the expiration of the 7- 2 day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this 3 Act, the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 4 the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Veterans Af- 5 fairs, and the Federal National Mortgage Association and 6 the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, at the di- 7 rection of the Director of the Federal Housing Finance 8 Agency, shall each establish a notice for renters of dwell- 9 ing units owned by, assisted by, or subject to any mort- 10 gage held, made, insured, guaranteed, or securitized by 11 such agency or enterprise, to inform such renters of any 12 rights, relief, and assistance relating to occupancy in such 13 dwelling units that is available under statutory, regu- 14 latory, and other actions in response to the emergency de- 15 clared on March 13, 2020, by the President under section 16 501 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer- 17 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191) relating to the 18 Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. 19 (b) CONTENT.—The notice established pursuant to 20 subsection (a) shall include a statement— 21 (1) explaining the effect of the eviction morato- 22 rium in section 4024 of the CARES Act (Public 23 Law 116–1136; 134 Stat. 492; 15 U.S.C. 9058) and 24 the effects of any other moratoria or extensions of 25 moratoria provided for, including that— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6899.IH H6899 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6899 IH (A) section 4024(b) of the CARES Act 1 prohibits landlords of certain rental ‘‘covered 2 dwellings’’ from initiating eviction proceedings 3 ‘‘for nonpayment of rent or other fees or 4 charges’’ or from ‘‘charg[ing] fees, penalties, or 5 other charges’’ against a tenant relating to non- 6 payment of rent; and 7 (B) such protections apply only during the 8 120-day period that began upon enactment of 9 the CARES Act (March 27, 2020); 10 (2) that the moratorium under the CARES Act 11 does not terminate the tenant’s obligation to pay 12 rent; 13 (3) that tenants will owe any rental arrearages 14 that accrue during the moratorium under the 15 CARES Act; and 16 (4) that tenants are encouraged to contact their 17 landlord if they are having trouble paying their rent. 18 (c) TERMS.—Each of the Secretaries specified in sub- 19 section (a) and each of the enterprises specified in such 20 paragraph, at the direction of the Director of the Federal 21 Housing Finance Agency, shall— 22 (1) make the notice established pursuant to 23 subsection (a) available on the internet, on a website 24 of such agency or enterprise, in a readily available, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6899.IH H6899 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6899 IH publicly accessible, and user-friendly manner, not 1 later than the expiration of the 7-day period begin- 2 ning on the date of the enactment of this Act; 3 (2) develop a version of such notice for public 4 housing agencies and owners of rental dwelling units 5 described in subsection (a) not later than the expira- 6 tion of the 7-day period beginning on the date of the 7 enactment of this Act to provide to tenants of such 8 dwelling units; and 9 (3) require such public housing agencies and 10 owners to provide such notice to tenants of such 11 dwelling units, not later than the expiration of the 12 7-day period that begins upon development of such 13 notice pursuant to paragraph (2), by electronic mail, 14 traditional mail, and posting in common areas of 15 multifamily structures containing such dwelling 16 units. 17 (d) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Any notice established 18 or developed pursuant to subsection (a) or (c) of this sec- 19 tion shall comply with the following requirements: 20 (1) ACCESSIBILITY OF NOTICES.—Such notices 21 shall inform renters that the notice is accessible, in 22 at least all existing languages for which each such 23 agency or enterprise currently has translations avail- 24 able, to individuals with limited English proficiency 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6899.IH H6899 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6899 IH and people with disabilities, in accordance with 1 Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 and section 2 504 of the Rehabilitation Act 1973, and how to ac- 3 cess the notice in such other languages. 4 (2) FAIR HOUSING AND ANTI-DISCRIMINA- 5 TION.—Such notices shall inform renters of their 6 rights under the Fair Housing Act, including de- 7 scribing how renters can file fair housing complaints 8 and informing them of Fair Housing Initiative Pro- 9 gram and Fair Housing Assistance Program grant- 10 ees in the area. 11 (3) HOUSING COUNSELING.—Such notices shall 12 inform renters of housing counseling agencies in the 13 area that are approved by the Department of Hous- 14 ing and Urban Development. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:55 Jun 04, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H6899.IH H6899 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS